Noodler,
Ok, as the OP and a mechanical engineer I will chime in. First off, it is a reasonable way to make the measurement. It might be accurate and it might be off some.
The bottom edge of the true bar should be flat, that is what you are paying for. The sides may or maynot be flat. Since you are using them as reference and zeroing your angle gauge, it might not be that critical, I would have to think about it some.
Your digital gauge is meant to measure 0--90 deg angles. It has one decimal place in the display. We want to measure .25 deg, .50 deg, .75 deg, ect...... The max measurement should be 5.0 deg, like you see on the SVT gauge. Typically a measurement device has +/- 1% accuracy if it is very good. 1% of 90 is 0.9 deg, 1% of 5 is 0.05 deg. Not sure if the digital device will distinguish between .25 deg and 2.0 deg??
Lastly, true bars are typically made with a knife edge so you can see light coming under them well. Since you laid your bar on its side, the light has to go between a lot of length of bar compared to a knife edge. This will effect it, and make it hard to see if you are matching the edge angle. If your clamp technique matches the edge angle, you are good and not an issue.
Having said all this, your setup might work just fine. Only way to tell is measure some skis and compare them to what another trusted device or technique gives for results. I suggest use my feeler gauge method after you use your digital gauge. It would be best to measure skis with low base bevels and high ones (like 0.5 and 1.5 deg)
There is a digital bevel measurement device for skis on the market. I think it is more expensive than the $300 SVVT device Phil posted. I have used the SVVT device and it is a quality unit.
I guess Swiss Toni read my mind.
Lastly, I always measure my angles on a new ski to see if I need to have it ground flat and re-beveled. Over time all skis will need it done, so I occasionally check my often skied skis to see if its time.
Ok, as the OP and a mechanical engineer I will chime in. First off, it is a reasonable way to make the measurement. It might be accurate and it might be off some.
The bottom edge of the true bar should be flat, that is what you are paying for. The sides may or maynot be flat. Since you are using them as reference and zeroing your angle gauge, it might not be that critical, I would have to think about it some.
Your digital gauge is meant to measure 0--90 deg angles. It has one decimal place in the display. We want to measure .25 deg, .50 deg, .75 deg, ect...... The max measurement should be 5.0 deg, like you see on the SVT gauge. Typically a measurement device has +/- 1% accuracy if it is very good. 1% of 90 is 0.9 deg, 1% of 5 is 0.05 deg. Not sure if the digital device will distinguish between .25 deg and 2.0 deg??
Lastly, true bars are typically made with a knife edge so you can see light coming under them well. Since you laid your bar on its side, the light has to go between a lot of length of bar compared to a knife edge. This will effect it, and make it hard to see if you are matching the edge angle. If your clamp technique matches the edge angle, you are good and not an issue.
Having said all this, your setup might work just fine. Only way to tell is measure some skis and compare them to what another trusted device or technique gives for results. I suggest use my feeler gauge method after you use your digital gauge. It would be best to measure skis with low base bevels and high ones (like 0.5 and 1.5 deg)
There is a digital bevel measurement device for skis on the market. I think it is more expensive than the $300 SVVT device Phil posted. I have used the SVVT device and it is a quality unit.
I guess Swiss Toni read my mind.
Lastly, I always measure my angles on a new ski to see if I need to have it ground flat and re-beveled. Over time all skis will need it done, so I occasionally check my often skied skis to see if its time.
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