On my 1023 set up, I bought a master plate and super bar from MasterGage, and it made a world of difference in cutting and ripping. It was a purchase I never looked back on because I use it several times a year to check my fence alignment and wished they had come out with a better instrument so I could use to check out other machines with the same precision so to get maximum performance. Well...... they sure did, and without hesitation I ordered one and thought I'd pass the information along.
I ordered the Mastergage classic, and right from the get go, I was impressed!!!!!! Let me start off first by saying that I'm no different than anyone else about the price of things. Some of these tools out there are way over priced, and never justifies the cost let alone the need.
When I opened the box upon receiving it I immediately knew every nickel I paid for this was spent right because I could see the thought that went into this instrument was well done, not just to make a quick buck.......but for longevity and the woodworkers need. The box is fitted with foam cut outs for holding all the instruments for maximum protection.
The foam is removable if you want to make a custom box of your own, but its sized so that a master plate can be fitted under the foam, keeping everything together. It has all the measuring devices you'll ever need for any machine set up in the shop.......... plus a well illustrated manual that without a doubt is the best I've ever seen in the industry! I hate to read anything, and this manual has plenty of pictures that a 2 yr old could easily follow. Its in a nice binder that also fits in the box. Are you ready for this? Forget guessing what those little black lines mean, and is it in inches..decimals..fractions..or millimeters. The scales are easily translated right there on the device from sixteenths, 32nds, .02 divisions, fractions, millimeter divisions, to half millimeter divisions. WOW! It can be used to set up everything in the shop from table saws, drum sanders, drill press runout, jointer knives beds and fences, radial saws, band saw, horizontal boring machines, and a bunch of others. Brake it down and we're talking $10.00-$15.00 a machine! At that kind of money, especially machines I spent over 500.00 for, I want the best performance I can get out of, and this calibration package to me is worth every cent I paid.
Setting jointer knives with absolute precision, or checking the fence, this is as good as it gets! I can remember folks posting questions as to what machinist squares for accuracy and the numbers were through the roof of common sense.
The can be set to perfection using the precision edge
Setting up a drum sander is done without guessing and using a feeler block and I can't tell you enough how nice this is for this set up alone
You can't find a more accurate device to set a fence with on the table saw. Once the top is in alignment, a piece is added to enable the MasterGage to ride in the miter slot. Now it can be checked at both ends for absolute precision within .003 or finer
I'm not anal on perfection now........ but there comes a time when one realizes that good set ups produce great results and finally someone comes out with an instrument that is well thought of.
Finally..... its nice to have a tool or instrument that's "personally" indentified as yours. A brass name plate engraved with your name is included. Now this is nice!
Visit the site, and you can download the manual and updates to this incredible tool
