The Miterset

[mklotz]

One of the most satisfying features of a home shop is being able to make tool accessories that are unobtainable in the marketplace.

Back in the day, if you wanted to set your saw's miter gauge you turned it upside down, put the rod in the table slot, loosened the screw, pushed the gauge against the edge of the saw table, tightened the screw and your miter gauge was nicely orthogonal to the rod.

My new BladeRunner has a T-shaped rod, not the more usual rectangular cross-section, so it can't be inverted in the table slot. The gauge has a scale but I don't trust it and it's a pain to set, so...

I took a slab of aluminum and milled a lengthwise slot to a nice sliding fit on the rod...

Slip the "miterset" on the rod, push it up against the gauge, tighten the screw and voila everything is nicely square...

As an added bonus the 45 degree angles on the opposite end of the miterset can be used to set the head, left or right, to that angle...

[kbalch]

Thanks mklotz! I've added your Miterset to our Measuring and Marking category, as well as to your builder page: mklotz's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Miterset by mklotz

tags: milling, gauge, miter

[DIYer]

Very nice, mklotz! Thanks for the idea.

[mklotz]

I neglected to mention in my original post that one can make (or buy) accurate angle plates, typically used in the milling machine vise. If these are interposed between the 90 degree miterset end and the gauge, the gauge can be set accurately to any angle. This is especially useful if the intended angle is too small to resolve easily on the gauge scale.