Woodpecker has announced a new product called Exact-90 Miter Guage. Its claims to fame include dead square 90 degree cuts, 45" fence range, and 24" stock width handling on a 10" table saw.
The latter two claims are the most attractive - if they actually work. My existing incra miter guage works just fine for repeatability and accuracy. It seems to me that a good large crosscut sled would be the best answer for handling greater capacity, but the Woodpecker product is interesting. It is not available until late December 2021, so we have plenty of time to debate the topic.
I sent a note to Woodpecker, asking for photographs or videos that demonstrate the capabilities. It is odd that they made these claims but did not document them.
I'll be ordering mine soon! And 1 day after I receive mine they will come out with the multi angle miter gauge... ;~)
Strangely, when I bought my Incra it was to replace the Kreg. The Kreg was purchased simply to give me a dead on 90 degree cut. I have 2 Dubby sleds for angles.
The Kreg indexing pin seized in the aluminum with a temperature change and it did not fare well with me insisting that the brass pin come out.
Soooooo the only fault with the Woodpeckers 90 miter gauge is that when the fence is extended out past the front of the saw the fence can tilt. This is a problem with all miter gauges that are not sleds.
But I am thinking that I can mount an adjustable foot that will set on top of the work to keep the fence from rotating when not supported by the table.
I asked Woodpeckers some questions about the Exact 90 miter gauge a few days ago and 5 more today.
Initially I asked if the micro adjust on the flip stop had detents to hold a tweaked setting. It does not. I thought that might be an issue until I realized that this miter gauge does not index like the Incra miter gauge. While the 1/32" indexing blocks offer repeatability, that is true only if you don't have to adjust for increments less than 1/32". While that seems a bit anal, I very often have to get close and adjust if I am fitting a piece into place. So I have no issue with the adjustable flip stop not having detents.
I also asked what if the miter bar is steel or aluminum. It is steel. Kreg uses aluminum, or used to use aluminum and I was not impressed.
I am waiting for the answers to the other 5 questions and will report those when I get them..
More questions about the Exact 90 Miter Gauge. I'm intrigued, but. I currently use an Incra miter gauge with a telescoping fence that is about 1" short of the capacity of the Exact 90. I never worry about locking it to any angle, it is dead-on accurate. I don't want to add another miter gauge that might collect dust. I have a few more questions before I place my order. 1. The measurements on the main fence appear to be etched into the surface. However, the rule on the telescoping extension appears to be added on. Are the extension rule markings printed or etched? I can appreciate fixed rule markings that cannot accidentally slide out of place as the ones on the Incra sometimes do. But I do not want the markings to wear off either. 2.I also use a sacrificial fence on my Incra strictly to help prevent tear-out on the backside of the cut. However, your sacrificial fence, as well as the fence itself, have a groove near the bottom that allow for the the protrusion on the back of the flip stop to go into. I know what that protrusion is for. My concern is if the groove on the fence might not support the back side of the cut and possibly allow tear out in that spot. I know that this is being anal but the design of your miter gauge borders on being anal. ;~) 3. My current miter gauge also has the washer/plate that fits in the "T" slot of the miter slot on the table saw. I normally set the gauge onto the table saw top past the back edge and pull the washer back into the miter slot. Basically, I do not slide the miter gauge into the slot from the front of the table saw. With your miter gauge bar and its "leaf spring" style adjusters will I have to change how I place the miter gauge into the slot? Will the leaf springs prevent me from dropping the bar into the slot vs. sliding it into the slot from the front or back edge of the table top? 4. Warranty?
Return policy should I not find the miter gauge not up to my expectations?
Here are the answers.
Hello Leon Question1: All of the scale markings in the fence and extension are Laser etched. Question2: The groove is very shallow and should not cause a tearout. Question3: The Fence comes with 2 T Washers that can be removed toward the leading end of the miter bar. You could still use your technique if desired with the T Washers installed. Without those washers, you can drop the bar into your miter slot. The leaf springs will compress.
4 and 5
The tool has a life time warranty.
Returns for a full refund are honored within 30 days of purchase. Merchandise must be in original packaging as well as any additional packaging necessary to protect from shipping damage. All shipping costs are the responsibility of customer. No returns on videos, books or cutting tools. Returns after 30 days but less than 90 days will incur a
I just received the new "Centerline Drill Guide". It's very expensive but also extremely well thought out. Good drill guides aren't cheap and this is certainly no exception.
