Wixey Planer guage mount help

[Joe Jensen]

I want to add Wixey planer guages to my PM100 21" planer and the PM Dual Drum sander. With both tools, the bed moves and the machine is stationary. The Wixey seems to be designed for tools where the bed is fixed and the head moves up and down. I've played a bit with one on the planer, and I can's seem to find a way to mount it so that I can calibrate it easily, and have it read correctly. The way it's mounted now, the guage will zero, and then count negative because the digital ruler part is upside down.

Help.

If needed I can post a pic tonight.

[Joe Jensen]

Never mind. I went back to their samples today and they now have some examples for machines like mine. I hadn't been there since Thanksgiving.

[Andy Pratt]

Joe,

I rigged up a workable solution for this on my jointer/planer. It's not pretty but it works for the main function. It involves removing the height bar completely from the rest of the spring/mount assembly. You have to zero this by hand and the "gauge the board depth" function can't be used, so there is a significant trade-off. For me, it was the only way to get 9" of travel, which I had to have. If you want some pics I can send some, and may post a thorough thread on it tonight. If you're looking for a solution that allows you to use all the functions of the gauge, and doesn't hurt the eye, mine is probably not the best option.

Andy