Osborne EB-3 Miter Gauge Review

SONY DSCIt’s not news that standard-issue table saw miter gauges are often sub-standard.  The bar wiggles in the slot and it can be nearly impossible to accurately set the head.  That’s why woodworkers upgrade their miter gauges.

I recently tested the Osborne EB-3 miter gauge, $120.  Here’s what I learned.

Product overview

SONY DSCThe EB-3 uses a unique triangle system.  It looks like a shelf bracket.  The concept makes sense, since we all know how strong shelf brackets are. Osborne strives to have every EB-3 dead on right out of the box.  If a tweak does need to be made to zero the miter gauge, it’s easy to do.

The Osborne miter gauge can be used on either side of the blade, left or right tilt saw.  It takes a minute or two of disassembly and reassembly to make the change.

SONY DSCAngles are set by loosening the thumbscrew and sliding the inner brace in or out of the outer brace.

Osborne Miter Gauge using preset detentsPreset angles (0-45 in 5-degree increments left and right, plus 22.5 left and right) are hit by loosening the thumbscrew and depressing a plunger on the bottom of the outer brace while you move the inner brace.  The plunger will hit detents at the presets.

Osborne Miter Gauge Custom Fitting the barThe miter gauge bar is snugged to the slot by adjusting it from above with the bar in the saw.  This is a great approach for making this adjustment, allowing accurate fine tuning.  Some miter gauges require you to make adjustments with the bar out of the saw slot, then reinsert it to test your work.  It’s hard to get good results that way.  I much prefer the method used by the EB-3.

The bar will fit a miter gauge slot as small as .741” and expand to fit slots up to .765” wide.

extension fenceThe fence extension and flip stop, included, projects far enough from the miter gauge to provide a 40” long cut on my SawStop table saw.  This amount will vary from saw to saw, but that’s a lot of capacity.  The flip stop can also be used on the main body of the fence.

Thoughts on the EB-3

Pros

The EB-3 is a solid miter gauge.  If you frequently cross cut long items on your table saw you’ll find that the triangular support does a great job of preventing the miter gauge head from torqueing away from your angle setting. Detents for preset angles were accurate in both directions.

It was very easy, using the three expansion slots in the bar, to customize the bar width for my saw, creating a perfect fit.

The significant support and flip stop capacity provided by the extension is great.  Very few miter gauges extend as far as this one does.

Cons

If you want to add an auxiliary fence to the EB-3 you’ll have to drill through the aluminum extrusion fence to do so.  While this wouldn’t be horribly difficult to do, I’d like to see Osborne include these holes as part of the manufacturing process.

When going for angles not covered by the detents I found it a little difficult to be precise, compared to my work with protractor-style miter gauges.

Bottom line

This Osborne miter gauge will add accuracy to your table saw.  The parts are well machined and it has the feel of a quality piece of equipment.  It’s also priced well within the aftermarket miter gauge category.

Source

Osborne EB-3 Miter Gauge $120 (800) 379-9564

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4 Responses to “Osborne EB-3 Miter Gauge Review”

  1. duanel

    Grate miter gauge, use it allot. When I need to add a wooden auxiliary fence, I remove the extrusion fence and replace it with a piece of wood the size I need, works very well. This by the way is sawstop frendly.

  2. Jenny

    thank you for saw post!! I was planning to buy one, got stucked because of the big assortment- which one is right for me? here you make some arrangement. and please, video would be very helpful…

  3. Knobby

    I really like mine too. As Greg says, stable and reliable. I have no problem with accuracy by using a measured protractor to set odd angles. Rather than screw on an extension I find it easier to use a crosscut jig, homebuilt big, when necessary. At least that's my easy. Get one, they're really nice!

  4. Greg Weeg

    I really like mine. Very stable and reliable. I sure wish I thought of putting the flip stop on the extension arm end. Great tip and great tool!!!