Wife is bugging me.

[Kevin Swindle]

It's that time of the year again and my wife is bugging me to put my Christmas list together. I was thinking about a miter gauge like the Osborne or Incra but am not sure if I would see any benefit in using one. Currently for miters I use my compound miter saw and for straight cut offs I use my cut off sled on the table saw. What do you guys think about these miter gauges? Do they offer any advantages that I just can't live without?

[Keith Christopher]

Kevin,

The osborne gauge is AMAZING. I love this thing. in a post here I told how I cut straight up 90deg on a 3x3 maple post, this was the first cuts I EVER made with this thing. I tune my TS pretty regularly and once I set this badboy up, I swear it's as rock solid as any sled. But just my 2c.


Keith

[Jim Becker]

I have an aftermarket miter gauge...the Incra 1000...and I like it. But honestly, most of the time, the one that came with the saw is what I pullout. It's set to dead 90º and has a tall, disposable MDF fence on it. Since 90% of the time I'm cutting 90º to the blade, this works for me. The other 10% of the time, I'm cutting at 45º for things like frame miters and I use a sled for that. (shop-built out of scraps) I pretty much keep the longer fence on the Incra and only pull it down when I need that extra support or need to cut at an alternative angle on the TS. And now that I have a decent blade on the CMS, I've actually been using it more often for final cuts, rather than just for rough cutting of longer material.

That all said, I really liked the BenchDog miter guage when it was available, although it was expensive. Rumor has it it may be back on the market, but I haven't bothered to look. The Osbourne is very nice and I'd consider it if I were going to look for a new/replacement unit, especially since the current version gets good comments from users.

Bottom line...do you need one or can you do what you need to do with what you have?

[Chris Padilla]

I have an Incra 5000 sled. The accuracey is awesome--I love it. However, I do find that I cut at 90 most of the time and for 45s, I built a dedicated sled for that. For the ocassion of needing other angles, they are indespensible but overall, you could probably survive without one and build some dedicated shop ones.

[Greg Griswold]

I have a Dubby sled and like it so far.

Greg

[Ted Shrader]

Kevin -

I use a cutoff sled most of the time. For other angles I use the CMS.

But that is me. What do you generally build? Does it require various angles and frequent changes? If so, a specialized miter guage would be the ticket. If not, maybe you should direct her elsewhere to get something you would use more frequently.

All I have read about the Osborne has been positive. It appears to be a well built, accurate piece of equipment. The question is - How much would you use it? I apply this criteria to all new tool purchases. Sometimes they don't meet the "use it frequently" test but a purchased anyway as long as the meet the "good quality" test.

Regards,
Ted

[Matt Allan]

If you do a lot of angles and change them a lot, you might want to take a look at the Smartmiter. I have see a few members here have it and love it. Looks really nice if you do change angles a lot, if you don't it might be overkill. A bit pricey for a miter gauge but from what I have heard everyone says it is well worth it. I wouldn't mind having one soon myself.

[Jon Olson]

The Osbourne is all that "The Norm" uses now. They now sell it on his website and i saw him cutting with on one of the shows.

Thats the one I'm considering for my christmas list.

Jon

[John Miliunas]

I can reafirm what Matt just indicated. The Jointech Smartmiter is simply awesome! I think it's the most unique miter out there. Repeatability is fantastic and, if you opt for the hold-down clamp, I believe it's one of the most safest out there, as well. I have an Incra 2000, as well as the new Incra V27. I pull the V27 out for my BS and for quick cuts on the TS, but when it comes to dead accurate cuts, the Smartmiter is the way to go! Fact is, I'm getting real close to just selling the 2000, as I don't really use it anymore! Nice miter, but just not as high a marks as I give to the Jointech.

[Gredo Goldenstein]

Let me chime in on the SmartMiter band wagon. Last April I bought an Incra miter gauge at the Woodworking Show. The next day I took it back and bought Jointech's SmartMiter. I have been very happy with it. It sees a lot of use, mostly at 90 degrees and the repeatability is wonderful. When making doors, drawers, etc..every piece is exactly the same length.

[JayStPeter]

I'll agree with John. I have a SmartMiter and an Incra 1000. I like them both, but really only use the Smartmiter when I have a Dado blade installed, or am doing something quick and dirty (it's just easier to pull out). Now that I have a decent miter saw setup, I may start using that again for the quick and dirty stuff.

Jay

[Norman Hitt]

Kevin,

The osborne gauge is AMAZING. I love this thing. I tune my TS pretty regularly and once I set this badboy up, I swear it's as rock solid as any sled. But just my 2c.

----0----

Keith, when did you purchase yours? The EB-3 was on my short list, but got put on hold after they sold the rights and moved the mfrg, and there were so many bad reports of inaccurate angles, slop in the parts, and cust Svc was reported to be totally unresponsive. When they did respond the replacements weren't any better. I figured that they would probably get the mfr process gremlins out eventually so I decided to wait.

My QUESTION to Everyone is; Did you purchase your EB-3 since they had all the problems and are they now fixed, or did your purchase come before all the problems developed?

I want to put it back on my short list, but only if the manufacturing problems have been overcome and corrected.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Since nobody else chimed in about this one, I will. I have the JDS Accu-miter. Damn nice! Tight, heavy (I like the heavy aspect, cause it seems to be more solid), and the DP Track style fence offers options. Great micro adjustable flip stop came with it to. Angles are accurate and repeatable, due to the shot pin system on the head.

I got it on sale from Tool Crib, so, it worked out fine for me. I say get the the best one that's on sale at the time.

Maurice