Dropped 200 bucks on a digital angle finder and it saved my butt on a stair rail job

I was laying out handrail brackets for a curved stairway outside Asheville and kept second-guessing my bevel gauge readings. Bought a digital angle finder for about 200 dollars and it gave me precise angles down to a tenth of a degree. Got the whole rail mounted in one shot with no re-drilling or patching holes. Any of you guys use digital tools on tricky layouts or do you stick with your old analog stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley_west1mo ago

Hang on, don't you usually wanna brace a curved rail before mounting brackets to check for twist in the stringer first? A digital finder is great for angle, but it won't catch a bowed wall like a good old straightedge and level will. Did you run a dry fit on the brackets before drilling or just trust the numbers?

mark_thomas1mo ago

Stop overthinking it, man. Just drill the holes.

miamitchell28d agoMost Upvoted

Hey @mark_thomas, I get where you're coming from with the just drill approach, but I think there is a middle ground here worth considering. Running a dry fit on the brackets first (even just setting them in place without tightening) could save you from a headache later if the wall has a slight bow or the stringer isn't perfectly straight. I've seen people rush into drilling and end up with gaps behind the rail that make the whole thing look wonky, you know. A quick check with a straightedge and level (takes maybe five minutes) beats having to patch holes and redo the layout down the line.