Wixley saw fence digital readout or rule

[Sue Wise]

I have been a little frustrated lately about not being able to measure a cut or two very accurately on my Grizzly table saw. (Yes, I know about story sticks and do use that method once a project is underway.)

I am trying to decide between just buying a nice steel measuring rule or the digital readout. I appreciate any help you can give me about thinking this through.

-Sue

[Bill Huber]

If you are talking about the blade to fence then without question a good measuring stick.

I have a good tapped on ruler on my fence but I never use it. Why trust something that could be off when you can put your ruler up there and know its right.

I have a 1 foot and a 3 foot that I use on the saw most of the time. I also just use a metal tape for ruff cuts.

I lay my ruler flat on the table and measure for the tooth that is on the fence side to the fence, fast and easy.

[Sue Wise]

Bill,
Yes, that is what I am talking about. I do use my Starrett combination square for anything under 12", but for over that I usually use my tape measure but I have gotten into trouble a few times because it is not very accurate.

[Bill Huber]

Bill,
Yes, that is what I am talking about. I do use my Starrett combination square for anything under 12", but for over that I usually use my tape measure but I have gotten into trouble a few times because it is not very accurate.

If your tape is not very accurate then dump it and get a new one.

If you use the same tape for all your measurements it should be ok.

I have a 36 in. rule that as I said I just lay it flat on the table and against the fence and then slide it in to the blade a little so I can see the right side of the tooth on the saw to take my measurement.
I have checked the rule and the tape and they are both the same.

Not to insult you but you are taking the measurement at the tooth that is bent to the right (fence on the right) and not the other one. The reason I ask is I just had this problem with a friend that I sold my old TS, they were not get the same cut every time. The were measuring to the tooth but not watching which tooth they were measuring to.

[Sue Wise]

I am using the correct tooth. I just don't have an accurate measuring device.

I don't believe that any tape measure is accurate enough to consistent setups.

[Jim Kountz]

Sue the Wixey is a nice add on to any saw in my opinion. It is great for repeatability and accuracy. That being said I dont know what kind of saw or fence setup you have but if its a Bies fence or clone you should be able to zero it in, have it stay in and you can absolutely trust it. Heck, thats one of the reasons for having this type of fence, if I still had to whip out a tape and measure every cut I wouldnt need this setup at all. Its like anything else, you have to take your time during the setup to insure everything is tuned in but after that unless you change blades it had darn better remain the same or something else is foul.
The wixey will add another level of accuracy to the setup and you will come to depend on it if you're like me, now that Ive had one I couldnt live without it or wouldnt want to anyway.

[M. A. Espinoza]

I am using the correct tooth. I just don't have an accurate measuring device.

I don't believe that any tape measure is accurate enough to consistent setups.

Sue,

What type of fence system is used with your saw? What kind of setups are you trying to repeat?

Although a metal ruler or good tape measure will work, measuring every cut blade to fence isn't necessary nor is it the best way to go about it.

Also using the same measuring device all the way through is best practice. i.e. don't use different tape measures on the same build.

A good fence system is very accurate with very reliable performance. I use a Unifence but a Biesemeyer type is just as dependable in a professional setting. There are many lighter duty fences that will still give great results, one with a T-square type design is best.

A Wixey type DRO (digital read out) is useful in certain situations. I own one but have yet to install. For repeatability it can't be beat since you can get almost exactly back to a previous cut (for woodworking purposes it is exactly) without having to use stops blocks & clamps.

But most useful to me is it is much harder to "inch it", that is to miss your intended cut by exactly an inch. Basically just measuring to the wrong mark. It can happen and if you are building for installation its a killer.

What I'm saying is that a better fence will be a much better value productivity wise if that is the problem than just adding a DRO.

And if your current tape measure isn't accurate or has a bad hook then it should be replaced no matter what. Its not necessary for all your measuring devices to be absolutely identical but they do need to "agree".

