02-28-2021, 03:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-11-2021, 10:22 AM by thewalnutguy.
Edit Reason: include solutions to the issues described in original posting
)
I recently purchased a WildRiver miter gauge from Woodcraft. The miter gauge I'd been using didn't have any positive stops, and even after cranking down on the handle it tended to wander off of the setting. I looked at quite a few of the current offerings (Incra, Rockler, Kreg...) before finally deciding to go with the WildRiver. The lack of in-stock availability of the Incra model I'd been favorably impressed by was one of the decisions for the WildRiver model. It's a nice miter gauge, positive stops for the most common settings, and feels rock solid. As received it was dead-on at the 90 degree setting, and assembly was straight forward. However, there are a couple of points with which I'm not favorably inclined. The gauge comes with a flip stop for repetitive cross cuts, with an easy-to-read scale. However, the scale is not adjustable, and the end is marked right down to the zero point. So, to be accurate, the gauge would have to be set to actually touch the teeth of the blade, which of course is a no-no, especially with a SawStop table saw. I think it would have been better if the end of the miter gauge and of the scale were, say, 1/4", then the fence could be adjusted to be a quarter of an inch from the blade's teeth and the scale would reflect actual length of the cut.
My second nit is that there's no straight-forward way to mount an auxiliary fence to the face of the miter gauge. A common auxiliary fence would be an adjustable fence for cutting box joints. Another one which I've used in the past on other gauges is tall enough that it can pass over the top of the blade, extending to the right of the blade to help move short cut-offs away from the blade. An auxiliary fence could be built which would come over the top of the miter gauge fence and use the slot designed for the flip stop, something not as simple as a fence to use on, say, a Kreg miter gauge.
Update: sent an email to WoodCraft with comments on the above items. They responded with an email saying that they'll instruct the manufacturer to deliver the miter gauges without the scale tape attached so that the purchaser can adjust the readings of the tape to correspond to customer's desired distance between end of fence and saw blade. Simple solution that should resolve that issue. I've also found that a Kreg fence can be mounted to the miter gauge in place of the stock fence, and auxiliary fences can then be mounted to that using the tracks in its face.
My second nit is that there's no straight-forward way to mount an auxiliary fence to the face of the miter gauge. A common auxiliary fence would be an adjustable fence for cutting box joints. Another one which I've used in the past on other gauges is tall enough that it can pass over the top of the blade, extending to the right of the blade to help move short cut-offs away from the blade. An auxiliary fence could be built which would come over the top of the miter gauge fence and use the slot designed for the flip stop, something not as simple as a fence to use on, say, a Kreg miter gauge.
Update: sent an email to WoodCraft with comments on the above items. They responded with an email saying that they'll instruct the manufacturer to deliver the miter gauges without the scale tape attached so that the purchaser can adjust the readings of the tape to correspond to customer's desired distance between end of fence and saw blade. Simple solution that should resolve that issue. I've also found that a Kreg fence can be mounted to the miter gauge in place of the stock fence, and auxiliary fences can then be mounted to that using the tracks in its face.