o if they could get it to talk! On Sun, 23 Sep 2007, Boyce, Ray wrote:
> Wixey Website - > http://www.wixey.com > > Digital Angle Gauge > Wixey Digital Angle Gauge > Review > > The Wixey Digital Angle Gauge has been a welcome addition to the woodworkers > tool kit for machine setup and accuracy. These new angle measuring tools are > simple to use, and best of all, very cost effective. > Let's take a closer look... > > The Wixey Digital Angle Gauge > This small tool measures just 2" x 2" x 1.3" deep and is constructed with a > combination of hardened plastic (front and back faces) and aluminum casing > > It runs off a small 3.0v CR2032 button-type watch battery and the battery > life is promised as being up to 6 months. This is quite reasonable given the > size > of the battery. In fact, the digital angle gauge is always turned ON, i.e. it > is always measuring electronically. It is just the digital display that can > be turned off to further extend battery life. The tool features an Auto Shut > Off function in case you forget to turn it off. A handy feature for the > forgetful > among us. > > The LCD display is clear and easy to read. The gauge has a resolution of 0.1 > of a degree, so it will provide sufficient accuracy for just about all > woodworking > tasks. Certainly more accuracy than you can get by eye, or that provided by > most measuring angle tapes or angle scales on power tools, which can be > notoriously > inaccurate at times, or only marked at 1 degree increments, meaning you have > to guess if you want anything finer. Why would you want anything finer? Well, > if you get into trim work or cutting for multiple-sided forms, then less than > 1 degree accuracy can mean the difference between roughly acceptable and > perfection. I know which I would choose if both options are readily > available! Accuracy is specified at +/- 0.1 degrees as well. > > On the bottom of the unit are three small round magnets. These allow the > gauge to attach securely to any magnetic surface, which means most tool table > tops > (unless they are aluminum), all steel body cutting blades, and most tool > fences. If you have all cast iron tool surfaces, you will have no issues at > all > attaching the tool securely. But what if you have a basic table saw with an > aluminum table surface, like a job-site saw for example? Well, you can just > sit the gauge directly on top of the table, magnetic or not. You do need to > provide a reference surface to measure off for accurate angle readouts, so > the tool is generally set flat on the table first, zeroed, then set of the > saw blade body, and you will have no trouble attaching to the blade (since > most > are steel bodied), no matter what type of table surface you have. > > Below the LCD display are two buttons, and this alone signifies the > simplicity of this tool, and equally, how easily it is to use. The ON/OFF > button turns > the display on or off... simple. The ZERO button zeroes the tool to the > surface it is currently rested on, or magnetically attached to. As mentioned > above, > the general procedure for accurate angle measurement is to zero the tool on > the static reference surface, i.e. the surface that will not move (generally > the tool table) then place the Wixey gauge on the blade or secondary surface > that does move to set your angle, or correct a badly set angle! So how does > it actually work? > > Well the best description of the science behind it is given by the > manufacturer... > > How does it read? > > "All of our readouts use what's called capacitive measuring technology. This > is the exact same system that is used in almost all digital calipers that have > been on the market for at least 20 years. There is a circuit board on a > rotating counterweight that has a repeating pattern etched on it. There is a > second > fixed circuit board with a similar pattern and the rest of the electronics. > As the 2 patterns pass over each other there is an electronic signal generated > that is converted to rotation angle. The only moving part is the circuit > board with counterweight passing over the fixed circuit board. There is no > electrical > connection between the 2 circuits boards and they do not even touch each > other. There are no other mechanical moving parts." > > The good thing is that you don't even have to worry about all the scientific > and electronics jargon to make use of the tool! The gauge also has a huge > working > range of 150 degrees, but rarely will you require more than 90 degree range > in the woodshop. > > In Use > The Wixey Digital Angle Gauge is a great tool for workshop machine and tool > setup. It can be used to set table saw blades square to the table, or to set > virtually any angle to make perfect bevel angle cuts. On the miter saw, you > can again set the blade square to the table for accurate and square crosscuts, > or set the blade at any angle, again, for bevel cuts. You can attach a larger > drill bit in the drill press, secure the angle gauge to the bit and check > how square the drill press table is to the drill bit/spindle, or set the > table for angled drilling. You can do the same on the bandsaw, setting table > square > to