In Fine Woodworking #175 (p. 34) we reviewed Starrett’s 12-in. ProSite protractor (No. 505A), invented by trim carpenter Marc Shapiro. It was designed to take readings for miter cuts, and then to transfer them to setups on a miter saw or tablesaw miter gauge. A new, smaller version (No. 505A-7) was designed to perform the same tasks, but in many ways it’s more convenient. Lighter in weight and shorter in length, this tool has the same dual scales for reading miters and automatically bisecting them, but the 7-in. length gets into tighter spaces and fits comfortably in your back pocket.

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