Those popular digital angle cubes have many uses in the woodshop. I use mine in place of winding sticks when flattening a piece of stock with handplanes. To gauge my progress, I place the digital angle cube on a plane, place the plane across the width of one end of the board, zero out the angle block, and then slide the plane to the other end to see the reading there. If it’s different I still have work to do. I proceed with flattening, rechecking, and planing as needed until the angle is the same across both ends. I find this easier than using winding sticks, and easily as accurate.

—GEORGE WALDNER, Sun River, Mont.

Illustrations by Dan Thornton
From Fine Woodworking issue #277

	Shop Made Winding Sticks Guarantee Accuracy Whether you’re checking for twist in a board, a glued-up assembly, or a specific joint, there’s nothing like a pair of winding sticks for a simple, foolproof method
	Flattening Tabletops Surface large slabs and panels without big machines
	MDF Winding Sticks Are Reliable, Accurate Winding sticks are invaluable for helping to check the flatness of large boards, but they become useless if they warp as humidity levels change.

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Starrett 12-in. combination square

This accurate, robust, well-machined, easy-to-read combo square is as great as ever.

Buy at Amazon

Veritas Precision Square

This precision square is incredibly versatile, from checking squareness to dialing in machine setups.

Buy at Lee Valley

Lie-Nielsen No. 102 Low Angle Block Plane

With smooth, precise adjustments and wonderful balance, this compact block plane is a joy to use. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles, but there’s not a better block plane available for the money.

Buy at Direct