the blade, or setting table at an angle to the blade with 0.1 degree > accuracy. Your jointer fence can be set perfectly square for perfection in > edge/face > angles or squaring up bowed edges or faces. These are just a few of the > possibilities. I am sure you could think of more, or situations in the past > where > this tool would have come in handy. You can use it for accurately measuring > just about any angle with reference to another fixed angle. Handy for builders > too no doubt, although it might be harder to secure to non-magnetic surfaces > without some other attachment method. > > If you still are having trouble visualizing the use of the angle gauge, take > a look at these basic use images from the manufacturer, or view our video in > the right hand column: > > Table with 2 columns and 5 rows > > Step 1. Calibrate > > Set the gauge flat on the tool reference surface and press the ZERO to set > the gauge to 0.0 degrees. > > > > Step 2. Attach > > Attach the gauge to the perpendicular blade and leave at 90.0 degrees or > re-set to 0.0 degrees if desired. > > > > Step 3. Read > > Bevel the saw blade and read the precise bevel angle. > > > table end > > To put things in perspective, let me describe the exact use of the gauge for > setting a table saw blade, say, at 30 degrees. First the Wixey gauge is placed > on the table surface, close to the blade and set to Zero. Next, place the > gauge on the saw blade with the blade set at its square setting (usually > referred > to as 0 degrees). You will note that when you do this that the display will > now show 90.0 degrees. If it does not, your blade is not exactly parallel to > the saw table! It is important to ensure it does read 90.0 degrees because if > you now start winding/tilting the blade, the measurements will read as degrees > subtracted from 90. I.e. as you tilt the blade you will see it counting down, > 90, 85, 80 etc (all in small 0.1 degree steps of course). So to set a 30 > degree bevel, the gauge will actually read 60 degrees. It can be confusing. > But the best option is to reset the gauge to zero when it is attached to the > saw blade, after you have check the blade is actually 90 degrees to the > table. With the gauge reset to zero when attached to the saw blade body, now > when > you tilt the blade, the gauge reads up from 0.0 degrees to whatever setting > you require. Much simpler, and the gauge remains on the "upper" side of the > tilting blade, i.e. with no chance of the blade getting stuck between the > underside of the blade body and the table surface as it is tilted. > > Accuracy > Unfortunately I do not have all the ideal tools for testing and measuring > accuracy, but I do have some very good squares and 45 degree measure guides by > Incra which are guaranteed to be highly accurate. When used along with these > tools, the Wixey digital angle guide indeed proved accurate. I also tested > it against the Beall Tilt Box, which we have also reviewed on this site, and > both products delivered pretty much the same results. The Beall does have > 0.05 resolution and in one or two cases this was the difference between the > two measurements, but basically, both tools delivered the same results. The > Wixey unit is a little smaller than the Beall Tilt Box, so it is a little > easier to handle. There are some other small differences, but you can read > about > those in the other review. Ultimately, it appears, to the best of my testing > ability and resources, that the Wixey is indeed accurate to the claims made > by the manufacturer, i.e. within +/- 0.1 degrees. > > Durability > Well, I hadn't planned on including this section, but while taking photos of > the tool for this review, I dropped the gauge from my miter saw blade. Long > story short... the spring loaded blade guard on the saw slipped out of my > fingers and retracted quickly knocking the gauge off the blade, fell a metre > or more onto bare concrete. Ouch! Thankfully, when I picked up the gauge and > set it back on the table, I had zeroed it to before, it again read a perfect > 0.0 degree setting! So, there appears to be some resistance to hard knocks > and damage, which is a great thing! > > Conclusion > Priced at US$39.99 the Wixey Digital Angle Gauge makes an excellent power > tool accessory in the woodshop. You will be cutting more accurately, spending > less time setting up, and ensuring your tool returns to square every time. > Great little tool that no woodshop or anyone that owns power tools or > cutting/drilling > machines should be without. > > > > ********************************************************************** > This message and its attachments may contain legally > privileged or confidential information. If you are not the > intended recipient, you must not disclose or use the > information contained in it. If you have received this e-mail > in error, please notify the sender immediately by return > e-mail and delete the e-mail. > > Any content of this message and its attachments which > does not relate to the official business of Eraring Energy > must be taken not to have been sent or endorsed by > Eraring Energy. 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