Digital Angle Finder

Those are cool. I have a Wixey angle cube.

It’s the older, unlighted, version.

-- The hump with the stump and the pump!

I have this one…

GemRed Digital Angle Finder Protractor

Been very happy with it. Have used it for all sorts of random things. Setting up a new miter saw, checking square on cuts, finding odd angles, etc.

Haven’t had it professionally tested/calibrated. But, have no reason (yet) not to trust it.

Only downside is that, personally, I’m kind of getting sick and tired of buying from China.com. At least this one had somewhat of a normal manufacturer name.

Edit: Also have one of the above cube things. Both have their own unique applications. Mine isn’t a Wixey, but a Klein Tools model. Use it all the time when doing bevels on my table and miter saws.

Test a digital angle finder as you would any square. Closed it should read 0.0°. Draw a line at 90°, flip it over & draw another line. Any difference is 2x the error.

-- The hump with the stump and the pump!

Test a digital angle finder as you would any square. Closed it should read 0.0°. Draw a line at 90°, flip it over & draw another line. Any difference is 2x the error.

- Madmark2

Yeah. It’s not tuff to test. But, being digital, and not analog. Consistency and accuracy is always a concern. Especially with angles anywhere between 0 and 90. Upside is, if you’re using it to transcribe a measured angle onto a piece, it is analog and the actual angular degree is kind of irrelevant.

I saw the General at Lowes a few years ago and thought it was a gimmick until i read all the reviews so picked one up. On Lowes and amazon mostly 4 1/2-5 stars.
https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-828-Digital-Protractor/dp/B00563TLSI

I use my phone cuz I always have it. The little green men would covet a little digital angle finder. Guaranteed.

-- Andy - Seattle USA

I use my phone cuz I always have it. The little green men would covet a little digital angle finder. Guaranteed.

- Andybb

I tried a couple phone apps. At best, I found them accurate-ish. Could repeat the same measurement a handful of times, and the only consistency was that the measurements would be inconsistent.

Maybe I never tried the right app. Maybe it was a hardware issue. Maybe it was simply the Indian and not the arrow. I just decided to move on and may never know. Sure would have been convenient if it would have worked though.

I have both the Wixey cube and a General. Happy with both.

Wiley is probably the standard

I’ve had 2 Igaging digitals – bevel gauge and angle cube.

The bevel gauge quit working after a couple years, the angle cube took a fall and quit. I took it apart and the insides are held together with hot melt glue.

I had a General and tested for 90 it was so inaccurate I returned it.

-- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!!

+1 on Wixey or Igaging. I have a variety of digital measuring tools from both companies. They are durable, accurate, and the batteries life is decent. As a bonus, the large readout is also appreciated.

-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"

I also have an angle “cube” which is great for tool setup and one of the protractor styles shown by Wood_Scraps and tvrgeek (these appear to be a generic device rebranded by everyone).

The legs on the protractor style may be too long for some measurements in more confined spaces, but by using a bevel gauge to take the reading and then using the digital protractor to take a measurement from the bevel gauge works well.

My gripe with the onslaught of these cheaper digital units is everyone I have needs to have the battery removed after use. Even if the display goes blank after switching it off, the battery will still be draining and go dead after a few weeks in the drawer.

I also have an angle “cube” which is great for tool setup and one of the protractor styles shown by Wood_Scraps and tvrgeek (these appear to be a generic device rebranded by everyone).

The legs on the protractor style may be too long for some measurements in more confined spaces, but by using a bevel gauge to take the reading and then using the digital protractor to take a measurement from the bevel gauge works well.

My gripe with the onslaught of these cheaper digital units is everyone I have needs to have the battery removed after use. Even if the display goes blank after switching it off, the battery will still be draining and go dead after a few weeks in the drawer.

- splintergroup

Good point about the size. Hasn’t been an issue (yet) for me. But could definitely see it being a problem in some applications.

As far as the battery, my GemRed version is still going on the original battery that came with it. Maybe around 6 months old? It does have a feature where you do a “long” press on the power switch to shut it off completely. So maybe that’s why I haven’t run into crazy battery drain issues.

I bought one by Igauging that uses a 9v battery because I was concerned about button batteries dying.

It does have a feature where you do a “long” press on the power switch to shut it off completely. So maybe that’s why I haven’t run into crazy battery drain issues.

- Wood_Scraps

Interesting. I’ll have to try that since I assumed the on/off just toggled the power. Maybe it’s press=on, short press=sleep, long press=off

I have both the Wixey cube and a General. Happy with both.

- tvrgeek

This type of angle gauge may be more useful than the one you were looking at. This one will find an actual angle off of any reference point and is almost fool proof, the cube works well for setting up a saw, etc.

-- NorthWoodsMan