ME/1000SE - Combo Miter Express + Miter 1000SE

The miter express sled is all that I expected. It works well with the Incra miter gauge as well as an older Rockler model. The setup is straight forward and it allows you to cut pieces, especially smaller pieces safely, which is what I needed.

The gauge has very good accuracy across the horizontal plane. Repeatability is excellent. Once it is setup and adjusted, it stayed locked in the whole time. My complaint is that the mounting bracket between the fence and the protractor was not square. The vertical angle of the fence was set back about 2 to 3 degrees. If you cut flat against the bottom portion of the fence or only make straight cuts, there are no problems. Now, if you cut at any angle other than 0 degrees and use the full height of the fence, the cut will not be straight. The higher the protractor angle, the bigger the problem.

The instructions tell you how to shim the gauge to get it perpendicular to the table, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Since the bracket's vertical angle is not consistent across the face, you need multiple shims of different values on either side of the bracket. I contacted Incra support and they quickly replaced the original bracket with one that was better, but still not at 90 degrees. I ended up taking the bracket to a local machine shop and they milled it to a perfect 90 degrees across its entire length. Now it works like I expected for a fence from this highly regarded manufacturer. At the price they charge for this miter gauge and fence, I shouldn't have to spend an additional $30 to have it brought into proper alignment.

The combo package is the 1000SE miter gauge (the SE or special edition has an extendable fence and the fancy stop block) with the sled that they call the miter express. I have used Incra products for a few years and I've never had anything from Incra that didn't live up to expectations.

I got this for my new Powermatic table saw on the recommendation of the Incra tech rep, and am glad I took his advice. The advantage of the 1000SE combo over the 5000 (which is a 3000SE with a slightly larger sled) is that the 1000SE sled takes only a few seconds to remove. Once removed, you can use the 1000SE miter (or any other miter for that matter) alone, or use the saw's fence. I hadn't really thought much about this convenience until I had the 1000SE with sled mounted. I find myself putting the sled on and off several times a day. The 5000 would be inconvenient for me because it takes so long to remove and replace. That's exactly what the Incra tech rep said that I would discover.

By way of comparison, the 5000 has a larger sled with a longer telescoping fence on the miter gauge (i think it extends to 50" or something like that). Since the 5000 is built around the 3000SE Miter Gauge, the 5000 offers stops at every degree over 360degrees. The 1000SE combo on the other hand has about a 30% smaller sled and stops at ever 5 degrees over 180, plus a few standards like 22.5. The 1000SE also has a vernier cursor so theoretically you could have fractional degree miter angles.

So, if you need a large sled and a long telescoping fence for cutting large panels, etc., and make a lot of unusual angle cuts, the 5000 may be the way to go. If you can live with about a 30% smaller sled, 5 degree increments, and a fence that only extends to 20 inches or so, the 1000SE is definitely more convenient to remove and replace. I should mention that either system can be mounted with the miter gauge either to the left or right of the blade.

The setup is easy. You attach the hardware to the melamine boards. the outfeed melamine is attached to a rail that lodges itself in the outfeed side T-slot. The two remaining melamine boards are secured to the 2 sides of the Incra T-slot track, the bottom of which slides in your infeed T-slot as an assembly. The 1000SE miter gauges is held securely in the infeed assembly - that is the entire assembly slides in the table saw T-slot with the miter gauge secured within it. Outfeed side is secured to table top; infeed side slides as a sled. The melamine isn't terribly strong so it won't stand up to abuse, but the replacements are inexpensive and easy to get from Incra. The outfeed melamine board has to be cut on the table saw to provide the zero clearance blade slot - it's trivial to do once you see the manual (which is in color and is well written, b.t.w.). If you're thinking of an Incra gauge/sled combo, Incra has a video on their website which shows both the 1000SE combo and 5000 in use.

I think the 1000SE combo is terrific for accurate cutting. I'm very satisfied. Recommended

This is a great accessory for your table saw if you want to make exacting cuts especially on large panels. The Miter Gauge works with our with out the sled. The piece being cut is supported through the cut and held to exactly the right angle for the cut. The adjustments take all of the slop out of your miter track and really tightens up your cuts. This is a very well build item that will no doubt last for the life of your saw. This is a must if you are making fine furniture.

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