For precise angled cuts, you might not want to use the angle scales on your table or miter saw. Even if you have calibrated the scale recently, they are going to be less accurate than an external reference gauge or guide.
While there are several angle gauges available, including some modern digital devices, the new Blade Gauge 2.0 one-time tool from Woodpeckers looks like it will be one of the more accurate options available.
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Each blade gauge is laser-cut from 16-gauge stainless spring steel, with a satin finish and laser-engraved markings on both sides for easy visibility and identification.
To set the bevel angle on a saw, you pick the gauge with the desired angle, hold it perpendicular to the table, and adjust the blade to meet the gauge. Or to set the miter angle, you hold the gauge flat to the table with the edge against the fence and adjust the blade or miter gauge until the blade gauge completely touches the blade.
Besides the given angle, each blade gauge also has a right angle so you can return the blade to square again for 90° cuts.
Each set also includes a base that allows for hands-free use, so that you can adjust your tool’s blade with both hands. There’s a captive slot on the base that hooks over the rectangular cutout in each gauge, propping them up perfectly vertical, letting you concentrate on setting the blade angle without having to grow a third arm.
Blade Gauge Angles:
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- 45°
- 30°
- 22.5°
- 33.85°
- 31.6°
Woodpeckers is going to make the Blade Gauge 2.0 in two different sizes. One size is meant for 10″ blades and the other is meant for 12″ blades. Both sizes are 12″ long, but the 10″ size contacts the blade over 2-7/8″ inches and the 12″ size contacts the blade for a full 4″. The more blade contact you have, the more accurately you can gauge the angle.
Each Blade Gauge is laser-engraved with markings of all the angles, including the complimentary angles, on both sides. The base is milled from solid aluminum and anodized in classic Woodpeckers Red.
Each Blade Gauge 2.0 set includes five angle gauges: 45°, 30°, 22.5°, 33.85°, and 31.6°, and an aluminum base packaged in a custom case. The last two angles are for setting up your miter saw to cut crown molding miters.
The 10″ blade gauge set will run you $110 before shipping and the 12″ set will cost you $140. There’s also the option of buying the deluxe set for $200, which includes all 10 blade gauges (both 10″ and 12″) plus 1 aluminum base all packaged in a custom case.
The deadline to order these blade gauges is Monday, April 25th, 2016. Woodpeckers estimates that they’ll be ready to ship these out sometime in August of 2016.
Price: $110 for 10″ set, $140 for 12″ set, $200 for combination set
Blade Gauges should soon be available via Woodpeckers’ distribution network, with the same shipping ETA.
Here’s Woodpeckers’ promo video if you’re interested in seeing the Blade Gauges in action. The video also gives the squares a better sense of scale.
Hilton
Looks very cool and all but at that price I’ll be passing on this one.
NoDeuces
Am I missing the post on the last WP One time tool – the track saw edge?
I jumped through my b-hole to buy that, and the fact that it’s gone largely uncovered makes me feel like an even bigger chump for buying these expensive tools.
Benjamen
No, we didn’t cover the track saw edge, sorry.
It looked like a nice tool, but I just couldn’t personally get excited enough about it to write it up and Stuart didn’t ask me to write about it.
In my experience, IF (capital if) you have the use for them, Woodpeckers tools are worth the money. The problem is that you have to buy them without actually seeing them in person, so you are taking a risk that the tool won’t be as useful to you.
fred
I bit on the Track Saw Square – buying it through Carbide Processors with a few carbide scrapers (for gifting away – based on how well I like mine). I subsequently got an email from Woodpeckers that they have upgraded the design prior to production – based on comments that they received. Here’s what they said:
“DESIGN UPDATE! – Based on feedback from a number of woodworkers this past week, we decided to incorporate a few design changes. Namely, a slot has been added to accomodate (sic) Festool’s clamp and additional holes will be added so the Track Square can be mounted at a 45 as well as a 90 degree orientation.”
fred
BTW – Carbide processors is offering $15 off $165 or more through 4/7 – with coupon code “spring15”
John
Oh neat that they added the slot and good update. This could mean, I’m hoping, that you could use the Rapid Clamp along with it. A shame they didn’t update their site or any pictures of these changes at all:
http://www.woodpeck.com/tracksquare.html
Stuart
That’s my fault. I kept wanting to look into the track saw guide, but ran out of time.
