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Good suggestion but last time I did that I dropped my phone from the roof. I'd prefer a cheap dedicated device.
Misterg
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Got one of these from Amazon for ~£15. Seems to do what it promises.
oldbikedavey
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Worth a thought, but also worth checking with a sine bar....
oldbikedavey
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I can feel one coming on , somehow.......
Agroshield
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How would you "check" something with a sine bar? A sine bar is more for "setting" an angle.
Pick a number: 30 degrees (standard school geometry set triangle) and describe how you'd check that with a sine bar. The operation needs other equipment as well as the sine bar. You also need some foreknowledge of the angle in order to pick the correct gauge blocks and then something else (e.g. dial gauge) to sweep the sine bar.
With a digital item, you set it to zero on a flat (not required to be horizontal) surface, then sit it on the item resting on that surface and it tells you the angle directly.
Dev
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You make a 30 degree setup as you describe and then set the cheap inclinomter on it to see if I matches to check its accuracy.
oldbikedavey
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I'd just set up the sine bar flat, check the inclinometer against that, zero the inclinometer, then bung the old shaper gauge under the nose of the sine bar, after having set the shaper gauge with a vernier micrometer according to my Presto Book sine tables, then see what the reading was.
0.0001" over five inches isn't so shabby.....
brightspark
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i have a wixey one 22 quid its brill for setting up stuff on miller and my gauge i made for setting angles on the belt sander sharpening chissels and blades for the wood plane
Yep, that's the sort of thing I may use it for. In addition to general construction work.
brightspark
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best thing about them is you can zero them from any position even if its not level
Screwdriver
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A level (and a square) are both self calibrating.
Zero the level on any surface or a mechanical spirit level on a horizontal surface, turn it 180º and it should stay zero.
Similar story with a square, strike a line along an edge, flip it over and it should measure a square line.
The only issue with a cheap digital level is the surface quality in the base. That can easily be fixed with a simple mod by sticking on a good flat. The digital counting part is typically foolproof and can easily be checked against a true square, the intervening degrees will count within the accuracy required of a home workshop.
Zero the level on any surface or a mechanical spirit level on a horizontal surface, turn it 180º and it should stay zero.
Similar story with a square, strike a line along an edge, flip it over and it should measure a square line.
The only issue with a cheap digital level is the surface quality in the base. That can easily be fixed with a simple mod by sticking on a good flat. The digital counting part is typically foolproof and can easily be checked against a true square, the intervening degrees will count within the accuracy required of a home workshop.
Woke up this morning ( Good sign ? ) thinking all the posts are over kill .
Simply make a plywood triangle so when one side is at the right angle the upper side is level , drop the triangle - re use it , lose it make another one , a simple 9 inch boat level is used to find the level side
OR
In the wide end of the triangle cut out an upside down isosceles triangle nd hang a weighted line through the middle , like a high wall vertical finding parallel board and dividing weighted line .
Simply make a plywood triangle so when one side is at the right angle the upper side is level , drop the triangle - re use it , lose it make another one , a simple 9 inch boat level is used to find the level side
OR
In the wide end of the triangle cut out an upside down isosceles triangle nd hang a weighted line through the middle , like a high wall vertical finding parallel board and dividing weighted line .
oldbikedavey
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Aaaaaaaaand.....
It's a Wixey.......
It's a Wixey.......
addjunkie
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For milling yes, but for building stuff, nah….you dont need such accuracy. Joiners were cutting roofs long before electronic jiggery pokery was invented!
