trying to degree my cam

Make more accurate measurements, I like a very fine pointer on the degree wheel and use a piston stop to find TDC. Once your measurement techniques are accurate and repeatable then you’ll get repeatable results. If my cam came in 1-1/2 degrees off on a street car I wouldn’t go through the effort to move it if I didn’t already have the 9 way timing set. You’ll never notice or be able to quantify 1-1/2 degrees at the cam on anything but the highest level stuff.