Miter Gauge

[Bear Republic]

How easy is the Osborne to use? Looks like you need and engineering degree to set it up

 

[ehpoole]

How easy is the Osborne to use? Looks like you need and engineering degree to set it up

I can not comment from personal experience, but from what I have seen of their miter gauge they are no more difficult to use than any other miter gauge on the market. The primary difference from other gauges, such as OEM, Incra, etc., is that they have opted to use a linear degree scale that spans the hypotenuse (long side) of a triangle rather than the more customary radial angle scale located in the gauge head, but in the end you are performing the same exact action and simply dialing in the selected angle in degrees and then locking down the setting.

In principle, the Osborne is supposed to give one a truer angle by moving the lever arm further out and also stiffening the miter fence. However, in practice (as an Incra user) it really does not make much of a difference, if any at all, provided the miter gauge locks down securely and the fence is stiff enough to resist flexing. As such, it seems to be more a case of six of one, a half dozen of another -- so one chooses whichever most suits their personal tastes. Incra or Osborne, I doubt if you could go wrong with either system. Incra was my choice for various reasons as I know and trust the brand and I liked the features they offer, but I would likely be similarly happy had I gone the other way.

 

[pcooper]

I've got both the Incra 3000 and the Osborne miter gauge. I like both for different reasons. I think the Incra is spot on with accuracy, and the Osborne seems to be about as good. They have different measuring systems for changing angles, I happen to like the Incra better there.

The Osborne has a slip resistant pad you can apply to the face to keep stock from sliding, which the Incra does not have, but could be applied, however it might interfere with the T slots that you might use with it. The Osborne is longer, and has an extendable fence that I like, it's a larger miter gauge overall, so better for larger stock that you cut on those crazy angles. I use it for tuning the cut for making backgammon board points (long narrow pieces of wood cut on about 5.5 degrees).

You won't be sorry with either one of these with your saw, and Klingspor has both, so might be worth getting them out of the box and look them over.

 

[Rwe2156]

Any of the aftermarket miter gauges are a huge improvement over the stock ones.

I have a Jessem the only reason I have it I got it at a garage sale for $50.

Personally I wouldn't spend $100's on one because I think a Xcut sled with a good stop block system can do the same thing for a lot less money.

 

[KenOfCary]

/*-

How easy is the Osborne to use? Looks like you need and engineering degree to set it up

As Ethan stated it is very simple. You just line up the angle in degrees that you want on the bar that forms the hypotenuse of the triangle. It has the usual indents for 90, 45, 22.5 degrees. I get very accurate cuts with it. Recently cut a 20 degree angle in both directions very easily (Guess that's really a 70 and 110 degree cut - 20 degrees off of 90.)

 

[Gofor]

How easy is the Osborne to use? Looks like you need and engineering degree to set it up[/QUOTE

I thought mine was very easy. It has an eccentric cam bolt at the base of the diagonal support that lets you microscopically rotate the fence to get the exact angle. Just tighten the lock nut when you get it set and you are good to go. (I was probably lucky, as I initially set mine using a framing square against the fence and blade, but it later passed muster with the 5 cut method). Detents in the diagonal arm allow quick adjustment from 90 degrees in 5 degree increments up to 45 degrees, as well as a detent for a 22.5 degree angle. The fence assembly slides left and right (secured by thumb screws) to quickly adjust the distance between the fence and the blade. In addition, the fence extension is removable and can be inserted in either end. The ends of the main fence are beveled to 45 degrees so that you can support your work right up to the blade when it is set for a 45 degree bevel for either left or right handed saws.

The one complicated operation is when changing use from one miter slot to the one on the opposite side of the blade. Because the diagonal brace is so long, it will contact the blade when used in the opposite miter slot, so it requires some reconfiguration when swapping sides. If you routinely do this, you would either want a second miter gauge, or go with the Incra (I am assuming the Incra is more easily changed. I have not used an Incra).

It is difficult to attach a sacrificial or special purpose fence, as there are only two small holes available at the ends of the main fence which are also located in the bottom of an extruded slot. This makes it difficult to install a tall jig for something like finger joints, etc. If thinking you would want to do this, it would be better to not install the slip resistant material (which is basically the same thing as adhesive backed non-slip treads), and install the jig using double-sided tape to the slick aluminum fence surface.

