Granite in Woodworking

I like accuracy. Can’t help it. It’s the engineer in me.

Accuracy includes flatness, and there is a slowly emerging trend of using granite to achieve this, with Steel City producing granite topped tools (such as tablesaws). (Aside – there is also a granite block available for a sharpening station – something I am definitely interested in!)

Steel City are starting to branch out with their use of granite into other areas of woodworking, and one very interesting development is the very unusual (if seeing a granite topped tablesaw isn’t unusual enough!) idea of a granite angle gauge. This is will be available in Australia from Professional Woodworkers Supplies, so if you are interested, definitely get in contact with them, as the initial shipment will only be a limited number of units. I’m not sure the exact cost, but around $55 (give or take $10) would be my guesstimate.

Positive points of the granite angle gauge: very dimensionally stable, even over a wide range of temperature. Accuracy over the life of the tool. And because of the cheapness of granite compared to the cost of an equal thickness of more traditional angle gauge materials, it has significant weight and substance- including being quite stable when free-standing.

Negative points: If you want thin, it isn’t going to be granite! And don’t drop it on a concrete floor. I don’t know how survivable a drop onto a hard surface would be, but I’m not going to try it!!!!

So onto the tool itself.

Storage Case

Subtle – understated.  Just the way I like it for professional tools.

Setting 45 degree stop

So here ’tis.  A chunk of accurately machined granite, with a 90 degree and 45 degree angle.  Although it is very thick (which makes free standing a breeze), the edges are tapered to only a few mm, so it is narrow enough to fit easily between the carbide teeth so the angle is against the meat of the blade as it should be.  The thickness also helps, so you can really see when the gap between the gauge and the blade disappears.

Top view

Setting 90 degree stop

When I first placed the gauge against the blade at 90 degrees, there was a gap that shouldn’t have been there.  Strange thought I, so I compared the granite gauge to my other squares.  They seemed fine, so back to the saw, and it was that my stop wasn’t as accurately set to 90 degrees as I would want.  I then used the other squares to compare, and the gap was discernible, but it was really obvious with the granite gauge.

It was then adjusting the stop that I really began to appreciate that it was free-standing, as it freed up a hand to work on the blade angle stop, or wind the blade angle wheel to get back to exactly 90 degrees.

The gauge isn’t something that you’d use on a day to day basis in your woodworking, but knowing you have such an accurate reference for your other gauges and squares, and for setting up your tools is definitely an asset.