Bret
As usual, another nice-looking and useful one time tool but it is just not worth the high price for probably most of us.
Jim Metzger
Put a different angle on each end of the gauge, reduce the number of gauges by half and the cost by a third or more and you may have something there. This really looks like a “make work” project for the designers.
I really have to question the need for two sets, it is pretty apparent when you have a blade properly snugged up to a t-bevel for example.
Thinman
That is exactly what occurred to me: put a different angle on each end of the gauge. Is this method that much better than a digital angle indicator for 30 or 50 or 60 dollars?
Adam
useful, but I think I’ll continue to make my very close to accurate cuts without this, even though I wouldn’t mind having it in the tool (accessory is maybe a better description) arsenal. Too much $$ for this. Their other 1-off tools seemed like the additional cost was warranted, but not so much here.
Brandon
How is this better than a digital angle gauge that can set any angle imaginable for much less money?
fred
Any gauge that has a moveable angle has the potential for being adjusted slightly off a fixed angle – or slipping during use. The traditional way to sneak up on perfect 45 degree miters was to first cut them on a table saw then trim them on a shooting board with a plane. The same can be done with hexagonal, octagonal etc. miters – but they can be a bit more fussy.
Alternatively – some folks cut both sides of the miter at once with a jig, cut them by hand using a picture framer’s vise or use a Lion Trimmer for the final cut:
http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G1690-Miter-Trimmer/dp/B006SJCEVA
Brandon
I’m not sure what you mean, but I was talking about something like this…
http://amzn.com/B001PTGBRQ
fred
Now I see what you meant – I was thinking mores about this type of device:
http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-828-Digital-Protractor/dp/B00563TLSI/
Mike
…and this whole time I was just making an “L” with one hand-as jig/template- and deploying a bit of the old one-handed Sawzall technique with the other arm. Explains why my crown molding installs always seemed to have too many fingers wedged in the joints. Huh. What’s next? Carbide router bits are NOT the best for every application? It’s a crazy world.
Mike
“better” is a vague term with a broad range of interpretation…with that in mind, for general consideration I will offer a few thoughts;
1) Woodpecker uses alloys with a smaller percentage of child labor in the formula versus Wixey.
2) Woodpecker tools contract mercenaries to shoot union organizers in the head less frequently than many larger conglomerates.
3) Woodpecker tools are fancy in the pantsy.
That being said…a little titanium would be nice. Aluminum is just so……..delicate.
Another way to look at it might be, ‘is an $1000 Mitutoyo micrometer better than the $10 Harbor Freight terrible knockoff?’ Definitely. Is it 100x better? Depends. Are you building a deck, or a Rolls-Royce turbine engine?
I will mention one more thing: I’ve heard horror stories about Wixey’s customer service. Most of their setup tools have nearly identical versions sold under the CMT brand, and often at a better price. CMT has better quality control and reputable customer service…which is especially important with digital measurement devices. Lemons, bugs, defective assembly etc are too common with these types of products, even from $$$ brands like Hilti, Bosch, Leica and so on.
John
Is there a reason the larger set couldn’t be used with 10″ blades? (Also, I do agree with the previous comment that including a 90-degree end on each piece is redundant. There are five angles plus the 90 = 6 total angles. So, this could be manufactured with three — instead of five — pieces and offered at a better price.)
Matt
I have yet to see a tool from Walletpeckers that was completely unique and a big improvement over everything else on the market, it’s mostly just tools with functionality I already have in 3 other tools I already own redone in high grade materials/machining and stuck into a fancy case. Don’t get me wrong, I drool over them and would love to own, but my head says no don’t need that. I’ll stick with less expensive brands like Starrett.
Jon
PRECISELY.
Jeff
Matt, to which blade angle measuring product from Starrett are you referring?
