Tool Review
Rating
Overall rating
Retail Price: $99.99 USD + shipping & tax (Dec 2022)
Purchase Price: $87.62 w/ shipping & tax
The Woodpeckers Saw Gauge (SG-WP) is designed to allow you to easily measure the alignment between the saw blade and miter slot(s) of your table saw. The dial indicator on the gauge has a 1 inch throw, and is accurate to 0.001″. A rather ingenious design allows it to fit almost any size miter slot, even if they’ve widened out from wear. As expected with a Woodpecker tool, the feel, fit and finish were all excellent.
The verdict
overall rating – 4/5
If not for some minor initial issues (see below) and of course the price (which is an issue with any Woodpecker tool), the saw gauge would have easily scored 5/5. From initially opening the box to measuring the alignment of your table saw is only a couple of minutes, and it’s stupidly simple to use. The machines aluminum has a nice heft to it, any there’s virtually no play in any of the parts (few that their are). No doubt, dropping $100+ on a tool you might use one or twice a year at most is a steep hill to climb, but there’s a lot of value in being able to set-up your table saw to make perfectly straight cuts.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Accurate
- Will fit virtually every table saw & miter slot
- Excellent storage case
Cons
- Price
- Initial impression (see below)
- One trick pony
Initial Impression
Ease of use
Price
Set-up
Fit and finish
alternatives
There are plenty of other similar tools, both more and less expensive:
- Igagingstore.com: DigiAlign Alignment Tool: $67.95 + shipping & tax
- note that this tool can also be used with jointers and drill presses.
- Rockler.com: Mag-Dro® Mitre Slot Base: $9.99 + shipping + tax
- Rockler.com: Rockler Table Saw Alignment Gauge: $59.99 + shipping & tax
- Mag-tools.com: Magswitch Universal Saw Indicator – 81101304: $105.00 + shipping & tax
In-Depth Review
On a table saw, the parallelism between the miter slots and saw blade, and the saw blade to the fence is crucial. If the blade doesn’t run parallel to the miter slots, and in turn to the fence, then at best you can expect some burning of the wood as it makes contact with the side of the blade, and at worst, the blade can pinch the wood between the blade and the fence, causing a dangerous kick-back. Ultimately, we want our saws making straight and accurate cuts.
The manual for my Grizzly G0941 says that this measurement should be the “same”, without giving an acceptable range. The general consensus is that the maximum run-out shouldn’t exceed 0.003″.
Unpacking – The gauge and manual comes packed in a black blow-molded plastic case, with snug detents for all of the parts. The case will definitely keep the gauge well protected in your shop.
My only issue was the condition of the cradle (the large pin) when I unpacked the case. It was covered in miss chips and still had a thin ring of metal that hadn’t been removed (see photo). It’s impossible to believe that whoever packed the cradle didn’t feel and see the condition it was in, but they packed it as it was anyways. I was able to cut-off the ring with some side cutters and clean off the metal residue, so ultimately there was no usability issues, but you expect much more from Woodpecker products.
Use – Setting-up and using the saw gauge is extremely simple. Place the two pins on either side of the miter slot, then place the cradle between the pins. The pins automatically holds the cradle in the center of the miter slot.
Now you need to make a reference spot on the saw blade to make your measurements. Raise the sawblade mounted on the table saw to it’s highest position. If the teeth have flat sides, then use a black sharpie pen to place a dot as far forward on the side of the tooth as you can. If the sides of the teeth are not flat, then mark a spot on the blade just behind a tooth.
Next place the gauge on the cradle. The V-Slots on the bottom of the gauge fit over the cradle. Select a V-slot where the dial indicator plunger is making contact with the saw blade, preferably reading in the range of half an inch.
Now rotate the blade as far forward as you can and adjust the position of the saw guage so the dial indicator plunger is against the black mark you made.
Read the dial indicator. In this case, the forward reading was 0.2105 inches.
Now rotate the blade backwards and repeat the process. In this case, the reading was 0.209 inches
Now subtract the rear reading from the front reading, and this will give you the runout of the saw. In my case, 0.2105″ – 0.209″ for 0.0015″. The general consensious is that up to 0.003″ is acceptable, or the manual for your saw may have a different minimum value. If the runout is too high, following the instructions in your saw manual to adjust the table.
Note that the instructions that come with the guage differ the the procedure above in that the manual tells you to leave the saw blade stationary, and simply slide from the front of the saw blade to the back. I don’t recommend this method because if the saw blade isn’t perfectly flat, then your reading will include any imperfections of the blade. By using the method above and measuring the exact same point on the blade, front and back, the only difference between the two will be the runtout of the blade and the miter slots.
Final Thoughts – The Woodpeckers Saw Gauge makes simple work of making a critical measurement of your table saw. You want to be as accurate as possible measuring the parallelism of the miter slots and the saw blade, the question is how much are you willing to pay for it? For a production wood shop, this is a no-brainer, and the $100 is well worth it. For smaller home/hobby wood shops, it’s a tougher call. For myself, I wasn’t willing to drop a Benjamin, but on sale, decided to pull the trigger, and overall, happy that I did.
References/links
- Woodpeckers.com – Saw Gauge – SG-WP
- Woodpeckers.com – Saw Gauge PDF manual (2 pages)