Is my Angle Cube broken?

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jackknifeh
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Is my Angle Cube broken?

#1

Post by jackknifeh »

The display on my angle cube started flashing from one thing to another when I turned it on this morning. Also the brightness changes. I figured bad battery. I don't have any new 9v batteries so I put a cheap brand, used battery in it. Now I turn it on and it goes to 0° then after 2 seconds it changes to 15.85 and stays there no matter how I move the cube. I can zero it but then it stays on zero no matter how I move it. I either still have a weak battery or it is broken.

Has anyone else had their battery fail? How did it work with the bad battery and then work with a new one?

Also, are these things programmed to be at "LEVEL/0.00°" when you first turn it on?

Thanks.

I'm sorry. Please move this to off-topic.
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Kihlo7
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#2

Post by Kihlo7 »

I have never had mine fail but i haven't had mine for too long i bet you just need a new battery..
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phillipsted
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#3

Post by phillipsted »

Jack - Some electronics are very sensitive to voltage drops as the batteries age. I would start with a fresh alkaline battery - and then use the instructions that came to the unit to calibrate it to a true 0° setting.

TedP
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kbuzbee
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#4

Post by kbuzbee »

Yep, sounds like the battery to me.

Ken
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kbuzbee
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#5

Post by kbuzbee »

jackknifeh wrote:
Also, are these things programmed to be at "LEVEL/0.00°" when you first turn it on?
Mine doesn't. It registers the actual angle at startup. On my WEPS, I never care about the true angle, only the angle relative to the base, so I zero it and go.

I've also found my elbows on the dr table (where I usually sharpen) will change it significantly. So I stay clear while setting the arms. After that it doesn't matter.

Did a new battery clear it up?

Ken
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jackknifeh
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#6

Post by jackknifeh »

kbuzbee wrote:Mine doesn't. It registers the actual angle at startup. On my WEPS, I never care about the true angle, only the angle relative to the base, so I zero it and go.

I've also found my elbows on the dr table (where I usually sharpen) will change it significantly. So I stay clear while setting the arms. After that it doesn't matter.

Did a new battery clear it up?

Ken
No battery yet. Believe it or not, now that I don't work it may be 3 or 4 days before I leave the yard. Or I may go twice a day to a store or whatever. It's really weird not working. I can't remember the last time I set an alarm clock. One thing I've noticed. Not working reduces money. You guys may want to write that piece of trivia down. It seems to be true. :)

I was wondering about the angle displayed at power on but not really caring. I think because of such a small surface area the angle cube is limited to it's use. It's great for small areas like your sharpening table or setting the angle of your circular saw. I don't know how it would be for building a frame for a concrete slab. You may end up with the best skateboard ramp in town. :D
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#7

Post by kbuzbee »

jackknifeh wrote:No battery yet. Believe it or not, now that I don't work it may be 3 or 4 days before I leave the yard. Or I may go twice a day to a store or whatever. It's really weird not working.
Same here. I tend to go out about once a week, to the grocery and do whatever other errands have accumulated. I've been having this discussion on a CCW thread on another forum. For me, I'm out so seldom, it's almost not worth while. They are working to convince me it is....
jackknifeh wrote:I can't remember the last time I set an alarm clock.
I can, our grand daughter was sick and they were dropping her at 6am ;) Funny thing is, now that we're retired, I tend to be up by 6 anyway. Back in the day I hated getting up at 6 but it seems to go with my natural rhythm these days (by 6 my whole body is hurting too much to stay asleep, there are "biological needs" ;) , generally I'm hungry etc )

All that said, just order a lithium 9v off Amazon. That's what I did! ;)
jackknifeh wrote:One thing I've noticed. Not working reduces money. You guys may want to write that piece of trivia down. It seems to be true. :)
I've noticed that as well. Haven't really figured out exactly why that is, yet.... Hmmm,.
jackknifeh wrote:I was wondering about the angle displayed at power on but not really caring. I think because of such a small surface area the angle cube is limited to it's use. It's great for small areas like your sharpening table or setting the angle of your circular saw. I don't know how it would be for building a frame for a concrete slab. You may end up with the best skateboard ramp in town. :D
I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I take your point. I tend to use my 4' builders level for larger projects. I keep thinking about getting one of those snazzy laser dealies. They look very cool.

Ken
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jackknifeh
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#8

Post by jackknifeh »

kbuzbee wrote:
I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I take your point. I tend to use my 4' builders level for larger projects. I keep thinking about getting one of those snazzy laser dealies. They look very cool.

Ken
I have a level with a laser. It's great for hanging pictures. Hold it on the wall and it puts a red line across the wall. It's also a stud finder. I don't think the stud finder works because it ignores me. :rolleyes: I crack myself up. :)

Have you ever used a milk jug level? Sit the milk jug about 3' above the floor on a table or something. Put a long plastic hose in the water and start syphening the water. The larger the diameter of the hose the better. The hose in your fish tank is not big enough. Keep the end of the hose above the jug to keep water from getting on the floor. :eek: :) Hold the hose against the wall and the water line is even with the top of the water in the jug. Walk around the room putting marks where you need them at this level. You can draw a line from mark to mark if you want to. Since you know this line is level you can measure up or down from the line to put whatever you want to put on the wall where you want it. This is good for hanging false ceilings and stuff like that.
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#9

Post by kbuzbee »

jackknifeh wrote:
Have you ever used a milk jug level?
I have actually. Also used a water level for slopes, dropping a fixed amount per distance. Pretty easy. (my background is in surveying, BTW)

Ken
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jackknifeh
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#10

Post by jackknifeh »

Well s***. Guess my angle cube is broken. Either that or every line in my life is 15.85 degrees. :) Two new batteries and the thing does the exact same thing. I'll see if these guys have any warranty at all but may have to get a new one. Dang you guys! I didn't even need an angle cut till I joined the Spyderco forum. :)


Jack
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kbuzbee
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#11

Post by kbuzbee »

jackknifeh wrote: Dang you guys! I didn't even need an angle cut till I joined the Spyderco forum. :)
Sorry to hear it, Jack.