I have come to appreciate the robust design of the Osborne, as mine has made several unscheduled trips between the work bench and the garage floor over the years. Despite this, I have never had it get knocked out of adjustment, and it fared quite well.

Hope this helps.

Go

 

[nn4jw]

After this thread I found I all of the sudden had to have the MiterSet. It arrived this morning. Sure looks nicely made and super easy to use. I have a couple of the Incra miter gauges but rather than fiddle with their settings I'll be using the MiterSet with them. It should make repeatable settings a snap.

 

[Cato]

Ditto on the Osborne: It has micro-adjustment to get it dead on; extendable fence with stop block; adjustment to take out any slop in your miter slot; and excellent fence support to prevent your work from skewing. Very happy with mine and have had it for several years.

Go

I too have the Osborne and have been using it for years. I've found it to be a wonderful tool and with the stop block and the non skid fence on it, well it does the job with no muss or fuss. Love it, but its the only one I've ever used so I have no comparison to Jessem or Incra, etc.

 

[ehpoole]

How easy is the Osborne to use? Looks like you need and engineering degree to set it up[/QUOTE

I thought mine was very easy. It has an eccentric cam bolt at the base of the diagonal support that lets you microscopically rotate the fence to get the exact angle. Just tighten the lock nut when you get it set and you are good to go. (I was probably lucky, as I initially set mine using a framing square against the fence and blade, but it later passed muster with the 5 cut method). Detents in the diagonal arm allow quick adjustment from 90 degrees in 5 degree increments up to 45 degrees, as well as a detent for a 22.5 degree angle. The fence assembly slides left and right (secured by thumb screws) to quickly adjust the distance between the fence and the blade. In addition, the fence extension is removable and can be inserted in either end. The ends of the main fence are beveled to 45 degrees so that you can support your work right up to the blade when it is set for a 45 degree bevel for either left or right handed saws.

The one complicated operation is when changing use from one miter slot to the one on the opposite side of the blade. Because the diagonal brace is so long, it will contact the blade when used in the opposite miter slot, so it requires some reconfiguration when swapping sides. If you routinely do this, you would either want a second miter gauge, or go with the Incra (I am assuming the Incra is more easily changed. I have not used an Incra).

It is difficult to attach a sacrificial or special purpose fence, as there are only two small holes available at the ends of the main fence which are also located in the bottom of an extruded slot. This makes it difficult to install a tall jig for something like finger joints, etc. If thinking you would want to do this, it would be better to not install the slip resistant material (which is basically the same thing as adhesive backed non-slip treads), and install the jig using double-sided tape to the slick aluminum fence surface.

I have come to appreciate the robust design of the Osborne, as mine has made several unscheduled trips between the work bench and the garage floor over the years. Despite this, I have never had it get knocked out of adjustment, and it fared quite well.

Hope this helps.

Go

Just to expand upon Mark's comments...but from an Incra perspective since we are interested in comparisons (specifically the 1000SE model).

Even with an Incra gauge if you were regularly swapping the miter gauge between left and right miter slots you would want a dedicated miter gauge for each side if you want similar precision for both sides. While the fence is trivial to swap over one has to keep in mind that rarely are two miter slots perfectly milled identically in every way. This means that if you want to maintain absolute accuracy you will have to readjust the miter bar's fit for the alternate miter slot when changing sides. The miter bar has split HDPE (UHMW) slides that you install along one or both sides of the miter bar to take out all play in your miter slot so that the miter gauge can deliver predictable accuracy when setting angles (any miter slot slop can significantly alter your angle if the bar shifts or rocks within the miter slot while feeding the workpiece). As I have a left tilt tablesaw it is very rare that I saw relative to the left side of the blade while using a miter gauge (I occasionally reference the resaw fence to that side, but rarely the miter gauge), though when I do I just use the OEM miter gauge as I have never needed absolute accuracy on the very rare occasions that I have used a miter gauge to the right of the blade on my left-tilt tablesaw. Users of right-tilt tablesaws are more likely to swap miter slots with some regularity since the width of what you are cutting and whether or not you are cutting a bevel tends to influence ones choice much more when using right-tilt tablesaws whereas left-tilt users tend towards having a very strong preference for working on the right-hand side of the blade since there is more table width on that side and bevel cuts never interfere with right-side usage on left-tilt tablesaws.

