Cam degreeing help me understand!

I am a weekend warrior not an engine builder. I am also on a budget. Actually waay over. It appears that my cam was not ground to the advertised spec. So you are saying that the set-up I am using is the cause of the 4 degree offset keyway actually being 10 degrees and that by spending another $250 for a one time use cam measurement tool and 8 way timing set will fix all of this? Please understand that I am not trying to be a dick about this I am just getting frustrated. This is a simple process. The set-up I am using has been used thousands of times with success. There has to be something wrong that I am missing here.