INCRA MITER1000SE Miter Gauge Special Edition With Telescoping Fence and Dual Flip Shop Stop

The value of upgrading from the factory miter gauge was something I heavily debated for a long time. After making the purchase and using it on a few projects, I have no regrets and find it very useful. Cuts requiring a miter gauge are feel far safer and easier to make with the more substantial size. Adjusting the fit was very quick, and it required no adjustments to accuracy out of the box. The majority of the quality feels great, although the cheap plastic thumbscrews for the stop block do feel out of place.

I planned on buying an aftermarket miter gauge when I bought a table saw, and a day after I ordered the saw, it went on sale so I requested and received a refund for a couple hundred bucks. Since I considered that money already spent, I decided to buy an even better miter gauge than originally planned. Best decision ever. I looked at specs and reviews, handled them in shops, and decided on this Incra 1000 SE, also on sale at the time.I really didn't think I needed or would ever utilize its capabilities, but boy was I wrong. Could I have gotten along just fine with a lesser capable one? Sure. You likely can too. But I guarantee that if you have it, you will make good use of it.Pros: well built and heavy duty. Seems well thought out, and provides adjustment capability in all planes, ensuring a high level of accuracy. Not stupidly overengineered, complicated or bulky, like some high end ones are. Easy to use; I only read the instructions once before initial use. The telescoping fence is rigid even at full extension, and the stop block has no slop, making repeated cuts spot on.Cons: it could benefit from a longer miter bar, as the deepest workpiece it'll accommodate in my saw (end of the miter bar just a few inches in the miter slot at the table's front) is about 16 or so inches. Once you pull it back far enough anyway that the fence comes off the front of the table, the fence wants to rotate sideways, creating a dangerous situation. I built an extension that slips on the front fence rail that supports the miter gauge's fence to prevent this. A spot to hold the ball-end tool on the fence back somehow would be a bonus, keeping everything you need self-contained.All in all, I'm very happy with it. This one looks to me like it's the best choice for quality, ease-of-use, and durability among the precision miter gauges, even better than other more expensive Incra models. To be sure, it's a fairly big investment, and probably not an easy decision. But if you don't already have specific jigs and a crosscut sled and could benefit from the accuracy and repeatability this provides, you could certainly do worse than taking the plunge on it.

This miter gauge has way more features than I will ever use. But, it is perfectly square right out of the box and is very easy to use.

I've been wanting to buy this Incra mitre fence since I bought my table saw a couple of years ago. The thing that has put me off purchasing it until now is that all Australian retailers charge a very significant premium (approx 80-100%) over what it can be purchased for in the US. Thanks to Amazon I was able to purchase this item at a very reasonable price and have it shipped to my address with delivery within 2 weeks.The first thing I noticed about the item is that both the extruded aluminium fence and protractor plate are very solid and it seems that it will be reliable for many years to come. Adjusting the GlideLOCK Miter Bar to fit snuggly in my table saw slot was relatively easy and has resulted in a sliding mechanism with no lateral movement at all which is great.Having said that I'm a little disappointed with some of the design decisions on this product. It seems a bit crazy that a hex key (Allen Key) is required to extend the fence. Making quick and fine adjustments is what this product is all about and requiring a tool to make adjustments is rather inconvenient. Surely it would be possible to design a tool-less adjustment mechanism for this common task. Another thing that is a bit baffling is the "shop stop" which kind of has two independent arms which can be folded out of the way (which is nice) but they are joined together meaning that you can't slide them independently. You can use the stop rods to have some degree of flexibility with the positioning, but simply having two separate stops would be easier and more flexible. The screws that hold the stop rods in are also a bit fiddly and tend to fall out on the bench when removing the stop rod. It would be easier to use if these were captive screws that didn't come out.Although not perfect, this is a product I can confidently recommended if you are looking to upgrade your mitre fence on your table saw to a more accurate one.