Insofar as auxiliary fences go, it is very easy to attach an auxiliary fence as the factory fence includes a T-slot along its length that accepts standard 1/4" hex bolts and nuts (that is 1/4" bolts, not 1/4" wide hex faces, just to avoid any confusion). In fact, the miter gauge head secures to the fence by way of a second T-slot on the back side of the fence. Converting the gauge from a right hand or left hand miter gauge to the opposite is as simple as loosening the bolts on the backside, sliding the fence over to the opposite end, then removing the extendable portion of the fence, flipping the extension fence hardware around (such that it is facing the proper direction), then reinserting the extension fence into the opposite side of the fixed fence (if one wants then they may also choose to flip around the measuring tape sections and recalibrate them relative to the blade). Conversion only takes a few minutes at most to fully convert it over, but, again, if you want full precision then you have to retune and calibrate the miter gauge relative to its new home in the opposite miter slot. For most of us this is a one time operation when we first purchase the miter gauge if it requires adapting to our tablesaw (If I recall, it comes setup for right-hand slot use out of the box).

The Incra miter gauges are similarly indexed every 5 degrees and at several selected intermediate angles (specifically +/- 22.5 and 67.5 degrees) for quick setting to common angles. They also are very clearly marked in 1 degree increments and include a +/- 0.5 degree vernier scale marked in 0.1 degree increments making it very easy to reliably dial in a custom angle to the nearest 0.1 degrees with repeatable accuracy.

The fence is also one of the big highlights of their miter gauges as well. I have already mentioned the standard T-slot that runs its full length that enables easily attaching auxiliary fences when needed (I have used this on occasion for a quick and dirty shopmade box joint jig in the past). The fence is about 18" long but extends to around 31" at full extension. It includes a calibrated scale that you may adjust based upon the offset between your fence and the blade such that you can make all length measurements directly against this scale if you wish, whether collapsed or fully extended. The depth stop has a double flip arm stop and while the flip arms are a fixed distance from one another you can nonetheless dial in most any offset you want between them by inserting the included stop rods that allow you to customize the stop point associated with each flip stop...or just use the flip stop itself as a stop (which is what one does most of the time if you only need one stop). The flip stop rides along a pair of mating toothed racks that automatically index it to 1/32" increments which provides for easy repeatability but also includes a micro adjust if you wish to aim for something other than the natural 1/32" steps. The fence does not include a nonslip surface, however I have never found such to be a limitation as it is so easy to engage the depth stops that it is easy to avoid any chance of your workpiece ever slipping in practice. The flip arm depth stops even mesh into the fence, so even when registering a sharply pointed piece, like a triangle, against the depth stop the point will positively register against the depth stop without slipping past or under it.

The Incra miter gauges are similarly robust and everything is built quite solidly and will hold up to the expected knocks one may encounter in a shop environment. About the worst one might do is put a small gouge in the corner of the aluminum fence if it is dropped from some height onto concrete (that said, the extrusions are hardened aluminum so they are pretty tough in their own right).

I think it is very fair to say that both systems are very well thought out and are a significant upgrade for any tablesaw, bandsaw, or router table miter gauge and both are going to hold up well and deliver years of service while living up to their manufacturer's promises (as well as the buyer's expectations). I would seriously encourage anyone not entirely happy or satisfied with their factory miter gauge to seriously consider upgrading to one of these quality aftermarket precision miter gauges (any of the top choices are worthwhile) as they represent a considerable upgrade over the typical factory miter gauge that ships with most tablesaws even when that factory miter gauge is fully tuned and tweaked to better than OEM specs -- but especially opt for such if you are a stickler for any degree of precision and/or repeatability in your work.

I hope this info and the info on several other models discussed in this thread might give some readers ideas for Christmas as they are all worthwhile upgrades! Our families are often desperate for ideas for Christmas gifts (at least mine are as I often buy my gifts for them as they always struggle as to what to buy for me).

 

[Stuart Kent]

I strongly recommend the Osborne EB-3, available from Klingspor's Woodworking Shop for $139.

We use and sell these through the North Carolina Furniture School, if you are interested in seeing them come by and check it out - they are great!

 

[zdorsch]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I may upgrade later, but for now I purchased an appropriate to my era saw miter gauge.

I plan to refurbish it.

 

[WoodRose]

Ditto on the Osborne

I strongly recommend the Osborne EB-3, available from Klingspor's Woodworking Shop for $139.

 

[dancam]

+1 for the Osborne

Ditto on the Osborne

 

[Berta]

Incra