# Osborne EB-3 Miter Gauge



## cabinetmaster

Good review Don. I need to re-invest in a better saw and get rid of this cheap Craftsman saw I now have. Wish I had never got rid of the grizzly I had but no room for it in a small shop such as mine.


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## Lenny

Don old buddy. I got one of these right after I got the PM table saw. I got it for two reasons, First, Norm has one and, as most of us know, "if it's good enough for Norm…" Secondly, I read reviews on it both here at LJ and also other sites. All reviews were positive. Thanks for sharing your experience and advice/tips with everyone. I am curious to know if you experienced any scratches to your TS since using this accessory? I read a review on this product by another LJer but I can't seem to locate it. He said he got a few scratches as a result of some of the grit from the non-skid backing coming off and then being dragged across the table. His recommendation was to use a belt sander eraser or some such item to go back and forth across the non-skid tape several times. I personally have several of these scratches on my new TS (pauses to wipe stray tear from eyes). I noticed above in your pictures, the ones where the gauge is laying flat down, there are black streaks. That is what happened to mine. I think the grit gets trapped by the clear tape on the bottom and then gets pushed across or pulled back along the TS. As you can see there is black streaking along both the front and back edges of the clear tape. Anyway, I e-mailed Osborne Mfg. about this, asking if he has other reports of this problem, and got a speedy reply from David Osborne. While I appreciated him taking the time to reply, I can't say I was delighted with the end result. He never acknowledged it as being a reported problem. He did say it is possible some grit may have fallen off but the material is used on stairways for traction and has a long life expectancy. He said it should be installed 1/16th to 1/8th inches up from the bottom of unit. Mine had been installed in this fashion and I sent him a picture to illustrate it. He responded by saying I had the necessary clearance on it. My only other thought is that when you score the tape to fit the angle in the fence, you are obviously exposing an edge. Sort of like cutting a carpet. There is going to be some grit loosened. I ended up removing the clear tape and replacing it. Given the black streaks I see on yours, you might want to do the same. All that being said, it is a wonderful accessory and as you said, "dead-on accurate out of the box". Many LJers have this item as you will soon see by their comments. Good luck with yours.


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## Ottis

I agree Lenny…I to have noticed the black "Scuff" marks across the bottom of the fence….I thought I might lay a flat edge across the bottom and maybe remove a little less than a 1/4" off of the bottom of the non-slp tape. And I am also going to replace the clear tape once I am sure that no more grit falls off. And I agree with you that it is a wonderful accessory…I guess it just takes a little "Tweaking" to fit all the differing brands of saws out there.


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## davidroberts

Thanks for a most excellent review. Your review was so engrossing, I feel like I just got one myself. I can tell you have looked forward to this miter gauge and hope it serves you well.


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## Sean

?? I bought mine about 6 months ago, I didn't receive any grip tape for the front or slide tape for the bottom. is that a new addition?


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## sIKE

Sean,

I bought mine a year ago and it came with with both. I love mine and should add my own review.


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## patron

good reviue don ,
along with all the other ones we have read recently ,
i think we are all as informed as we are liable to get .
i , being the inteligent moron that i am ,
did not read the insructions ,
so did everithing wrong and then learned 
to do it the right way , ( to many chiness insructions
asembleing things bias ) .
but as usual , i understand everithing about my guide now ,
and as you , i had to sand my t.s. slot ,
as it was pinching the bar differently in different places .
im sure there are always going to be pros and cons 
to all of the guides , and favorites of each type .
in the end , this tool is exelent !
price , utility , ease of use .
i'm thinking of getting another one for the other side
of the blade !


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## MedicKen

I have also recently jumped on the Osborne band wagon and purchased one a few weeks ago. I havent had much of a chance to use it but I get it set up and made a few test cuts. Like the others it was dead set right out of the box.

I did notice that if you move the fence out of 90 degrees it is a little awkward to push the button on the frame for the preset and lock the fence in position with the knob. You almost need 3 hands. Has anyome else noticed this as well? One improvement I could see would be to have a built in stop when returning to 90. Thats my only gripe…....


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## mattg

You're gonna love it!! Let me tell you, once you've built a few projects with it you're going to ask yourself "How did I ever manage without it?" I love mine!!


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## Karson

Great review. Nice job.


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## a1Jim

HEY Don
Now your getting more big boy toys and this is good one I've enjoyed mine for years, Super review bud.


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## zlatanv

I bought this when the eb-3 first came out, I didn't get the non skid tape or the slip tape for the bottom, but bought both and put them on. I got scratches on the table saw too, I tried scrapping the non skid tape for loose particles and also changed the slip tape a few times. I check the bottom for stuff embedded in the tape from time to time and clean it or replace the tape. After the first few scratches it made me cry too, but now have learned to live with it. All in all I love the miter gauge, Its probably the best accessory I have bought for my saw. I would buy it again.


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## Ottis

Thanks for all the replies guys….Well I have spent a few more hours in the shop with it tonight…all I can say is …Am I ever glad I bought this thing…..WOW…talk about a nice tool. I ran this thing right up to my saw blade (around a 1/8" or less)...talk about nice. So far I like EVERYTHING about his Gauge (Except the slick tape on the bottom…will try to come up with something better in time).

I know I said it was accurate in my review…..but crap…this thing is ACCURATE !!!!


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## Darell

Hey Don, thanks for this review. I've been tearing my hair out trying to get good square cuts so I've been looking at miter gauges lately. I've got the Rockler crosscut sled and can't get an accurate cut on that thing to save my soul. I've had to resort to my SawStop miter gauge to get anything near an accurate cut. Based on your review and the other reviews on LJ's for the Osborne EB-3, I just ordered one from their website. This thing will make a huge difference for me in the future. Thanks again for the review.


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## Ottis

Darell,
Hey fellow Okie….Glad I could help.


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## Splinterman

Hey Don,
Very good review…...well done.


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## thiel

Very nice review and really helpful details!


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## rtb

after reading the comments about this here at LJ's It has proven to be exactly as you and others have noted. DEAD on! It required no tweaking nor did my table saw. I had not really appreciated that this degree of accuracy was possible


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## mikeinmissouri

I also get the scratches on my Grizzly table saw from mine, I put the sticky sandpaper material on mine and I was a little sloppy when applying, some of it hangs over. Im going to try sanding it off or taking it off completely. I would suggest if you buy one of these try it out before applying the sandpaper sticker, hence saving you saw of unnecessary scratches!


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## Bonny

I bought one of these almost two years ago and it has been sitting under my workbench since. It is not accurate and never has been. I contacted the company and told them what my problem was and they sent me replacement parts. With the new parts installed the guage did exactly as before. I am using a Delta Unisaw and cutting hard maple. What I did today was cut 12 pie shaped pieces of wood to use for the bottom of a segment bowl. When I placed the parts into position the first 11 pieces looked good but when I tried to insert the 12th piece it would not fit. The angle was too great and needed to be cut at 25 1/2 degrees to fit in the space. Each of the pieces should have been 30 degrees. I have tried setting the unit by using the indents for proper spacing and I have tried using the marked lines. Neither way will produce anything close to parts that will fit. I have found that the farther I go from 90 degrees the worse the error becomes. The only way I can make it work is to set the guage using the marks and then cut my parts. Once I try fitting them together I estimate how far off I am and then adjust the guage slightly to compensate for the error and recut. I may have to cut three or four time times to get the parts to fit correctly. Every time I change angles I have to make several trial cuts. I am wasting a lot of good wood if I use the unit. So it sits under the workbench gathering dust while I use the standard Delta miter guage because it is much more accurate.


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