Introduction
I just published the above video about my initial experiences with the EXACT-90 Miter Gauge by Woodpeckers. This is an interesting take on a table saw miter gauge in that it does only one thing. It is made for cutting 90° square cuts only. There is no mechanism for setting and cutting other angles.
In the video and this article, I discuss my experience with the assembly, setup, calibration, and storage of this tool. This will include a few issues that I encountered along the way.
Overview of the Assembly
The assembly is very straightforward. The miter bar, fence bracket assembly, and handle come preassembled. Consequently, there are really only three things remaining to put together. The first step is to attach the fence to the fence bracket assembly.
The second step listed is to install the included sacrificial fence. The instructions state that this is optional. I recommend that you do not install the sacrificial fence as part of the initial setup.
The final step is to assemble the sliding scale and fence extension. As part of this process, you will calibrate the sliding scale. You will need to have already calibrated the scale on the main fence before doing this. The procedure is easy and is clearly described in the instructions. If you properly calibrated the main fence scale and were precise in the installation of the sliding scale and extension fence, then the calibration of the sliding scale should be little more than a check for accuracy.
Wait to Install the Sacrificial Fence – Reason 1
There are two reasons that I recommend not installing the sacrificial fence until after completing all of the assembly and calibration of the EXACT-90 Miter Gauge.
The first is that it gets in the way of calibrating the scale on the main fence. The flip stop that comes with the miter gauge is milled to the exact width of 1/2″. The procedure for calibrating the scale requires you to set the left edge of the flip stop precisely on the 1/2″ mark on the scale. There are two tracks for the flip stop on top of the fence. When using the sacrificial fence, you are forced to use the forward of the two tracks for the flip stop assembly. As you can see below, with the flip stop installed in this track, it is impossible to line up the left edge of the flip stop on the scale.
The right side can always be lined up with the markings on the scale because the locking mechanism is not on that side of the flip stop. This is the side of the flip stop that is used to set the distance of your cut. Therefore, the sacrificial fence does not interfere with the normal operation of the scale. It is only an issue when calibrating the scale.
Wait to Install the Sacrificial Fence – Reason 2
The second reason I recommend not installing the sacrificial fence until later is that I believe it interferes with the accuracy of the calibration of the miter gauge to a precise 90°. While I am sure that the sacrificial fence is very well made, I do not believe that it offers the same level of precision as the aluminum fence itself. I found this out for myself as you can see in the video. I initially adjusted the 90° setting with the sacrificial fence installed. However, when I checked the setting with the sacrificial fence removed, it was slightly off.
Problem with the Flip Stop Assembly
I encountered a slight problem with the flip stop assembly. As you can see in the image to the right, the one I received had been assembled incorrectly. This orientation renders the fence scale useless in some circumstances. It also makes it impossible to calibrate the fence scale.
Fortunately, it was easy enough to fix. Using one of the two supplied hex keys, I was able to remove the flip stop from the locking mechanism, flip it around 180°, and reinstall it. This put the flip stop in the proper orientation and fixed the problem.
I doubt that this is a common issue but if you happen to encounter the same issue, it is easy enough to fix.
The Flop Stop?
That isn’t a typo. The EXACT-90 Miter Gauge has another unique feature called the flop stop. This simple device helps to solve a common problem encountered when using a miter gauge to cut larger panels.
It is typically very difficult to cut panels like the one shown in the pictures above with other miter gauges. The size of the piece requires the fence the be pulled back and off the surface of the table saw. This would usually cause the left side of the fence (as seen from the perspective of the operator) to drop since it is no longer supported. If you have ever experienced this, it is nearly impossible to do with only two hands.
The rather ingenious flop stop solves this problem by providing support for the fence that can be positioned in the track just like the flip stop. Loosening the knurled knob allows the plunger to fall and contact the top surface of the piece to be cut. You then tighten the knurled knob and voila. The fence is now supported allowing you to concentrate on the piece to be cut.
5-Cut Test for Square
This video from Woodpeckers demonstrates performing the 5-cut test with the EXACT-90 Miter Gauge. The 5-cut test involves taking a roughly square-shaped scrap and making cuts on all four sides rotating the piece 90° clockwise between each cut. When you get back to the side where you first started, you make one last cut this time producing about a 1″ wide offcut. This final offcut will “contain” the accumulated error of the previous four cuts. If you measure the width at the two ends of this piece, the difference will be four times the deviation from 90° of a single cut.
The video from Woodpeckers shows that there is no error. I was skeptical. One of my two basic rules of woodworking is that if you measure accurately enough, nothing is truly square.
So after performing all of the steps in the instructions to assemble and calibrate the miter gauge, I decided to try this test myself. After performing the test, I checked the final piece with a good square and it looked great. However, when I measured the two ends of the final offcut with a set of calipers, there was a difference.
My Fruitless Search for Improvement
I found and watched this video about how to calculate and correct for the difference found at the end of a 5-cut test. The video does a great job explaining how the test works, how to do the math to calculate the deviation from square, and how to take that deviation and adjust for it.
Given that I was using a miter gauge and not a cross-cut sled, it was difficult to use the adjustment method from the video but I tried anyway. The first time, I made the mistake of adjusting in the wrong direction which of course only made the error worse.
After several iterations, I decided that I was better off adjusting the fence by site with an accurate square. I was able to get the resulting error down to a level that I considered to be more than acceptable. Back to my rule above, nothing is truly square. It is just a matter of how close can you get to square.
By the way, my other rule of woodworking is that everything takes longer than your first estimate. Just like getting close to square but never actually achieving it, the goal is to just make my estimates get more accurate over time.
Storage
I built a simple hanger to store the EXACT-90 Miter Gauge on the wall of my shop. This hanger uses my existing French cleat storage system. The hanger consists of two 1/2″ dowels as the main supports for the miter gauge. There are also two small magnets embedded in the board to store the included hex keys.
The last part of the YouTube video briefly shows how I made this storage hanger.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the EXACT-90 Miter Gauge from Woodpeckers is a very well made tool. It is easy to set up and calibrate. I look forward to being able to confidently make square crosscuts at the table saw even on larger pieces. It is expensive, but if you are looking to buy something from Woodpeckers then that will come as no surprise.