Digital Protractor vs Angle Guage and which brand

coloradotrout wrote:

> A year ago I nearly bought the "digital angle guage" (square box that
> shows relative angles), but now the protractor models seems to have
> more uses (horizontally on miter saw), and comparable accuracy.
>
> Any thoughts on the Lee Valley $25 model vs Peachtree or Woodline's
> model (Wixey based)?

A couple of years back I bought the MD SmartTool with 48" and 24" frames
and their Magnetic Bracket for about $100. One of the best buys I've
ever made.

When Lee Valley first offered the Digital Angle Gauge for $19.95 I
snapped one up. I liked it so well I bought two more (and gave one to my
BIL for his birthday) before stock ran out. It's been another of my best
buys.

They do very different jobs. A protractor won't (readily) get you to
level, and the level won't tell you much about the angle of your saw
blade (unless the saw table is perfectly leveled, which mine probably
won't ever be).

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

Greg M wrote:

> I don't own either, but can't you zero out an angle gauge so your saw
> doesn't have to be level? Set it on the saw table, zero, put in on the
> saw blade and now you've got your blade angle? That seems like a obvious
> feature it should have.

<Morris pretending to be a geometer>

My angle gauge zeros to true level so, at least in theory, I could find
the angle of the table and work from there - provided that there is no
rotation of the gauge about a vertical axis.

<giving up on the pretense of being a geometer>

It's a whole lot less hassle to lay an aluminum plate flush against the
blade and measure the angle between the table and the plate.

What really prompted me to spend the $19.95 was the need to cut both
ends of 2.25 inch tubing at /exactly/ 67.5 degree angles (to make a
90-degree turn) on a horizontal band saw, which would have been a
horrible set up operation with the level alone (and wasn't all that easy
with the protractor gizmo!) Actually I ended up using both tools for
that operation - one for the angle of the cut, and the other to make
certain everything stayed in one plane. :-p

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

Morris Dovey wrote:

> What really prompted me to spend the $19.95 was the need to cut both
> ends of 2.25 inch tubing at /exactly/ 67.5 degree angles (to make a
> 90-degree turn) on a horizontal band saw, which would have been a
> horrible set up operation with the level alone (and wasn't all that easy
> with the protractor gizmo!) Actually I ended up using both tools for
> that operation - one for the angle of the cut, and the other to make
> certain everything stayed in one plane. :-p

After I hit "send", it occurred to me that it might not be obvious how
one gets a 90-degree bend out of 67.5-degree cuts. If that seems
strange, see the bottom of the bottom drawing at

http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/Stirling/Fluidyne.html

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

coloradotrout wrote:
> Yeah, I think they all have a zero-out function, in essence to find
> relative measurements. And afterall, everything is relative. I would
> generally not be looking for either one to be indicating a earth
> level. Moreso, I'd be after blade to some fixed object. It just
> seems the protractor has a larger set of uses. The one negative to
> the Lee Valley one is it does not have a magnet on the base, but for
> $25 less I might be able to live without it.

Spend for the tool that's right for what you want to do. A year from now
that $25 probably won't make any difference, but the inconvenience would
still irritate every time you used the tool.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

On Feb 17, 5:29=A0pm, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "coloradotrout" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:cd5f6619-7754-4037-9948-8a342700e2ba@m15g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Would this:
>
> >http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=3D148564&FamilyID=3D2051=
6
>
> > or this
>
> >http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=3D2&p=3D58801&cat=3D1,43513
>
> > or this:
>
> >http://www.ptreeusa.com/layout_products.htm#1548
>
> > be more useful than this:
>
> >http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=3D147281&FamilyID=3D5894
>
> > or this:
>
> >http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3D95998
>
> > A year ago I nearly bought the "digital angle guage" (square box that
> > shows relative angles), but now the protractor models seems to have
> > more uses (horizontally on miter saw), and comparable accuracy.
>
> > Any thoughts on the Lee Valley $25 model vs Peachtree or Woodline's
> > model (Wixey based)?
>
> I bought the LeeValley for $19.95 when it first came out and that was a
> bargain.
>
> It has one really really big design flaw that bites me all the time. =A0T=
he
> digital read out is often hidden when measuring certain acute angles. =A0=
You
> can't read through solid aluminum if the display does not happen to be in
> the display opening.
>
> I would probably go for the Wixey if I had it to do again and I would get
> the box gauge also. =A0I have both. =A0IMHO the magnetic box gauge is eas=
ier to
> use when setting up blade bevels on the TS or BS.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


