Primarily, I’ve used this jig to setup and align my tablesaw — most notably the fence to the miter slots.  It’s also great to check for blade runout, or fence trueness.  Though I’ve not used it for this purpose, it could be used to measure arbor shaft runout as well.

Using the system it easy.  The quality components fit together perfectly with the use of two metric allen bolts — one to attach the cross ways, and one to attach the dial indicator.  Once assembles, it is placed into the miter slot.  There are two allen screws that adjust the width to fit any miter slot perfectly with zero slop.  It also has two thumb screws to level the system to the depth of your miter slot.  In a matter of 5 minutes you are up and ready to measure.

If you can stomach spending $80, or if you need to get your tablesaw tuned up accurately, then I’d consider the Basic A-Line It setup.  It’s served me well and given me no problems.  It’s easy to use and made precisely.  The dial indicator is of decent quality, but by no means one of the $300 units you can find.  It’s made me much more comfortable at the tablesaw knowing that without  a doubt the fence is in line with the blade and that the blade is running true — both of which reduce any chance of a nasty kickback.

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The packaging is simple, yet eye catching.  The meat of this product (the ball level itself) is brightly colored against the grays of the aluminum frame.

Meet ball level.  Essentially, it’s a floating ball in a clear liquid (water?).  Half the ball if colored silver with a small red circle at the tip top of it, the other half solid black.  As you move the level, the ball stays (relatively) stationary continually pointing up.  Using the contrasting colors on the ball,  you are able to align that intersection with the crosshair lines on the encapsulating bubble

The level is made of aircraft aluminum which is light weight and very strong.

In use, the level is a fairly easy to use.  Though it does take some getting used to, for the first couple of uses I found myself more intrigued by the floating ball than anything else (it’s a guy thing, entertained by the simpliest things!).  The level is also capable of measuring in two dimensions at the same time … which was pretty cool when I finally opened my eyes to see it (you can read angle/pitch at the same time).

Overall, it’s a neat tool but I’m not sure I would set out to buy it just because.  If you are in the market for your first level, or looking to replace an existing level, then by all means give it a look.  It’s a nice level with an ultra-modern take on the bubble.  It’s definitely more accurate than any bubble level I’ve used and I’ll be keeping this one around for a long time to come. Update: I’ve now seen the problems with this style of level and have found it to not be 100% reliable.  It’s now just a fun “tool” for the kids.

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None are built better … these are top notch and as good as it gets (and the price reflects it!). Treated right this is a tool that will out-live you without a doubt.

When I finally took the advice of a woodworking mentor and hunkered down to buy one, I was skeptical at best. Having never owned a Starrett tool, I couldn’t imagine anyone needed a combination square that cost more than $10 — wow, was I wrong.

Hindsight is 2020 and this is one of those moments where I look back and say “of course!”. At first it seems a bit silly to spend so much money on such a simple tool (some may say a ‘hunk of metal’), but in practice the tool is worth the dough. Let me explain …

A quality, well-made, precise tool is essential to accurately create anything in the shop. Sure one can use the $10 combination square, but there will be times when it’s accuracy (sometimes up to 1/16″ inaccurate) is not exact enough and proves only to offer unnecessary frustration. The Starrett square with it’s etched rule is dead-on accurate and sturdy (no sag or bending) … all of which adds up to better projects and better times in the shop.

If precision is your thing — or required in what you do — then you should own this tool. While it isn’t needed by everyone (like in construction), it’s a necessity in the furniture-makers wood shop.

Manufactured by Starrett, this combination square retails between $65-$75. Buy one at Amazon (link)

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What’s Included:

Packed in a simple cardboard-backed package, the Incra rules fly solo.  You’ll receive the rule assembled.  It’s made of a metal rule, two thumb screws and a small piece of t-track.

Incra, the company (link):

Not much information could be found about the company.  More will be made available as it is found.

Design & Use:

Simple elegance, the t-rule has become a favorite of mine.  Many times I walked right by it not taking a second look until a friend of mine was bragging about his.  I took the rule in hand along with a mechanical pencil and began to mark-out a tenon.  Previous to this product, most of my woodworking marks were made with a standard #2 pencil and my Starrett combination square — which is highly accurate, however  the pencil and human involved add to the inaccuracy.

With the Incra T-Rule and a human armed with a mechnical pencil, the chance of being inaccurate due to measure becomes significanly less.  This is because of the T-Rules design.  It provides small slots and holes throughout its length at every measurement down to 1/64″.

To use the T-Rule, simple hold the red T-track to the edge of the board, find the measure you want to mark, instead the writing end of the mechanical pencil in the slot/hole & mark.  You can also pull the T-Rule parallel to draw a longer, precise line.

Purchasing Advice:

If you are doing any kind of highly accurate woodworking, such as furniture making, Buy one.  Depending on the type of work you do, you may need a shorter one or a longer one … but trust me, you’ll find this tool indispensable for accurate marking.  Instead of making marks directly off the reference of another rule and saying to yourself “just cut a smidge to the right of that mark and you’ll be close” … use the T-Rule to make the measurement and simply cut to it!  It’s makes you more accurate, confident, and comfortable.

Images:

Marks are made with a mechanical pencil.

The measurement scale is clear to read and understand.

Marks are even available on the end of the rule.  This could be used for height adjustments (think blade height or router bit height)

The t-track and thumb screws that attach the rule.

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Well, I have some good news for you. Regardless of whether you have or are going to purchase a table saw, one thing I do know.

You need to get yourself a Wixley digital Protractor and a Wixley digital angle meter. These two items turn even an El Cheapo table saw (like my 15 yr old Craftsman) into a precision cutting tool!

