 |
About five years
ago, when Maureen was using the Incra Miter Gauge to cut 6 sided boxes, she found
that it could also be used to set the blade tilt angle. That Incra
product became the first of several miter products that brought new accuracy of cutting
any angle we wanted to cut.
|
More recently (two
years ago), Beth and I installed the Incra 5000 sled. We have used that a lot since. If
there was one problem with it, it was that is was not easy to store when not in use. The
miter gauge and fence seemed to make the sled difficult to hang or place in any real
convenient storage rack.
|
 |
 |
Here is the new Incra
sled. The picture is from the Incra website. They call it the Miter Express and it comes
without the miter gauge. You can add one of their fine gauges or use whatever you already
have. The gauge slides into the large aluminum extrusion and locks in place for use with
the sled. It can be unlocked and used separately and it can be removed so
that the sled can be easily stored as a square package — that I am looking forward
to.
|
Elena is here today
and can help me assemble the new Incra Miter Express.
|
 |
 |
We have a couple of
different Incra Miter Gauges to install with it. Here is the Incra website picture of
their "entry" miter gauge, the V27. Here is how Incra describes it: "While
the V27 delivers ALL of the accuracy of its bigger Incra Miter Gauge brothers, its
no-nonsense design and compact size make it the most affordable Incra Miter Gauge EVER!
"
|
This is the Incra
3000 miter gauge. To say that it is more expensive doesn't describe it at all adequately.
Again, I will add the description in Incra's own words: "The Miter 3000 is
the most-feature rich miter gauge on the planet ...." I
do like that "feature-rich" expression. We will find that to be the case as we
use it with the Miter Express sled.
|
 |
 |
To get
started with out installation, I had Elena read over the instructions. Incra does a
bang-up job on creating a detailed manual. The sled is rather easy to install
and we might have been able to do it by just looking at the full color picture on the
outside of the box, but there are a few little details that can only be gleaned from the
step-by-step in the manual.
|
As you can see in
the above illustration looking over Elena's shoulders, Incra shows all the parts laid out.
Elena starts her install by laying them out in the exact same orientation.
|
|
 |
The first step
is to attach the "drop off" sections together. These will catch the cut offs on
the other side of the blade and help to keep them from causing kick back.
|
With the several
pieces connected, Elena can slide it into the table saw's miter slot. She uses some dry
lubricant to make the track very smooth and the jig can glide smoothly.
|
 |