Incra Miter V27 Review

Description
The Incra Miter V27 is the lowest cost miter gauge from Incra. It is a very basic miter gauge but built with a trademark Incra indexing protractor head. The head has 27 Vee notches (hence the V27 name) that are engaged by an indexing tooth for the most commonly used angle settings in 5 degree increments from +60 to -60 degrees. There are two notches for the +/- 22 1/2 degree setting provided also. The protractor head can also be locked down in any between angle settings but the index tooth is not controlling the angle when used in this manner. No cross fence is included with the V27.

The GlideLOCK bar is sized to fit most 3/4" wide x 3/8" deep slots on machinery, even when OEM's have sized them a little off. The Incra bar actually measures about 0.74" wide, the washers are adjusted to take up the extra slack in the slot. The GlideLOCK bar is also equipped with an optional T-slot adapter attached to the end. This is especially useful on tablesaws and is quickly removed if the miter gauge needs to be used on a non-T-slot machine.

Incra Miter V27

Incra_V27_Kit.gif (102989 bytes)

Assembly
The Incra V27 is robustly built and made mostly of steel. The unit is very well made with the high degree of fit and finish that I've grown accustomed to seeing in Incra products. There is almost no assembly required for the tool, installing the handle is about it thus the instructions for the tool are minimal (but still good).

All miter gauges work better and more accurately when they are fitted to the table slot. The V27 has 4 round plastic washers specifically designed to accomplish this. With the Allen wrench provided these are simply expanded until the desired amount of free-play is removed without inducing too much friction.

Tips:

1. Before beginning the guide bar adjustment, ensure there are no burrs or irregularities along the slot as these may affect wear and adjustment.

2. Before adjusting the bar, apply a light coat of wax. I would not bother waxing the plastic pad on the bottom of the protractor head as I've always found these to run quite well without this.

3. Adjust all of the GlideLOCK washers incrementally to "sneak up" on the best fit. Once the fit becomes close, vigorously run the gauge back and forth to ensure it slides freely.

4. If a tight spot is encountered, in all likelihood this is a narrow section of the slot and not a problem with the bar. The slot can be trued with a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a hardwood block. If it were me, I would just make this step 1 to begin with. Any irregularity is likely to be very small and easily taken care of with this method.

Summary
The Incra V27 is a well made tool and a great value. I highly recommend the V27 to two groups of users. Those who cannot afford a more deluxe Incra miter gauge or those needing a good secondary gauge for use on sanders, bandsaws, and the like. I do not recommend the V27 for those who are going to put deluxe cross fences on it as I believe it would end up being more expensive than buying a more deluxe model that already included a fence (like the Incra Miter 1000se).

When I started up my woodworking shop, there were only a couple of aftermarket miter gauges available and they were quite expensive. The V27 has bridged the gap between expensive higher end equipment and accurizing the original equipment that comes with a machine. I really wish these were available "back in the day"; I wouldn't have wasted nearly as much time fiddling with the stock gauge. This sort of investment would have paid huge dividends in time saved. For around $50, you really cannot beat the price of this tool for the capability it brings into the shop.

In the interest of full disclosure, Incra provided this product to facilitate this review.