Woodworking: Jigs and gauges

Hello,

I am looking forward to this new Miter Saw that has been talked about and apparently voted on.

Related to this, I would like to know if we already have adjustable jigs and angle gauges in the woodworking area that I wasn’t aware of. I went rummaging around in the big black tool chest and found neither.

If we don’t have any of these, I’ve seen YouTube videos on how to build a jig, and I’m up for the challenge. But if one exists, there’s no point in me wasting time to construct one.

Here is a link for a digital angle gauge for reference:
http://www.rockler.com/wixey-digital-angle-gauge-with-backlight?sid=V9146?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh4Km_cuz2gIVpjXTCh3tKQf9EAkYBiABEgLNPPD_BwE

Hi Kerensa:

This is to encourage your journey into the wonderful world of wood working. You are good to post your intent and to seek to discover existing solutions and inputs from the group.

At the same time, don’t get too hung-up to limit yourself to existing solutions. You learn through the progression of personal experience.

The “tool/machine” itself is only a start. It represents a basic capability; an untapped potential. In traditional manufacturing, the application-specific fixtures, jigs, and tooling represent the other half of the time, effort, and expense to make a part. Many commercial jigs and angle gages are an outgrowth from one person’s task-specific setup to make a particular cut. You can accomplish the same goal with a few scraps of wood and some creative brain power. That is the fun part. YouTube is a good way to find inspiration.

If you don’t find an existing solution, go for it and roll your own.

Be safe and think things through to anticipate the outcome at each step and enjoy the satisfaction of success. There are a few folks around that can share their experiences and provide advice. That is what the Hive is all about.

JimD

Your link isn’t working for me, so I’m not 100% sure what you are trying to find.

What specific cuts do you have in mind? I have found that home-brew fixtures and sleds tend to ultimately be better to use than most commercial ones.

Kerensa,
Welcome to wood.
Before commenting on angle measures, please indulge me on stating the unstated assumption for all shop work. That is…
All measures are inaccurate to some degree. The corollary is; Nothing is straight, or cut at right angles. Saw cuts and everything else is inaccurate to some degree.
The fundamental question on any measure and with any tool is. What is good enough for your purpose? The answer isn’t always obvious.
From there the discussion dives down the rabbit hole into tool capability tests, measuring variances, then eliminating causes.

So without knowing your objective, it’s hard to say, what the right tool(s) might be.

Here are some first guesses. There are free apps for smartphones that do angle measurements. They do good enough, unless you are planning a moonshot. The biggest issue is the outer case on the phone, which you probably need to remove for the measurement. I’ve mine on my old android phone to check bubble levels. Try one of the free ones before buying the one from rockler. Amazon has other choices.

Angle measures in the wood shop are often repetitive, the guage in the following link without digital readout has been useful in the past.
General-Tools-828-Digital-Protractor

You can also use the precision square in the top drawer of the lathe tool box for a settable mechanical protractor. It does eyeball accuracy on degrees of angle.

Best Regards,

Dave