Once you have one each of these gauges, you can forget about the tiny gaps in your joints because the miter guage or the blade angle were off a little bit. These are turning out to be some of the most valuable tools in my shop, yet, they are inexpensive (especially when compared to the ever increasing cost of wood if you make a mistake).

Wixey makes several other gauges which might also be helpful. As and example, the Wixey digital height guage might be just the thing for doing precision routing or for setting saw blade height. I can not say enough about their stuff! My protractor and angle meter have been right on the money for accuracy and are available at a great price. I have been wondering if there is a negative to these gauges, and I just can not seem to come up with one, so, do yourself a favor and order one each!

I promise, you will be pleased with your investment if you do any cutting on a table saw. I have no connection with Wixey, and receive no compensation for sharing the above opinion.

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So what is it? Well, in short it’s a combination gadget that replaces several tools on your toolbelt — specifically a speed square, torpedo level, and t-bevel. However, the AngLevel is designed with much more thought and once you use it you start to find new functions in can perform (even a bottle opener when you need a cold one when the sun beats you down).

The AngLevel is built well. The stainless steel metal components are solid and will handle a beating. The other parts are a fiberglass material that should handle anything you dish out on the job site.

A lot of thought was put into this little tool that makes using it a bit of fun — and practical. For instance, the bubble levels that are integrated in the design are probably the most susceptible component to break — and since these are easily found at the home centers, the design of the AngLevel allows you to remove & replace them (no need to buy a whole new tool!). Also, the AngLevel has many built-in design elements that take the guess work out. An example of one of these features are the pitch lines for roof work … it’s all on the AngLevel, simple align the steel rule with the mark and viola … you’re a pro! (okay, maybe not a pro but damn good!).

Overall, I really enjoyed using the AngLevel. One it was cool to have a tool no one has seen in my back pocket and two it was just cool to have so much tool in ONE POCKET! Better believe I’ll be giving these as gifts come the holidays!

The AngLevel sells for $39.99. Pick one up here.

Here’s a snippet from their website that outlines better the true capabilities of it:

This tool can be used as a 9-inch up to 16-inch torpedo level, also can be used for 16-inch on center step-off. Some of the other features include, 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch pitch (commonly used for drainage). There are 1 thru 20 pitch lines on the body of tool and it display’s the degree at the same time with a degree dial that ranges from 0° to 90°degrees in 5°degree increments. There is a pitch-to-degree conversion table, for example a 10-pitch = 40°degrees, or 12-pitch = 45°degrees. The stainless steel ruler on the AngLevel™ tool spins 360° degrees and includes a compass feature. The compass feature enables the user to make circles from 2-inches to 15-inches in ½ inch increments. In addition the stainless steel ruler is 7-inches long etched in 1/16” inch increments. The ruler markings are ascending and descending on each side. This tool increases the efficiency of the tradesman because it simplifies the use of commonly used tools, many functions can be performed at one time with less effort and less equipment. The tool can make a less experienced or advanced tradesman more valuable and confident as it simplifies hard tasks and angle measurements that would be difficult and time consuming with other existing tools. The tool is 1.5″ thick (thickness of a standard wood/steel 2x lumber, like a “2×4 stud”) and is 3/4”, which is half of the stud thickness, which helps finding the center of the stud or the opposite edge of the 2x lumber or steel.

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This is a large marking tool — thus the “Hog” in the name — and is made of a seemingly durable plastic case. A few metal parts accompany the tool — found in the sharpener (for a carpenters pencil), the reel handle, and end of line hook. Everything appears to be built solid for a hard day on the job site, or in the shop.

So simple, yet so beautiful. Who doesn’t enjoy poppin’ blue lines across some fresh plywood just before plunking down a dozen nails? Or snappin’ a stripe across timbers to mark your cuts before grabbing for the worm drive saw? The new Chalk Hog 100 is a step up for an ordinary chalk line tool. It has a finer line that definitely snaps clean, and reportedly uses much less chalk per snap — thus saving you money long term. In building a barn, we put this tool to use time and time again to mark our cuts, nail paths, and more. The fun of “blue line’in” quickly became the best part of the job … and not only because the act of snappin’ the line was fun, but also because it was so easy to use. The end of chalk was no where near in site (considering it holds a full 8oz bottom), the quick reel returned the line with little effort, and the built-in pencil sharpener was an added convenience.

If you are buying your first chalk line tool — get this one. It has all the features of the best at a better price. If you already have a chalk line and rarely use it, then you won’t need another and this might not be worth it to you. If you chalk often … then it’s a no brainer. It will pay for itself in chalk saved (it uses less) and you’ll no longer have to fill the tool with chalk … you just screw on a new 8oz bottle when you’re out!

Manufactured by CH Hanson, the Chalk Hog retails for around $15 – $20.

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Tougher than any “pencil” I’ve ever used. The graphite composition that makes up the pencil is tough and extremely flexible. It could break … but not from anything in the normal to extreme use. In fact, to test this I dropped mine from the 14′ loft of my barn and didn’t even break the tip.

With the CH Hanson pencil sharpener, it was quick and easy to get a good point on this pencil. By that time the pencil was ready for the task and I put it to work immediately. A bit skeptical at first, I found myself impressed with the writing capabilities on raw lumber. The point held it’s edge well and the lines were easily seen for all markups.

For general carpentry and construction, this would be a neat tool — okay, I’m considering it a bit more than just a pencil because it breaks the rules — to keep in your toolbox. The fact that it will last 7x longer and is so durable makes it the carpenters friend, for sure. For precision woodworking, nothing probably can substitute a mechanical pencil or marking knife, but for most roughing measurements this would be more than sufficient (and you won’t have keep cursing the regular pencils because the lead always breaks!).

Manufactured by CH Hanson, the Superpencil retails for around $5-$6.

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