We often get frustrated with tools and wish they worked differently. It usually ends there. It’s frustrating and dealing with it. After using a 3D printer for about a year, something changed in my head and I started asking myself: I wanted Then, if possible, fire up your CAD program, warm up your 3D printer, and eventually get your hands on the tools from your imagination.
Do all the tools I build work better than the ones on the market? Haha! no way!
Will all the tools I build work?
Do you learn something from the process every time? Absolutely.
Today I’m going to show you a really simple tool that I came up with. The concept seemed simple enough to me that I thought there would be dozens of options on the market. It’s a transfer bevel. The idea is a bevel gauge-like tool that can easily transfer angles from his 2D objects like a series of printed plans.
In the past, when I needed to capture an angle from a printed drawing, I borrowed a $1 protractor from my kid so I could get close. In practice, this method is fine.
You can also use the bevel gauge and try looking straight down, hoping the parallax won’t confuse you too much.
You could hold the setup block and use the same bevel gauge to nail it down, but that’s pretty clunky. This method is not a good one, but most of the time my plans are hanging on the wall and not bueno.
Fancy brown and sharp 495 protractors are available. The blade above it is actually only 1/16 inch above the anvil. (Yes, they did. I don’t think they had one at the time, and few people have fancy protractors like I do!!)
G-Wiz! I wish the whole thing lay flat and had a bevel gauge to easily capture the angles from the printed drawing.

This little two-part print took very little time to model (I don’t remember doing it) and printed in Ender 3 in less than an hour. A socket head screw and stop nut hold everything in place, and the stop nut keeps the hardware from turning or coming loose, so the blade stays in tension. I keep it loose enough so that I can move it very slightly if needed, but tight enough not to worry about accidentally moving the blade and losing the angle.
Do you use this little tool all the time? No way! I might use it once for Blue Moon, but considering I haven’t invested a single dollar in it, I keep it in my toolbox and laugh at how cool it is when I use it.

While filming in Dan Fire’s house, I noticed a strange-looking bevel gauge on his wall. This is Bridge City’s transfer he bevel, which, according to Dan, is made specifically to transfer angles from the drawing.they are available at Used market around $90Lee Valley also noted that theyangle transfer tool” For less than $25 that does the same job. Still, I love myself!
Here is the link to the STL file for my tool. Feel free to download and create for yourself (or for a friend), but please do not sell my designs (tools or files). In other words. I have one and it’s cool about it.
*The new Finewood Working Shop will feature more traditional “digital woodworking” tools. I created this blog collection “Woodworking with Robots” to share the more digital aspects of woodworking on this site. It may not be useful information for everyone, but many woodshops have it posted, so I’m excited to include it here!
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