# Miter Set Gauge Jig



## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

I have been meaning to order these jigs for a while now, and Harry's post http://www.routerforums.com/lobby/116514-these-jigs-bees-knees.html
motivated me to get it done. They arrived last Friday and today I thought I would spend some time with jigs. They are obviously well made, fit and finish is close to perfect. And there is the rub. 
This is in no way a criticism of these jigs!

My table saw is a Grizzly G0690, and the miter gauge I use is the Osborne EB3. I have the Osborne set so there is no slop in the miter groove and it gives me great results. But the miter bar will not fit in the Miter Set's groove. Using my calipers, the Miter Set groove is .7505 and my miter gauge bar is .7565. I can change the miter bar to fit the jig, but then I loose the fit in the table saw, and visa versa if I mess with the jig. Even if I decided to dedicate a different miter gauge to the jig I would probably run into the same issue. I know .006 is not that great, but when I am cutting segments it is going to show up. I am going to have to think about this, and I am open to any suggestions.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I discovered my cheapie miter gauge is also sloppy, but it is pretty loose in the miter slot on the saw and the jig. So, I ordered an Incra MITERV27 without the fence for now. Hopefully I can get it to work.

I had a problem some time ago with a poor fit on a miter bar on a jig, which I fixed with aluminum duct tape, used as a shim on the side of the bar. One layer seemed to do it. .0060 is more error that is workable for something with 7-8 miter joints. The whole point is being exact and minimizing the problems of assembly.

Since the jig is closeer to .7500 than the saw slot, I'd try to work out a way to fit to the jig. Try the aluminum tape, but be very careful to get it perfectly flat. At least it will come off (leave a little tab on the ends for removal). I don't have anything precise enough to check the thickness of the tape, but if you do, kindly let us know--maybe a before/after. It will go in the slot, not on the gauge.

Changing the width of the Griz's miter slot on either side should provide the precision you need. It is all about getting the miter slot parallel to the blade, the distance from the blade isn't a factor.


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

I decided to see what happened with an old, very sloppy miter gauge. I used the segment jig and set it up for 6 segments. It was sloppy in both the jig and saw. It worked pretty well, there were some small gaps that I could close with finger pressure that should close up with a proper clamp. I think I am going to set-up a miter gauge just for this jig. I am back to being happy,:smile: What looks like gaps in the picture are actually differences in height, I had "issues" with the tape.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I posted about this being a problem in Harry's post. I have not bought one of these jigs yet.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Warped frame stock will do that too. Hard to correct for that. You can cut a circular sheet of ply that fits inside the lower part of the frame, then clamp it down hard to force the pieces into alignment, but that only works for a small deviation. The fit is pretty good. I often use a little filler Timber Mate, Amazon) to cover the small gaps and misalignments. It sands nicely and takes a stain pretty much the same as your frame material. Sanding the odd contours on frame material was a pain until I got the shaped sanding blocks shown. Using the flexible sanding medium from 3-M with these blocks, sanding is easy and done quickly. I got them from Rockler for a few bucks, but they're also on Amazon.

My new Incra miter gauge arrives tomorrow so I'll report on how it fits on my Laguna saw and the jig. From your post, it seems that if I can get it fairly tight on both miter slots, it will work out well. I think you're right about a proper clamp making a big difference.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Good points as always.

I ordered one of these and through a company error received a double shipment ( the 2nd is being returned) Unfortunately, I don't own a set of calipers that are accurate enough to comment on the width of the groove in either set. 

I have 2 miter gauges, 1 KREG with no identifiable part number to reference and an INCRA V120. Both fit slightly loose in the groove on the miter set but fit well in grooves on my JET table saw. Interestingly, the KREG has a "button" (for lack of a better word) on the end that rides in the base grove on the JET. That button will not fit through the groove on the miter set. Similarly, the INCRA has a blade on the end that rides in the base grove on the JET and it will not fit in the miter set either. Both miters have adjustable spacers to tighten the fit in the miter grove so I'm not concerned about any slack there. 

Hopefully I can get some shop time to check these further in the near term.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

My Shopsmiths have non-standard miter slots. When Kreg first offered their miter gauge, they were kind enough to machine their runner for an exact fit. Then, when I learned about this new start up called Miterset, I called the inventor and manufacturer and he made a set for me specifically for the Shopsmith. At that time, Mitersets were being produced in a garage workshop and were made with BB. I take great care with them.
The Kreg has always been very accurate as verified by the Miterset. And, I've made several multi sided projects with the team. No fine tuning was ever needed. 
I've also used the team to make MDF set up "templates" for my SCMS to make bevel cuts for multi sided boxes. Also, no tuning needed. 
I hope Bob is able to make his miter gauge and Miterset play well together. As, this setup has taken my precision cuts so much easier.


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

Gene Howe said:


> My Shopsmiths have non-standard miter slots. When Kreg first offered their miter gauge, they were kind enough to machine their runner for an exact fit. Then, when I learned about this new start up called Miterset, I called the inventor and manufacturer and he made a set for me specifically for the Shopsmith. At that time, Mitersets were being produced in a garage workshop and were made with BB. I take great care with them.
> The Kreg has always been very accurate as verified by the Miterset. And, I've made several multi sided projects with the team. No fine tuning was ever needed.
> I've also used the team to make MDF set up "templates" for my SCMS to make bevel cuts for multi sided boxes. Also, no tuning needed.
> I hope Bob is able to make his miter gauge and Miterset play well together. As, this setup has taken my precision cuts so much easier.


