Comments on: What Angle Is That, Precisely?

By: Russ

Russ — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:15:30 +0000

If you have something drawn in SketchUp you can use the protractor tool, or there is a ruby called "dim_angle" that will actually add the angular dimension to the drawing. Executing the angle is another story!

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:58:57 +0000

I like math, but I don’t see why to express an angle in degrees for woodworking. The tangent is a more appropriate way to describe an angle, and that’s what you’ve given with "The lower side rail drops 3/4" over a 21-7/8" length." That’s what we’re doing when we say to use a 1:8 ratio for dovetails. Why would I want to call that 7.13 degrees?

When expressed as tangent my other measuring tools are fine. And if I’ve figured the angle of something that comes out in degrees, I can change it to tangent.

But I don’t like to pay a lot for my tools. If I did, this would be tempting.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:09:26 +0000

Woodworking for engineers? Measuring joinery angles to the hundredth of a degree?

Makes one wonder how anyone ever managed to make any furniture or picture frames or even any woodworking before this latest in a line of unnecessary devices came along and made all of that apparently non-existent 18th and 19th century precise joinery possible.

OK, yeah, I’m a curmudgeon, but I think this tool is a bit silly. And nearly $300? Get serious.

Is it April 1 already?

By: Jorge G

Jorge G — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:59:11 +0000

Well, you are actually paying twice as much. Remember you still have to get the iPhone/iPad. Besides, if I want to find out the radius of an arc, or I want to figure out the angles for a coopered door with 8 pieces, how would this help me? I still have to do the math with the abacus.

Like I said, I have many BCT tools, but this one is just an expensive toy.

By: Mitch Wilson

Mitch Wilson — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:52:47 +0000

Robert
Please don’t placate the pocket protector crowd. They’re anally retentive. I know. When I was a kid, I was a bit of a math whiz who used to tinker with the adjustments on his slide rule to try and make it more accurate. In a previous lifetime, my avocation involved working in nanometers (although one instructor tried to convince us we dealt in angstroms, but we didn’t buy into that). The leisure and luxury of working with slight inaccuracies is wonderful. Keep using your dividers and rulers and a nice sharp pencil and marking knife. And there is little as discerning and accurate as your eyes and your fingertips. (Oh, and your tongue. Ever seen the homonculus on Jonathan Miller’s desk in his PBS series "The Body in Question"? However, I don’t advocate licking your wood. Tongue splinters, anyone?)

By: Greg Znajda

Greg Znajda — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:11:50 +0000

Wow! I’m amazed at the naysayers comments! This tool I worth twice the price simply to avoid having to " do the math. " good dog I want to make furniture not fiddle with my abacus!!! Read the blog and find out how bad those cheap 30 buck calipers are. I want good tools. Tools that hold an edge, are accurate, are easy to use and maintain and I’m willing to pay for them. I’ve worked with cheap tools and spent time tuning and retuning them. No thanks! China makes cheap and I want no part of it. Right on BCT!!!!

By: David

David — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:26:33 +0000

Hmmm – the issue at hand is a fundamental philosophical difference – should the home/semi-pro woodworker strive to use manufacturing goals in his/her shop (i.e., part interchangeability, make to spec instead of make to fit and multiple piece runs), or strive to make one piece at a time to the best of their ability?

I would argue that the latter requires eschewing making parts to the specs in a drawing, and requires making parts to fit the other pieces in a construction, instead of the (theoretically) much more efficient method of making all of the parts on the cut list to their exact drawing measurements and assembling the piece when all parts are milled.

Personally, my opinion is that one cannot make fine furniture by the latter method because of the fickle nature of wood, inability to obtain stock with the necessary dimensions, and wood’s inherent instability with even small changes in moisture content (making it impossible to make the pieces over several days and expect them to hold their intended dimensions).

But – I’m aware of lots of woodworkers that try.

By: robert

robert — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:17:05 +0000

Looks like a fancy sine bar. You can make your own sine bar, and as noted earlier, the trig is free (well, it does cost time and study).

By: Jorge G

Jorge G — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:13:04 +0000

I have to agree with Jon on this one. I am a fan of BCT and have many of their tools, but this one seems superfluous to me. A protractor, a square, a calculator and a little knowledge will work just as good.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:28:20 +0000

Basic trigonometry is free (well, except for the square that you need to make the right angle) and as accurate as you can measure.

If you own a set of dial/digital calipers as shown above (under $30 for some semi-decent Chinese-made knock-offs, under $100 for some pretty decent Mitutoyos, etc.) and own a calculator, you’re just a few steps away from precision angle measurements. On the plus side, the tools involved can be used for a hundred other things!