[John Thompson]

I suggest you get a standard framing square but... take a trued square and make sure it intersects at 90 degrees or in other words it is square. It will cost about $6-$8. Then purchase a self adhesive Starrett measuring tape and adhere to the framing square. Forget the in-accurate marks on the FS... you now have accurate measurement.

I replace the stock tape on the rail with a Starrett also. The rail gets me there then I always measure with the square from fence to tip of blade on the fense side. I have been doing that for 30 odd years and you are always accurate. It only takes seconds.

A rail tape can be acccurately applied but... a slight bump of the cursor throws you off. Measure twice... cut once. There is a reason for that simple quote we should have learned early in WW.

Sarge..

[Joe Chritz]

The tape on my fence is as accurate as I can read it. What is very handy for adjusting the fence when you need to move it just a few thousandths is a dial indicator on a magnetic base.

Since you need an indicator at some point anyway it is a way to double up so to speak.

The down side to this method is that you need to do a test cut and adjust the fence one way or the other and there is math involved. The wixey is, slide it over until the readout is correct and lock it down. I expect I will have one someday.

Joe

[Sue Wise]

I have the standard shop fox fence that comes with the Grizzly cabinet saw. No problem with repeatable cuts. I tuned up the saw and the fence is dead on parallel with the blade.

I just wanted something more precise on the occasions when I want the fence to be set exactly at a specific measurement. I appreciate the suggestions.

I also realized as I was working in the shop tonight that I could do with another light. I plan to hang it over the saw.

[Scott Myers]

A good fence with sighting lens and a fixed measuring tape on the rail should get you really close. I can get within about .005"-008" every time by sight. Tighten the fence down, loosen slightly again, bump into position, retighten and I'm off to the races. That's certainly close enough for working with wood.

That said, I did get a Wixey as a gift and installed it. The nice thing is it makes the adjustment just a wee bit faster and I don't have to close one eye and look through the lens on the fence. My eyes are not getting any younger. The digital readout probably makes things a bit more consistant, but not by much. But it is convenient, but certainly not 100% necessary.

[M. A. Espinoza]

A good fence with sighting lens and a fixed measuring tape on the rail should get you really close. I can get within about .005"-008" every time by sight. Tighten the fence down, loosen slightly again and bump into position and I'm off to the races. That's certainly close enough for working with wood.


Scott mentioned something that could be an issue. I worked in a shop on a Grizzly 1022 with a Biese-type fence, in fact I think it was a Biesemeyer but memory is hazy. Anyway something that I needed to do was "tune" the cursor, had to shim it down with washers so it was closer to the tape. It was too high as they had it and hard to get a dependable reading due to parallax effect.

Should be able to measure to within +/-.010" with it properly set up. That being said I always do test cuts if I have to absolutely on the money and usually tap my way to the exact setting as Scott described. The Wixey might save me from this process if it can go directly to an exact setting.

I did notice on another thread some complaints of the Wixey losing calibration randomly, possible defect. So it would be good to have a calibration check routine at the start of the workday.

I once tried to switch to a digital tape measure and found it too would lose calibration at random causing some bad cuts on the jobsite. Away it went.

However I am still sold on DRO's; they aren't foolproof but I get mistakes with tape measures too often. The errors are mine, I do better reading numbers than lines on a tape. Especially switching left-right to right-left.

Good luck, let us know what your solutions end up being.

[Neal Clayton]

I am using the correct tooth. I just don't have an accurate measuring device.

I don't believe that any tape measure is accurate enough to consistent setups.

get a digital micrometer. you can order them from any number of manufacturers on amazon for about 20 bucks.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Sue. If being correct to within .001 inches is good enough for you, taxi over to Woodpecker and wrap your eyes around the Incra LS fence system (http://www.woodpeck.com/tslssystem.html). I have had mine for for 3 years, and would not give it up.

I got the whole shebang, 96" rails with router table system in addition to the saw fence. It is a pleasure to use.:)