Hey, I never used to feel the need to examine every edge under a 40x loupe, either ;)

Ken
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jackknifeh
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#12

Post by jackknifeh »

kbuzbee wrote:Sorry to hear it, Jack.

Hey, I never used to feel the need to examine every edge under a 40x loupe, either ;)



Ken
Those were the days. :)
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#13

Post by xceptnl »

You mean you don't need an angle cube, 40x loupe, or 16 different grits of stones to be able to enjoy my knives to their full potential? That's preposterous! :D
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sal wrote: .... even today, we design a knife from the edge out!
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#14

Post by kbuzbee »

xceptnl wrote:You mean you don't need an angle cube, 40x loupe, or 16 different grits of stones to be able to enjoy my knives to their full potential? That's preposterous! :D
Nope, "I" don't need any of that to enjoy "YOUR" knives! ;) Send them on over.....

Ken
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jackknifeh
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#15

Post by jackknifeh »

Did a way to calibrate the angle cube come with the directions on anyone's angle cube? I ordered a new one and within the directions was a way to calibrate the cube. I performed the steps on my first one and it's working fine now. A little mad at myself I dug up the little pouch (I didn't use it) with the directions in it. The calibration instructions were not on the sheet. So, I didn't feel too bad. Anyway I now have two. I guess my son just got one actually. :) Just thought I'd pass on the re-calibration posibility if anyone else didn't know about it.

Jack
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Per-Sev
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#16

Post by Per-Sev »

Tell me about this angle cube and how you use it when you sharpen your knives. If possible a pic and a brand name would help it sounds like I need one of these, maybe a pic showing how you use it when your sharping a knife. Thanks
I Have A High Art: I Hurt With Cruelty Those Who Wound Me. Archilochus 650 BC.
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jackknifeh
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#17

Post by jackknifeh »

Per-Sev wrote:Tell me about this angle cube and how you use it when you sharpen your knives. If possible a pic and a brand name would help it sounds like I need one of these, maybe a pic showing how you use it when your sharping a knife. Thanks
For sharpening knives I think it's only really beneficial if you use a sharpening system like the Edge Pro or Wicked Edge. I have an Edge Pro. I am going to make a few angle guides for laying on bench stones. They will be littl triangles that will sit on the stone at 12, 15, 18 and 20 degrees. You lay the side of the blade on the guide establishing the correct angle then do your best to maintain that angle throughout each stroke. Once you get a feel for it I'm thinking you won't need the little plastic guides. I'll post pics of these things later. Sometimes one comes with a new stone. This is not my invention.

These are great for other things also though. Actually, I didn't get one for sharpening until I realized you can use them to set the angle on your circular saw and many other uses. It's a level and also tells you the angle in relation to another angle.
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jackknifeh
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#18

Post by jackknifeh »

I used the angle cube to easily make an angle guide to start each stroke on a bench stone at 20°.

I zeroed the cube with it sittin on the base of the whatever this tool is. I swear, I can't think of the name. :mad: Gittin old. :o Now when I sit the cube on the metal bar and move the bar to the angle I want I'm ready to go. I think you can tell by the pics what I did and why. Questions? Ask.
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The material is plastic (left over vinyl siding). Easy to cut. Hard enough to do it's job.
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Glued a piece to hold it up.
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Close enough.
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tada

I'll beat you to it. The blade grind will change the angle a bit. This will have to do. Resting the tang on the guide doesn't allow you to sit the edge on the stone.

Now I'll make some for 18, 15 and 12 degrees. I think these might help me establish muscle memory in my hands. After a while I may be able to "feel" 15° when I set the edge on the stone. Time will tell. Free hand sharpening isn't that accurate anyway. Especially with me driving.

Try doing something like this without some tool to establish a known angle (0°) then be able to find any angle based on that. Speaking of that "iGaging" makes all sorts of tools like this little tool. Be prepared, they do want ALL your money. lol (used up my smilies limit) My pool table is level but any bench, table, etc works with an angle cube. The bench doesn't have to be level to start with. Just to brag a bit, I set the angle cube on my table and it went to 0 (level) no matter where or what position I put it on my pool table. I had leveled it years ago just by rolling balls. Now I have to find out why the only ball that goes into a hole is the cue ball.
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#19

Post by Per-Sev »

Very good I have a angle guide but not the angle cube I will check out Amazon and order one. Thanks
So do you use your pool table for shooting pool or just as a work bench, I really miss mine since I moved into a apartment.
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jackknifeh
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#20

Post by jackknifeh »

Per-Sev wrote:Very good I have a angle guide but not the angle cube I will check out Amazon and order one. Thanks
So do you use your pool table for shooting pool or just as a work bench, I really miss mine since I moved into a apartment.
Ebay seller "jetstools" is a great seller who has them for $25 + $3.50 shipping. I bought one from him 18 months ago (yup, 12 month warranty :( ) and now this one. The cube arrived at my house almost before he shipped it. Good price and good seller if you are interested.

PS
I'm not jetstools. :)
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