Add these to the mix (Hartville Tool seems to have good pricing)

Digital Protractors
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/12978

Beall Tilt Box
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/12511

Wixey Digital Angle
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/12456

"coloradotrout" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:cd5f6619-7754-4037-9948-8a342700e2ba@m15g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
> Would this:
>
> http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=148564&FamilyID=20516
>
> or this
>
> http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=58801&cat=1,43513
>
> or this:
>
> http://www.ptreeusa.com/layout_products.htm#1548
>
> be more useful than this:
>
> http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=147281&FamilyID=5894
>
> or this:
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95998
>
>
> A year ago I nearly bought the "digital angle guage" (square box that
> shows relative angles), but now the protractor models seems to have
> more uses (horizontally on miter saw), and comparable accuracy.
>
> Any thoughts on the Lee Valley $25 model vs Peachtree or Woodline's
> model (Wixey based)?


I bought the LeeValley for $19.95 when it first came out and that was a
bargain.

It has one really really big design flaw that bites me all the time. The
digital read out is often hidden when measuring certain acute angles. You
can't read through solid aluminum if the display does not happen to be in
the display opening.

I would probably go for the Wixey if I had it to do again and I would get
the box gauge also. I have both. IMHO the magnetic box gauge is easier to
use when setting up blade bevels on the TS or BS.

Yeah, I think they all have a zero-out function, in essence to find
relative measurements. And afterall, everything is relative. I would
generally not be looking for either one to be indicating a earth
level. Moreso, I'd be after blade to some fixed object. It just
seems the protractor has a larger set of uses. The one negative to
the Lee Valley one is it does not have a magnet on the base, but for
$25 less I might be able to live without it.

Morris Dovey wrote:
> coloradotrout wrote:
>
>> A year ago I nearly bought the "digital angle guage" (square box that
>> shows relative angles), but now the protractor models seems to have
>> more uses (horizontally on miter saw), and comparable accuracy.
>>
>> Any thoughts on the Lee Valley $25 model vs Peachtree or Woodline's
>> model (Wixey based)?
>
> A couple of years back I bought the MD SmartTool with 48" and 24" frames
> and their Magnetic Bracket for about $100. One of the best buys I've
> ever made.
>
> When Lee Valley first offered the Digital Angle Gauge for $19.95 I
> snapped one up. I liked it so well I bought two more (and gave one to my
> BIL for his birthday) before stock ran out. It's been another of my best
> buys.
>
> They do very different jobs. A protractor won't (readily) get you to
> level, and the level won't tell you much about the angle of your saw
> blade (unless the saw table is perfectly leveled, which mine probably
> won't ever be).
>

I don't own either, but can't you zero out an angle gauge so your saw
doesn't have to be level? Set it on the saw table, zero, put in on the
saw blade and now you've got your blade angle? That seems like a obvious
feature it should have.

Greg M

coloradotrout wrote:
>
> A year ago I nearly bought the "digital angle guage" (square box that
> shows relative angles), but now the protractor models seems to have
> more uses (horizontally on miter saw), and comparable accuracy.
>
> Any thoughts on the Lee Valley $25 model vs Peachtree or Woodline's
> model (Wixey based)?


I have to say that I have a Wixey, and I use it on occasion. We've
found an interesting use for the "box" at the bicycle shop. We use it
to level high-end bicycles on the "fit stand" to be fitted to the rider.

When it really counts, like when the miters have to wrap around and
close perfectly, I prefer my plain ol' bevel guage and "Bevel Boss" plate.

I don't think I'd buy either device again.