Help me spend some Christmas money

[jttheclockman]

Got some Christmas money to spend-- Help Me

I was thinking of buying this for a few years now and I think I am going to take the plunge. I am looking at an accurate miter guage and keep hearing good things about the Incra line in particular the #5000. I would like to hear comments about this or if there are better options and maybe a link or photo of some sort. 

I have a 10" Delta contractors saw that is about 30 years old. It is a good saw and serves me well. Would a Incra miter guage be something that can be used on this saw. Does it have to be zeroed in somehow to my saw and is it easy to do. Thanks in advance for the replys.

[DAB]

i have 2 Incra 1000SEs.  one for each side of my blade.

[John Morris]

5 minutes ago, DAB said:

i have 2 Incra 1000SEs.  one for each side of my blade.

Sounds like a cool set up Dab. I wonder if you could tell JT how the set up is, calibration to the saw, use, quality, etc. I'd like to know too! Have always been interested in those.

[HARO50]

4 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Sounds like a cool set up Dab. I wonder if you could tell JT how the set up is, calibration to the saw, use, quality, etc. I'd like to know too! Have always been interested in those.

Same here! Waiting with bated breath.

John

[DAB]

i'll grab some pics later when i wander down to the shop.  squaring them up to the blade isn't that hard.  you do have a good square, don't you?  and you do have your TS properly tuned up and the rip fence set up correctly?

 

give me a bit.  i'll set them up on the TS and grab a pic.

 

i have two so i can square up the ragged end with the Left one, then slide the stock over to the Right one, use a stop block on the fence, and make multiple cuts.  they also have internal stops that i use for cutting shorter pieces.  i rarely cut anything other than 90 degrees, but it will handle other common miter settings.

 

BRB...

[DAB]

some pics:

 

Incra sells all sorts of measuring tapes, so i got one that goes L-R, and another that goes R-L.  just remove the screws, flop things over, and you have one of each.  they normally come set up for the R side i believe.

 

of course you have a little cart for all your TS accessories, don't you?

 

i have several 1-2-3 blocks, and i use one for a stop block on the fence. also use these to set up the stop on the miter gauge itself as well as setting up the fence.

[DAB]

if you have any $$$ leftover, i'll PM you my address for my consulting fee.   I'm quite affordable.

[lew]

Not trying to change your mind or disparage any other posters- just another source

 

 

https://www.woodhaven.com/collections/miter-gauges-accessories

[John Morris]

DAB, great job man! Nice pics and very good suggestions, I appreciate that. JT's concern about calibrating to virtually any saw is a non concern, he should be good to go.

I've been a fan in INCRA from a distance, I have no need for it, but I have always admired their ingenuity. Every time they come out with a new feature or gadget, I love the glimmer of the extruded aluminum they use and the precise "INCRAments" of their designs.

 

[DAB]

in theory, you can adjust to 0.01 degree with the vernier, but i've never had a need to use that.  almost always 90 degrees, sometimes 45 (be aware that you have to slide the fence over so you don't cut the end off, which will change the stop location relative to the blade.  i mostly use my miter saw for miter cuts other than 90 degrees.

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

I have the Incra 3000 miter gauge, and the miter mechanism is the same one they use on the 5000 sled. I've had mine for about 15 years and it's still dead nuts and on it's third saw. The first one was  Delta 34-444 contractors saw and it worked fine. It does need to be calibrated to 90º ( I suspect all the after market gauges do) and for the miter gauge the bars are kept snug in the track with expanding nylon washers. I can't recommend them enough. No doubt the sled will be very high quality as well. Should mention, the only thing I've had to replace was the scale. The original one faded over time and I had to buy a new one.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Fred W. Hargis, Jr

[Kelso Chris]

I have the INCRA 3000 and the KREG miter guage. Both were very easy to set up and calibrate.

[Allen Worsham]

I have both of the Incra 1000 miter gauge and the Incra 5000 sled. They have both served me well on my 16+ year old Jet Contractor saw.  Both the 1000 and 5000 are designed to fit the standard 3/4" miter track and use a synthetic long wear plastic washer that spreads out when you tighten or loosen the set screw with a small Allen Wrench. Everything on the Incra 5000 is adjustable and works smoothly. You do have to stay on top of it as over time those plastic washers will wear and need to be tightened. I have really enjoyed my 5000. Being that it is pretty big I put 2 hooks on the backside  of my shop built drawers and hang it there to keep it handy and out of the way.

[jttheclockman]

Thank you guys for the photos and explanation. Here is what I am using now. A vega fence. I have Dubby jigs. I use my miter gauge with an extension fence on it and use a digital angle finder for angles. I was thinking this would be quicker and easier to set up. 

 

what are the differences between the 1000,3000 and 5000??

 

I too love the way these things are machined. They look so true and accurate and with the aluminum looks like when you lock it in they will not move out of adjustment. 

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

Here's Incra comparison chart, may not be everything you're wanting to know but it's a start.

[John Moody]

I have an Osborne EB-3 and really like it. Easy to swap sides and has stops at the popular angles. 

 

Osborne

[Cliff]

http://uk.feldershop.com/en/Sawing/Accessories/Fence-accessories/EGL-1350.html

 

The beauty here is that you can make your own with

1)a rather inexpensive linear digital unit from 0ne Linear I-gauging  unit

2) a little trigonometry

3)a precision hinge you can make from cheap chinese ball bearings  in the fleabay and JB weld to seat 'em

4) some good no void birch plywood

Probably spend under $50 and get  the same results that the expend-O-licious model that the Felder  unit can offer.

 

Edited January 12, 2017 by Cliff

[p_toad]

but, but....that 1,218.00 £ is only $1481.75....at today's rate!   And you can probably get the VAT back! 

[kmealy]

DAB, that's just decadent. How do I set my  text color to green?

 

I rarely use a miter gauge.   I'm either using a rip fence or sliding crosscut table (or miter saw).    I guess I'm just a square and straight sort of guy.

[DAB]

this set up wasn't bought all at once, i've added to it and improved on it over the last 14 or so years.

 

is it the very best saw available?  probably not, but it's a good sound TS (about 400 pounds as it currently sits) that can benefit from upgrades over time.  just last fall i swapped out the factory out-feed table as it was too small, i had built this table for other reasons, trimmed the height so that it's about 1/2 shorter than the TS, works very nicely now.  the rip fence set up is the Incra 72" rail system, but i've cheated it all the way to the right, and by doing do, i can rip things up to 58" wide. very handy.  if you look closely, i have a plastic fence i can quickly attach to the metal fence for when i'm using the dado blade, so i don't chew up the metal fence.