Gene, great information, thank you. I am going to dedicate a miter gauge to these jigs, and I am sure that end result will be more than adequate. I would really like to see pictures of your templates for you SCMS.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Although it's a little aggravating to set up initially, the new MLCS band clamp with "adjustable" corners works very well for clamping multi-sided frames. It comes with four corners, but additional sets can be purchased. It came in handy when I was making production lots (four at a time) of my turtle planter - after being set to the correct size, it was relatively easy to remove and move to the next frame.

I've also had good luck with the spring clamps https://www.amazon.com/Collins-Miter-Spring-Pliers-Clamps/dp/B00EXU3APA/ref=pd_sim_469_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XGAX9389GR5F2FH98FW8 the set I have has a variety of sizes, and comes in handy gluing returns on trim and so forth.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Bob Adams said:


> I have been meaning to order these jigs for a while now, and Harry's post http://www.routerforums.com/lobby/116514-these-jigs-bees-knees.html
> motivated me to get it done. They arrived last Friday and today I thought I would spend some time with jigs. They are obviously well made, fit and finish is close to perfect. And there is the rub.
> This is in no way a criticism of these jigs!
> 
> My table saw is a Grizzly G0690, and the miter gauge I use is the Osborne EB3. I have the Osborne set so there is no slop in the miter groove and it gives me great results. But the miter bar will not fit in the Miter Set's groove. Using my calipers, the Miter Set groove is .7505 and my miter gauge bar is .7565. I can change the miter bar to fit the jig, but then I loose the fit in the table saw, and visa versa if I mess with the jig. Even if I decided to dedicate a different miter gauge to the jig I would probably run into the same issue. I know .006 is not that great, but when I am cutting segments it is going to show up. I am going to have to think about this, and I am open to any suggestions.


Wont this post help?

http://www.routerforums.com/lobby/116514-these-jigs-bees-knees-3.html#post1608226


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

Bob Adams said:


> Gene, great information, thank you. I am going to dedicate a miter gauge to these jigs, and I am sure that end result will be more than adequate. I would really like to see pictures of your templates for you SCMS.


It'll be a couple days till I can get those pics, Bob. Then, I've got to remember to to it when I get there.:wink:


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

FWIW and maybe a bit off topic but I should tell this for future reference to the forum. I bought a Rikon benchtop bandsaw. The miter slot is 5/8 inch instead of the standard 3/4 inch! The Rikon miter is very flimsy and not rated good at all. The BS is good, though.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Knothead47 said:


> FWIW and maybe a bit off topic but I should tell this for future reference to the forum. I bought a Rikon benchtop bandsaw. The miter slot is 5/8 inch instead of the standard 3/4 inch! The Rikon miter is very flimsy and not rated good at all. The BS is good, though.


Agree with your conclusions on the Rikon.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

For four sided frames, the Carter spring clamps are helpful, but keeping the corners square is still more a matter of the accuracy of the cut.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I went ahead and ordered an Incra miter gauge and it fits perfectly in the jig after a slight width adjustment on the miter bar using the supplied, tiny allen wrench. It also now fits perfectly in my Laguna table saw's miter slot. As to the wide attachment at the tip, that never goes into the jig. 

I recall reading that the jig maker also makes them for ShopSmith's slot width. It's a small business so you can probably email the owner with any request. I'm sure the jig is cut with a CNC unit, so maybe they can custom cut one for you? Who knows, asking is free.


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## allpurpose (Jul 2, 2017)

Just so you know Miterset does offer a version to fit Shopsmith slots or at least I'm pretty sure they do. It's worth writing to them and they do respond to emails in a timely fashion. They responded to every email I ever sent and gave me a 15% off coupon for the purchase just for writing. How's that for service? 
My miter gauge bar is old with some wiggle so I just make sure to put pressure against the leading side and that keeps things square. 
I've said many times that Miterset makes an ordinarily old or sloppy gauge into a very accurate gauge with little to no effort. Probably my favorite part about miterset is just resetting things back to 90° without having to screw around hoping and praying that your old carpenter square is still square. I keep it right by the saw at all times. In over a year now I've had zero issues except when the wood fence to my gauge gets kind of soggy when it rains too much. It's not a real big deal to replace the fence every few months or so.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

allpurpose said:


> Just so you know Miterset does offer a version to fit Shopsmith slots or at least I'm pretty sure they do.
> 
> They do. I've got one.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Back a few posts, the Rikon was mentioned. WEN also sells the same tool under a different label. I have the Rikon and really like it for light duty work. Just right for the kinds of work I do. WEN also makes a large bench top drill press that is identical to the JET. Same motor, same mechanism, same casting marks, but half the price. And they have an air filter unit with timer than handles 1 micron and is 1/3rd the price of anything else out there. WEN is adding to their tool list and has sanders, for example that look like they're identical to name brands. I found the air filter on sale through WalMart for $99 delivered to my local store. The drill press was shipped free to my local HD orange store. I like to support a company that is trying to deliver good value, and these three tools are very, very good.


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