Wixey tricksy
I’ve hit on a way to dial in miter gauges for tricky angles, such as for a seven-sided frame. Cut a piece of 3/4″ MDF a few inches longer and wider than your miter gauge. Then cut a centered dado the width of your miter-gauge bar. Attach blocks to the back for stability when you stand the MDF on end and add such options as a hold-down toggle. A 2″ block at the end of the dado helps support the miter gauge.
Attach the miter gauge to the jig, and stand the jig on end on your tablesaw. Turn on your digital angle finder (in my case, a Wixey), and zero it out on your tablesaw with its edge against the base of the jig. Loosen the scale on the miter gauge and place the angle finder on the face of the miter gauge (with or without an extension). Tilt the miter gauge until the angle finder reads the correct angle and tighten the gauge (as in the photo). Recheck your angle to make sure nothing shifted when it was being tightened. Now you’re ready to make some test cuts in MDF strips to confirm your settings.
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17 Comments
17 Responses to “Wixey tricksy”
January 28, 2010 at 10:16 am, by Timothy Thompson
This is the best tip I have seen in months!
January 28, 2010 at 10:38 am, by charles creagh
GREAT IDEA!!!!!
January 28, 2010 at 10:43 am, by Kent
OK, I know what I’m making this morning!
January 28, 2010 at 10:45 am, by Joaquin Verdugo
mmm, really ingenious
January 28, 2010 at 10:53 am, by Dennis Blades
One of those why didn’t I think of that idea’s, brilliant.
January 28, 2010 at 11:08 am, by Mike
I’m thinking of another technique that would accomplish the same thing, without building the jig.
- zero the digital angle gauge on the saw top.
- set the miter gauge, face down, on the saw top, with the bar hanging down off the side, pointing to the floor.
- attach the digital angle gauge to the steel bar and adjust the angle of the miter gauge to the correct reading.
January 28, 2010 at 11:30 am, by Chris Ford
Great Idea no telling how many time I have had to re-cut one or more pieces because of an incorrect angle.
January 28, 2010 at 11:46 am, by Eric
Awesome idear. Very clever.
January 28, 2010 at 12:21 pm, by Mike DeCarlo
Love it! Keep it simple stupid… Thanks for the tip.
January 28, 2010 at 1:10 pm, by rance
Not to rain on your parade, but more to stand on the shoulders of your idea.
Take any flat board and hang it off the edge of the table facing you. Then hold your MG above your saw in the position you normally use it, then dip the tang down in front and rest it on the board. Then place your Wixie on the side of the tang. One less jig to try to keep up with.
January 28, 2010 at 1:49 pm, by Carl
I like this jig. With a little work, it could do double-duty as a MG “holster”.
January 28, 2010 at 4:12 pm, by Bob Wilson
That works, too. Just take care to avoid tilting the digital angle finder while holding it against the miter gauge bar and throwing off the reading.
January 28, 2010 at 4:21 pm, by Bob Wilson
Happy to help. Some shop time helps pass our Des Moines winter with its 11-degree “highs.” If it gets any colder, I may start burning some shop projects before I make mistakes on them instead of after.
February 1, 2010 at 9:09 am, by Robert
Great idea, as well as the others mentioned in the comments. Like others have said, how come I have not thought of these before?!
July 21, 2011 at 11:16 am, by john880
Bravo Bob,
Simple acurate, trustworthy, easy to assemble. Sounds like a sales pitch I have heard, but at least in this case TRUE. Thanks Bob.
July 21, 2011 at 5:03 pm, by Will Schreier
In this age of computers you can use any drafting program to draw a multi-sided figure with a few mouse clicks. Print it out,glue the picture to cardboard for stiffness, cut it out. and you have a template for the required angle. No need to waste MDF, no need for a Wixie or any other angle measuring device
September 6, 2011 at 10:57 pm, by Andrew Ramsbottom
You may also set your chatbox in your blog to get more effectiveness among the readers.