When it comes to making accurate bevel measurements, these offerings from MasterGage, Starrett and Veritas will make sure the angle you want is the angle you get – and then some.
By Dave Eames-Harlan
For many woodworkers, miter angles can be a nightmare. If it’s anything other than 45 degrees, many of us measure the angle with whatever relatively accurate tool we have at hand, mark it, and hope for the best.
(I have an ancient brass protractor that sometimes works.) We recently received three tools, each of which can make it much easier for us get those angles just right – although each approaches the process in a slightly different manner.
On your mark ...
Two of the tools must be used in combination with a sliding bevel gauge. The simpler of these is the Universal Angle Guide from MasterGage. The tool is a 4½" x 8½" rectangle of black aluminum with a half-circle, protractor-like angle scale etched onto one side. The guide is easy to use. Simply butt the wooden half of your bevel gauge against the bottom edge of the protractor scale, and align the metal arm with the angle you’re looking for, making sure the junction of the two arms is aligned with the “align here” mark on the scale. You use a similar process to measure an angle from the workpiece. Set your bevel gauge from the piece, align the junction of the arms on the mark on the edge of the protractor scale and read the angle from the scale.
The Veritas Bevel Setter from Lee Valley also works with your bevel gauge, but approaches the process somewhat differently. Instead of a protractor scale, Veritas has various angles marked in half-degree increments all the way across one face of its 3" x 7" steel body. As with the MasterGage, you butt the wooden arm of your bevel gauge against one edge and register the metal arm against the line for the angle you wish to set. Measuring an angle from your bevel gauge is easy as well. Butt the wooden arm across one edge and then slide the metal arm until it’s parallel with one of the marks on the bevel setter.
Both the MasterGage and Veritas tools have some extras beyond simple angle measurement. The MasterGage has a metric and an English height gauge on either short edge. It also has a table showing miter angles for polygons with up to 20 sides. The Veritas setter also offers polygon miter angles – for up to 24 sides – but with a different twist. If you flip the Veritas over, on one-half of the tool you’ll see a scale with various numbers of polygon sides marked on a set of scale lines. This feature allows you to set the miter angle directly for your desired polygon in one step – you don’t have to determine the angle and then find it on a separate scale. The same side also has scales for various common (and less common, actually) dovetail angles. Again, you simply use the marked lines to directly set the angle on your bevel gauge in a single step. Veritas also includes a simple aluminum stop that can be registered and locked on any one of the angle lines for simple, repeatable angles. Finally, the long edges of this side of the tool also have metric ruler markings. Veritas also offers a version with English ruler markings.
The final tool takes a much different approach to measuring and setting angles. The 7" ProSite 505A-7 Protractor from Starrett provides some of the same the capabilities of the other tools – but doesn’t require a bevel gauge. The ProSite is a remarkably simple and elegant design, consisting of two approximately 7"-long aluminum arms connected at one end to a round angle scale. The scale has two registration marks. A black arrow points to the outer scale which shows the “single cut” angle. A red arrow points to the inner scale which shows the “miter cut” for the measured angle. When the two arms are at 90 degrees, the black arrow points to “0” and the red arrow points to 45 degrees.
This new ProSite is a little brother to Starrett’s 505A-12, a 12" version of the protractor, which the company has carried for some time. Other than its smaller size, this one is functionally (and visibly) identical to the earlier offering.
While the three tools offer similar functions, each has different strengths. The Starrett ProSite protractor is the easiest of the tools to measure angles on larger pieces and to transfer angles to a miter saw. The Starrett is available for about $40. starrett.com
If you’re looking for ultimate versatility – particularly to precisely mark and measure fine angles on smaller pieces, such as dovetails or polygons – the Veritas is your best bet. It sells for about $25. leevalley.com
The MasterGage is the simplest of the three to use. It feels extremely rugged, has no extra pieces that might be lost and is a good all-around guide for setting and measuring angles for various needs. It goes for $66. mastergage.com
— Dave Eames-Harlan is a freelance writer and woodworker living in Moscow, Idaho.