I think my favorite red tool are the stainless Paolini pocket rules. I use the 6" rule constantly.
Yes that drill guide looked impressive. I thought they were still in production and had not been shipped yet.
Anyway, I have the Woodpeckers story sticks. The one that goes to 96" and a couple of the shorter ones too. And the set of 4 woodworkers edge rules with stops. And I have a set of Bridge City steel rules.
I pretty much only use a tape measure for quick double checking layouts and rough measuring spaces.
And now I have ordered the Exact 90 miter gauge.
The exact 90 and its micro adjustable stop works similar but differently than the Incra. The micro adjust on the stop will be much easier to use than the one on the Incra flip stop. Incra needs to update and improve how their flip stop is micro adjusted because re calibration is necessary if you micro adjust that stop. No so with the Exact 90. Oh, and no tools to make normal adjustments on the Exact 90.
I pre-ordered it last February(?). It came last week.
I have the 96" story stick, too, but haven't used it much. The 96" story stick comes apart so didn't think a shorter one was necessary. I have one of the longer Woodpecker rules but I don't like it much. Their aluminum rules are too thick to be really useful. The Paolini rules have some really nice features. If you haven't check out their Deep Dive. Again, the red ones are next to useless. The stainless are great.
Their steel straight edge is perfect for aligning saw extensions and such, were accuracy is critical. I don't think they sell it anymore, only an aluminum rule.
I still don't see its purpose and it's expensive as hell.
I'll look at it again but thought it expensive for what it is. I already have three miter gauges (one being crappy one on the Unisaur).
I had the short ones before they introduced the 96" model. I talked to them years ago at a WW show and suggested being able to link them together. They said that the longer one was on the drawing board.
I
The WW edge rules fit on the edge of a board, top edge and edge. The measurement markings are tapered down close to the wood.
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A little pricey but not out of line with the Harvey and or the Incra set up like mine.
So I kind'a picked it apart and asked several questions. A concern was if it could simply dropped into the miter slow with the leaf spring tensioners. It can be according to them. I seldom cut angles but will hang on to my Incra in case I do.
And like most all if not all of their tools, it has a life time warranty. My Incra has rusted pretty badly where my sweaty hands have touched the steel miter section. It is way out of warranty.
I also inquired if it can be returned for a refund. It can, you pay shipping with in 30 days. They charge you 15% restock 30~90 days. After that it is yours. So shipping both ways is pretty much your only expense should you not like it.
What I really like about it is the micro adjust on the flip stop, I am not limited to the Incra's 1/32" resolution. While the Incra can be micro adjusted in a number of ways, on the Exact 90 you simply spin a nut. And with the Incra, you have to probably recalibrate after the fact. And that is mostly because the flip stop carriage has no micro adjust and the flip stop sorta does on the carriage.
If Incra would use the same adjustment procedure on their miter gauge flip stop as they do with their TS fence it would be great. But they don't.
On 6/28/2021 2:09 PM, snipped-for-privacy@notreal.com wrote: Snip
Hit send instead of scolling down.
;~)
To replace the adjustable miter section is pricey, and the new one will rust again.
Technically I don't need anything in my shop....
No larger than my Incra. I have the 1000 HD and and almost replaced the short 18-31" fence with the 27-49" fence. And the fence is that long but you cannot set the stop to 49", closer to 43". The Exact 90 says the flip stop will go out to 45".
Finally the miter bar is 25.5" long, so wider panels will be easier to cross cut. Although a track saw or sled, which I also have, will do the same. I very often get into complicated time sensitive jobs. Being able to do something on two or more machines with out having to change a set up is of interest to me. More than anything, the micro adjust on the flip stop catches my eye. I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten close with the Incra stop and manually pushed the work less than
1/32" to get the perfect fit, and that is hard to repeat over and over.
FWIW when I bought the Kreg it was basically only to cut accurate at 90 degree. The fact that it would adjust to other angles was of no interest to me. I had Dubby sleds for that. Then one day the Kreg sat with the morning sun bearing down on it and the brass indexing pin seized in the aluminum. Not realizing what was really going on the pair of pliers did irrepairable damage. ;~( So I got the steel Incra.