Jon
I do not understand the rationale behind these one time tool things. They arbitrarily decide that there is not a market to produce more, so they only offer it once.
Logic says that if they are well-designed tools then having them out there in the world, in use, and generating word-of-mouth, will increase the demand. The very fact that they pitch it as being a low-demand item makes me doubt its value for anyone. Then they charge a ton ostensibly because it doesn’t benefit from economy of scale that mass-produced regular tools do.
I have been interested in several of these, after I learned about them, months after they were available. But now I’m disinterested in the entire thing. Ultimately I’m confident that it’s a matter of scarcity-based marketing, and that just doesn’t interest me. There are plenty of great tools out there and anything else I can make. No need for this kind of silliness.
Chris
As I understand it, the one time tools are made during what would otherwise be down-time in the woodpeckers machine shop. They being one-time means that the tooling is only set-up one time as well.
Stuart
Exactly.
One Time Tools are more about a supply constraint, than demand.
One Time Tools that are popular enough become regular items. This has happened at least once, maybe more, with their 641 square, which came after several One Time Tools of evolving designs.
Brian Auerbach
I have a wixley digital gauge.I find it unlikely that this can produce a more accurate angle… plus the wixley works well for the drill press table and jointer fence. Maybe other stuff I havent figured out. Ive used it as a level once or twice even when it was more handy than my other level.
Plus its a whole lot smaller than this big case…
Feels a bit like a bread maker, something that will get used 2 or 3 times than waste space in the shop somewhere.
Just my 2 cents.
Jon
Great analogy.
I recently used my digital angle gauge to install a Rotary vehicle lift in my brother’s garage. We had magnetic 4′ levels, but ultimately ended up just using that because it was so much faster to check different faces. It was fantastically useful. Possibly the best $30 I’ve ever spent on a tool.
Jon
Oh, but incidentally the digital angle gauge doesn’t help much with compound miters. It is quite possible to have the correct reading on the gauge without the correct angle on the miter saw. That’s the one benefit I see to this tool. But it should be easy enough to make your own.
Adrian
I generally like their one time tools, just can never rationalize paying for them.
When I saw this tool though all I can think is they have run out of ideas. They have created a tool to solve a problem other tools solve better for cheaper.
MtnRanch
I own a few of their tools and Woodpecker quality is undeniable but they should really be called “One Use Tools”. Maybe the “One Time Tool” name refers to the “one time” you’ll use them.
Centuries of woodworkers have developed simple, functional, versatile, and inexpensive devices that will do the same thing as any Woodpecker tool. Unfortunately these old standbys lack the “bright shiny object” appeal of a Woodpecker tool.
Rock Hound
I agree for many of their tools. But… I have one of their DelVe squares and I use that thing constantly. I would also buy some of their dovetail markers if they decided to bring them back.
fred
We are lucky to live in a society where we are afforded a plethora of different choices of tools to purchase for most every common task. We can do a cost-benefit analysis and conclude that the likes of Festool, Mafell, Starrett, Woodpeckers etc. tools are not for us – and that our needs can be better met with less costly alternatives. I like to pick and choose – have a few Woodpecker’s items that I like to use – but can’t say that I could not do without them. The same can be said for many other tools in my shop or those I would not mind owning but can’t justify (like replacing my old Unisaw with a Hammer K3 Winner) based on even the most optimistic estimate of future use.
Re: What we should have learned for woodworkers over the centuries; I’ve observed that many craftsman still do make handmade – superb quality woodworking hand tools, jigs, measuring devices etc. Raw materials (unless you are using exotic woods or bronze alloys) are frequently inexpensive. The learning curve to make them, however, is often long and steep. The actual time needed to make and calibrate them may also not be insignificant. If you only consider the cost of the raw materials – then inexpensive accurately captures the cost. If you value the time and skill needed then you get closer to the true cost. With all these costs figured in – plus I suspect a decent profit tacked on – that’s why some handmade planes command prices way above what you might pay for a very good (straight out of the box) Lie Nielsen or Veritas