Incra makes a standard protractor more useful. Rather than trying to mark next to a tiny line on the edge of a protractor, every 5º and every 22.5º they machine long slots for marking lines with a really sharp pencil or a 0.5 mm lead mechanical pencil. For less frequently-used angles they also cut short slots every 1/2º.
Instead of trying to line up the protractor along an edge, you can quickly butt the protractor’s T-bar against the edge of your work piece. When you need to use the protractor in the middle of a piece, the T-bar detaches with two thumb screws. With the T-bar removed, you also have access to a 6″ ruler with marking holes every 1/32″.
Pricing for the protractor starts around $26 including shipping. You could probably by a digital protractor for just a little more, but with the Incra at least you’ll never have to scramble to find batteries. For the Imperial unit-challenged, they also sell a metric version where they replace the 6″ scale with a 160 mm scale.
Protractor [Incra]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
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8 Responses to Putting The Precision In Protractor
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i have an incra t-rule like this, it makes me loads more accurate. i got it on a lark w/ Amazon gift certs.. glad i did, this is on my list for next time (along with a bunch of other incra stuff).
make sure you have a mechanical pencil w/ .5 lead or smaller for marking. gave me pause when i went to use it.
One thing I don’t like about them is that there are just too many holes,so much so that it can be hard to find the one you want to use.
@ jesse, could the unneeded holes be covered with transparent tape? I would imagine that very few holes are actually used.
IronHerder
I have mixed feelings about Incra tools. On the one hand I like the Incra miter gauge and T-Square ruler that I have in my home shop – but think them a bit less robust than what we’d want in either of our commercial shops or for job-site use. I guess that if I were constructing a really odd polygon – having the ability to precisely mark the angles would add value to this protractor – but for the most part the fixed stops on a miter saw and/or miter guage do pretty well most of the time – and fine tuning with a sander or plane does the rest if needed – for framing octagonal windows – and building octagonal or hexagonal benches and decks.
@Fred, I do the same thing, use a miter saw and gauge for angles. Honestly I have never seen anybody use a protractor since Geometry Class. If your doing really small construction, like making doll house furniture, I can imagine it would come in handy especially with the T-bar.. but I’m with you on itering and then getting the precision by working on the cut piece with a rasp or some file and then sanding.
i just got one of these- i wanted to note that this product actually came with the pictured Incra mechanical pencil.
@Nick:
Thanks for the info. I don’t see anywhere on their site or their distributors sites that it comes with a pencil. Did you buy it from the Incra store or another distributor like Amazon?
I wonder if all their “holey” rules come with a pencil. That would be a nice touch.
@ Ben
i bought it off Amazon, it had the standard (looking) Incra packaging (bubble pack thing). .
of the Incra stuff, I have a t-rule, a slotted ruler, and the corner edge parking ruler – none of those came w/ a pencil.
there is nothing special about the pencil by the way, a step up from the plastic bic ones i guess. Just a simple .05 mechanical pencil.