Angle Checker

Chalk another one up to “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” :-)

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I’ve seen those around. They do look handy, so i don’t blame you.
Actually it’s that steel protractor you have that i want.
I think you just saves a bunch of us $10.

-- Anthony

If your looking for something to help you better with finding bevel angles I would suggest checking out one of those digital angle cubes. A number of companies make them. I got mine through woodcraft and I want to say I only paid somewhere between 20 and 30 dollars for it.

I use mine to set the bevels on all of my irons and chisels and it works great for me. As long as you have it set on a level surface it will read out the exact angle for you. Its got magnets on it so I can place the cube on a plane iron then have my other two hands free to lock the iron in my eclipse jig once I am at the angle I want. Very helpful tool for sharpening. I wouldn’t be without it.

-- Dan - "Collector of Hand Planes"

I totally agree.
someone bought me one of those angle checkers many years ago… I had the same experience so now it lives on my pegboard and hasn’t been used in a long time…. it did look useful, just didn’t live up to expectations.

Yes i got one of those been collecting dust for ages…........

-- "the future's uncertain and the end is always near" J. Morrison

Thank you …I’m sure WoodCraft would take it back under their satisfaction guarantee.

-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.

I bought the same gauge and had exactly the same experience. Think I got it from Rockler. It appears to be a Chinese copy of the Veritas gauge at http://www.veritastools.com/products/Page.aspx?p=118 that probably doesn’t work either. I note the gauge is useful for chisels which are generally a lot thicker than plane irons.

I also use the metal protractor as in the photo. It works OK for angles greater than 25 degrees but for lower angles the bar falls off the end. I also own a precision vernier protractor that is even worse at setting up small angles. I could make my own angle gauge out of plexiglass or aluminum. I have found that for small angles it is much easier to lay out a triangle with rise and run appropriate for the angle, than to use a protractor.

Never thought about using my Wixey gadget. I’ll try that.

-- The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

I have this one and have also used the Veritas one. I like them both, and use them frequently. It looks like that clone simply has slightly larger openings making it harder to register the angle. That said, I don’t normally use them for plane blades anyway, as wb notes above, I use it for chisels.

Thanks for the tips. I have seen thouse and almost bought one ;-)

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

I have one, and I used it today when I sharpened up some coworkers’ chisels at work. It’s a quick way to see the primary bevel so I can set up the Veritas honing guide I use. I pretty much have it near my stones at all times.
JP