Mine isn't rusted. I try to keep the humidity in my shop a lot lower than I once did (garage in Alabama). I'm trying to keep it to ~50% RH but 55% seems to be the realistic limit, at least so far this summer. Maybe when I turn on the AC it'll drop some more. A lot of electricity (it's not that much) is cheaper than a lot of rusted cast iron.
I think they're safe. I wonder how many people return *anything* if they have to pay the return shipping. I've returned very little even when I didn't have to pay shipping.
But there's always some other money sponge. Priorities. $269 seems excessive.
It looked larger. I have a 1000HD, also, but the shorter fence. My JessEm will go to 36"ish. I haven't seen a need for more. Larger panels would be done on the track saw anyway. I don't like moving large sheets around the table saw. I'd much rather bring the saw to the wood.
I noticed that long bar. I don't think I could fit it in the storage cabinet. My miter gauges are hard enough to store. ;-)
I was looking at the Jeesem too, isn't their current on a new design? I do not know. Anyway it's fence is way to short for my use, IIRC 36 or so inches. I looked at the new Harvey too. A decent miter gauge that is actually standard on one of their TS's. But oddly the rule/scale, on the fence, has not lengths marked. And I don't think the fence is very long either.
Redundancy is my friend!
Don't you have like 45,00,000,00000,0 square feet of shop space? What will you replace it with? If I had not bought the Kapex, I would have gotten the Bosch. I think the big thing for me was the superior dust collection on the Kapex. I still use it on site at times.
It is of the utmost importance that we get our vast amount of knowledge out there ASAP. :~)
Well being just east of Houston 50% would feel boned dry. Our contentiously conditioned home is normally at 60%. The garage is currently at 99%, but it has been raining a lot this Summer. My rust is from my sweat. Nothing else really has rust.
Nor I but it is sight unseen. Nice to have that assurance. I don't jerk knee buy anything, normally. I did return a Rikon BS 15 or so years ago. Again I asked the Woodcraft if I could return it since I could not do the touchy feely thing. Then promptly got the Laguna.
Not cheap but most any decent miter gauge these days is in that range. And after July 5, IIRC it goes up $30.
I have given it that thought, but I can store it where I store my Incra, a shop built holster that resides on the side of one of my cabinets. Then I have to find a new home for the Incra.. ;~)
Ultimately if you, or I for that matter, are happy with what you have there would be no reason to get this miter gauge. But for me it does address a short coming of the Incra.
The new JessEm is completely different than the one I have. It looks like any other miter gauge now. The HD1000 would put the new one to shame.
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Its fence is "only" 36" long. That's enough for me.
Odd. Not having a rule makes no sense.
I thought with a Kapex you didn't need sex.
Not quite. Only 30,00,000,00000,0 square feet. The problem is that it's cut up into ~13'x15' rooms (depending on the size of the room above it). The slides sticking out the back mean the thing is 3'-4' from the wall. Add some left and right tables and it's a whole room. ...and another longer run of DC. It's DC is *really* crappy, too. I have to put a hood on it, which makes it even larger. I'm really disappointed in it for WW work. Great for 2-bys but not so great for accuracy.
I remember that. You can watch the sweat fall and rust form where it hits. Very aggravating.
I looked real hard at Rikons, several models at different places (seems everyone carries some of the line). Then I looked at the Laguna 14/SUV and forgot the Rikons. Then I ended up buying the 18bx. ;-)
Sure, it's no more expensive than a decent gauge but it's another.
That's a good idea. I have my rules hanging on magnetic hooks from one my cabinets.
You had me giving it another look. I see they're not available until December. The good thing is that if you buy directly from Woodpeckers, they don't charge your CC until it ships. Buy it from anyone else and they'll charge you immediately
I ordered a jointer a couple of weeks ago. It won't be in stock until mid-late October but they charged my CC immediately. I'm not happy about that and may cancel the order. I forfeit any CC protection by paying that far in advance. I've never done business with the company so am a little leery.
LOL and I think some of the iron and steel sees the drip coming and prerusts in anticipation. I might be exaggerating. ;~_
THAT was the mistake, cost mistake. Once you see the top end saws nothing else really measures up. BS's are a PIA anyway for blade changes but not having to tweak every time I use it is a big time saver.
LOL, How many routers do you have. ;) I'm not sure, off hand, I have, 5 I think.
Yeah, My steel rules are on a bar magnet along with my "good" screw drivers.
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