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Product Updates

For various reasons this review took place over the course of 4 months. During that time I was in contact with Kreg discussing some issues I found while reviewing the gauge. Either in response to my inquiries or because of the normal transition of a new product into production, or both, a number of changes were made to improve the product. In these pictures you see the most noticeable change...Kreg blue anodizing.

• The next change is to the miter bar plugs. Instead of using a nylon plug and a steel hex screw, Kreg has replaced that combination for a single threaded nylon plug.
  
  The new plug is slotted so you'll need a small flat blade driver. A jeweler's screwdriver works well. Other than the fact that now the user installs the plugs, the alignment procedure is exactly the same.
  
  This new configuration works just as well as the old and enhances the produceability of the gauge for Kreg. Additionally they no longer have to supply the hex wrench.
  
  The most significant change to the gauge is actually to the manufacturing process. As I mentioned earlier in the article, my original gauge had some slop when the pin was installed allowing for about 1/12th of a degree of play. It wasn't a lot of play but too much for a gauge with 1/100° accuracy. I notified Kreg of this and after a short amount of time was sent a new gauge. This was the new blue version and I was told that machining tolerances were more controlled now but this time I couldn't get the pin in the hole, the pin was too large. After polishing the pin with some 000 steel wool I removed enough material that the pin slid in and fit snugly. I emailed Kreg with my current findings.
  
  After some telephone tag and business trips I received an email from Kreg explaining what had happened and what they were doing to prevent it from happening in the future.
  
  What they were doing was producing a run of 20 gauges and then calibrating the gauges utilizing a single master pin. They would then package the gauges for sale including a pin off their assembly line. That's apparently where the problem was, the tolerance of the pins allowed for the pin shipped with my gauge to be too tight and not fit.
  
  To correct this problem Kreg is now using the actual pin which will be delivered with the gauge to perform the calibration process. While I haven't actually seen and tried one of the gauges which has gone through this new process, this should solve the problem.
  
  Anyone with an early release of the miter gauge which exhibits this problem can contact the Kreg Tool Company to resolve the issue.
  
  Performance:
  
  Before we get into actually utilizing the gauge there is a fairly significant, though easily overcome problem with the fence. The fence is just too slick to allow for accurate cuts unless you are using the stop block and can keep the work pressed tight against it. Trying to cut a wide board, make a dado, or cut on an angle was nearly impossible for me. My solution was simply to apply some spray adhesive to the back of some 180 grit sandpaper and stick it to the face of the fence. This provided enough friction to allow me to keep the work stationary during all of the cuts.
  
  Alignment: After assembly and without making any adjustments to the gauge I checked the fence (at both ends) for squareness to the table saw. As the picture shows at left it was dead on. That means the not only was the miter gauge square, but also that the fence was not twisted at all.
  
  
  
  I tested the gauge for 90° by utilizing a tried and true method of cutting a board in half and then flipping one side around and matching the cut ends together. If you rip a board so the the edges are parallel, cut it in half and flip one piece over, then the error caused by the gauge not being exact will effectively be doubled, thus making it easy to see. So I ripped a piece of wood, 4" wide and identified one side with a couple of pencil marks. I then cut the board in half. Standing the two pieces up on edge on my jointer table I flipped the right cutoff and then butted the cut ends together. As you can see in the photo at right the ends butt up perfectly...the sign of a properly aligned gauge.
  
  The next test was actually performed with the original gauge I received..loose pin and all and it came out perfect again. I set the gauge at 22.5° and cut 8 pieces of wood so that I could make an octagon. The pic at left shows the dry-fit of those pieces being pulled together by a clamp. All of the joints were perfect, absolutely no gaps.
  
  The real and final test of the Kreg Miter Gauge was its use on my last project, a cradle for my new grandaughter, Tess. I used it to cut all the tenons and every other piece which required a right angle. Throughout the project the gauge performed well. I didn't notice any flex when pushing the 40" boards through the cut. You can, of course, cause the gauge to flex since it is made of aluminum but under normal loads it performed fine.
  
  What I didn't like:
  
  Aside from the slick fence, the fix for which Kreg is working on, there wasn't much to dislike about the gauge.
  
  I would have perferred a steel bar instead of the aluminum one because of the bar flex which is very noticeable when inserting the bar into a saw with a T-Slot. To mount the gauge on the saw I found it much easier to place the gauge far enough on the table so that the washer at the end of the bar hangs over the rear edge, then pull the gauge back to engage the washer.
  
  While a sacrificial fence can easily be attached to the Kreg fence, it is not all that compatible with the flip stop. If you make and attach a sacrificial fence you will probably solve the slick fence problem but you will loose the ability to use the cursor with the flip stop. As a matter of fact you will have to reverse the clamp on the flipstop for it to work at all. Kreg is working on a fix to allow you to use the flip stop cursor when a sacrificial fence is installed.
  
  Conclusion:
  
  I am enamored with the simple utility of this gauge. I typically don't need the ability to ratchet through 180 degrees but I routinely do need to go back and forth between 90 and 45. Whether real or imagined I feel more sure of the repeatability because of the pin. Setting up to any angle in between is simple and with the vernier is repeatable. The bar is snug in the slot and is easily adjusted for wear. The flip stop with cursor works great and is very accurate as well. If there was a way to utilize the cursor with a sacrificial fence then I think I'd have one installed so to provide a better grip on the work and for zero clearance to the blade.
  
  With design by Mark Duginske and manufacturing and customer service by Kreg, I don't think you can go wrong with this miter gauge and I expect Kreg to resolve the remaining issues.
  

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  14 Aug 2004
  Copyright © 2004 , Bill Esposito.
  All Rights Reserved.