Good Deal on Digital Angle Gage

I've had one for several years. It does a good job as far as I can tell. I only install the battery when I am using it, then when done remove it. Before I started doing that, the battery would be dead when I wanted it. Wixey has another on that is a little fancier, Beall also has a good one.
 
I have used the Wixey and the old and new versions of the Beall. All work well. The Beall gives you one more decimal position which could be considered splitting hairs. My poor Wixey didn't survive the last "test drop" but, I have no complaints on any of the boxes. I only change batteries about twice a year. The Wixey takes a Lithium CR2032 and I found that to get one that lasts I had to start buying them as needed and from the pharmacy medical racks. Even though the Duracells and so forth say their good till 2015, this did not prove to be the case. I can say that discount batteries don't last long enough in these things to make it worth even putting them in ;-) This is another plus for the Beall as it uses a standard 9volt which seems to last just fine.
 
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I have the Beall (the earlier version, I'd guess) and it has always worked great, but for the types of projects I typically do, I found I really don't have a lot of need for it. My tablesaw is set at 90º about 99% of the time, and the other 1% of the time it's at 45º. In both cases, I prefer to just use the plastic drafting triangles I've used for years. They are just as fast, and at least as accurate as the digital gauge. But if I was doing more stuff with odd angles, the digital gauge would be used a lot. :thumb:
 
I got one of the lookalikes from Rockler a couple of years ago...piece of junk...magnets are so weak they won't hold to a TS blade...battery is dead when I want to use it.
 
Was thinking about getting one of these (Christmas Wish List) & ran across this sale. Looks to be a pretty handy tool.Thought some of you might be interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Wixey-WR300-D...384435040&sr=8-1&keywords=Digital+Angle+Gauge

Handy item. I have one and it works fine. But precautions must be taken with it's use. It measures the angle of the blade (or whatever) but does not take into consideration the position of the saw table. Meaning you can still have whacko angles if you trust the gauge on blade only. The table must be dead level also. For bandsaws the table is adjustable. But very difficult for tablesaws that can be near impossible. To get a true square cut on a ts I still use a steel square. And, I have battery life problems also.
 
Handy item. I have one and it works fine. But precautions must be taken with it's use. It measures the angle of the blade (or whatever) but does not take into consideration the position of the saw table. Meaning you can still have whacko angles if you trust the gauge on blade only. The table must be dead level also. For bandsaws the table is adjustable. But very difficult for tablesaws that can be near impossible. To get a true square cut on a ts I still use a steel square. And, I have battery life problems also.

Frank, a valid concern, but it's my understanding that the device can be "zeroed" out first, before measuring the blade angle.
 
Handy item. I have one and it works fine. But precautions must be taken with it's use. It measures the angle of the blade (or whatever) but does not take into consideration the position of the saw table. Meaning you can still have whacko angles if you trust the gauge on blade only. The table must be dead level also. For bandsaws the table is adjustable. But very difficult for tablesaws that can be near impossible. To get a true square cut on a ts I still use a steel square. And, I have battery life problems also.

Frank: First you put the angle gauge on the table saw's table, and 'zero' it. Then, you put it on the blade, and your angle readings will be correct. That's what the 'zero calibration' is for.

For the bandsaw, you zero the gauge against the blade, then use it to set the table's angle.

BTW, Wixey's newest angle gauge has a rotatable screen, and also uses a 'standard' battery, with an auto shut-off. All are great improvements over the original. No interest, just sayin'...
 
I don't know. My Wixey only measures 2"x2"x1 1/4". I don't know what Amazon is referring to. IF you go the the Wixey site, the newer model is "Size: 2.2” x 2.3” x 1.3”". Amazon must be measuring the box it comes it. The only real advantage I see to the new newer model is it uses 2 AA batteries, which I usually have on hand. It has the sloped readout which would be a little nicer, but I have had no difficulty reading the one I have.

And, yes you, I put mine on the saw table, "zero" it and them move it to the blade.
 
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Paul I have the digital height Gage and and I have been using it for about two years and I like it for setting the bit height on the router table as well as distance from the fence, It works well, however the battery that came with it didn't last long but the replacement that I put in has lasted for almost a year now.I got it from Rockler when they were running a special,I think I paid $14.99 for it. It's not a necessity, but for the price I thought i would try it and I have used it more than I thought I would.
 
Al, while you are buying that gauge, why not buy this one also and give a report on it?
:D
http://www.amazon.com/Wixey-WR25-Digital-Height-Gauge/dp/B006WMRVS4/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

I'm sure you need it also. I'm thinking about adding one to my Christmas list, but I have no idea how good they are.

Paul I also bought a digital height gage from Rockler that was on sale to set the depth of cut on my table saw, router, & other applications. I looked at the gage you referenced at a local Rockler store, but couldn't get myself to buy it even when it was on sale. I felt the digital height gage would serve me better
 
Those gauges must have a memory or something in them that slowly drains the battery, that is why I started removing my battery when not in use. I know the Wixey gauge I put on my planer does, it even said so in the instructions if I remember correctly. It doesn't matter on that gauge, I was never able to figure out how to use it anyway! I bought it on a special sale so it wasn't much of a loss, except to install it I had to remove the gauge that came with the planer. Course it was never very accurate either. I use my calipers now, which has been working fine for me.
 
It's fairly easy to set a caliper to the depth desired & then use the stem to set a combo square. Any closer than that & you're picking fly **** out of pepper & letting the elephants go by! Sometimes I wonder if we are getting too accustomed to easier toys. Gotta admit though that I'm as guilty as anyone. Oh well!
 
...In my case, my ts is on rollers that are bent and rickety, any movement changes the level of the whole unit. Blade must be square with table.

The electronic angle gauges allow you to "zero" the gauge to a reference surface (like the saw table). That way, it ensures the blade is 90º to the table, regardless of how level the table itself is.
 
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