Official Luthiers Forum!

I haven't heard it mentioned on this forum but I have had fantastic success with Incra products. I have a low-end Shopcraft tablesaw. The manager of Woodcraft talked me into the miter gauge. Now, I had always looked upon this tool (the tablesaw)as a good starting point but with the addition of the miter, it instantly became world-class. An hours setup including test cuts and she was good to go.

I mention this because of the necks I am working on. The cuts are repeatable, and accurate. It's not Bessemeyer (sp)et al but it works great! Just thought I'd share.

Regards, Steve Brown

Which jig are you talking about? Don't they have a lot of products now? I have been tripping over my Incra-jig, the origninal plastic thing, which I have never successfully used once. It wasn't adjustable enough for me. The new stuff looks a lot nicer, but there are always other things higher on the list of things to buy.

[QUOTE=EricKeller] Which jig are you talking about? Don't they have a lot of products now? I have been tripping over my Incra-jig, the origninal plastic thing, which I have never successfully used once. It wasn't adjustable enough for me. The new stuff looks a lot nicer, but there are always other things higher on the list of things to buy.[/QUOTE]

I have the miter gauge with an extension. I'm unfamiliar with the early products so I have no basis for comparison. This unit is accurate, has a longish fence and once set-up was very repeatable.

Frankly, that's why I made the post. I was very surprized (pleasantly!) and since I've heard no mention of it, I thought I would.

What occasioned my surprize was having to cut the nut angle in the headstock plate for the very first time. It allowed for very precise increments and was repeatable. As a result, my first two came out nearly perfect. Either it was the Incra-jig or I'm a phenomenal luthier!

Regards, Steve Brown

A thought...

If you're interested, I'll post a picture of the one I have.

Steve

I too have the old plastic one. I use it on my router table. It is not too good at setting the initial distance of the fence. That you have to do the old fashoned way. Once it is set, however, you can move the fence to any multiple of 1/32nd of an inch to an accuracy of .001. You can then put it back and it will be exactly where it was before. This changes the way you look at a routing problem. For example, Suppose you want to route a 1/4" slot down the center of a board 3" wide. First, set the fence so that it is touching the edge of your 1/4" bit. You have to loosen the screws for this step. Unlock the jig and slide the fence away from the bit by 1/2 of the width of your board (1-1/2") Minus the 1/2 width of your bit. (1/8) or 1-3/8" Your cut will be right down the center of the board if your board is truely 3" wide. It seem frought with parel to rely on the fence like this but it works. It especially good for routing slots when you don't have a bit the proper width as long as the slot is some multiple of 1/32". If I recall correctly, they have metric guides as well.

I think a lot of woodworkers have the original plastic Incra Jig collecting dust in their shops. I have one myself that I bought at a flea market. It's an interesting tool, but I've never figured out how to use it in my shop. I've considered getting one of the new Incra miter systems for my old Sears table saw. Which model did you buy, Steve?Neil38490.3882060185

I don't know the model number but here is a picture. The extension has been removed here but you get the idea. Woodcraft sells it so you can match it to their catalog.

Regards, Steve Brown