Wixey Fence Calibration Issues

[Paul Snowden]

Thanks to Barry I was able to get the fence on my Sawstop (even after finding out I had gotten the old instructions) but now I can't get it calibrated. I have tighted the six screws, checked my sensor strip and have been careful to put the fence to just touching the blade but It's off by .2 and that's just too much to be useful which is sad because the premise of the tool is something i'm excited by. Anyone else have this problem and can share their secret?

[Chris Parks]

This is how I do it.

Set it to zero with the fence as close to zero against the blade as you can visually judge it.

Set the fence to a small cut size, say 4" on the Wixey

Make the cut and using verniers measure the result.

If you are say 4.2" reset the Wixey to minus .8 and zero it, you have just removed the +.2

Check cut again and measure.

It might take a few goes but you will get it right eventually. I have never read the book so there might be an easier way. Be realistic about what you expect and can achieve, I like the Wixey because it is accurate but what it does best is allow repeatability and I think that is its strong point above everything else. Mine moves .1 every time I snug down the lock on the fence and it drives me mad but really in the great scheme of woodworking it is nothing and I just live with it knowing the fence has a problem not the instrument.

[Alan Bienlein]

Slide the fence till it just touches the blade with the saw off and lock it down. Then with the wixey gauge turned on you press and hold the on button for a few seconds and the gauge will reset to zero.

[glenn bradley]

I do as Alan does and it sounds like you are doing the same. I imagine the Wixey is actually at zero on that particular tooth and at that particular spot on your fence. That .2 is a huge variation IMHO. There could be many approaches to isolating the issue but I might do these things first:

Try your exact procedure with the blade at 1/4" in height.
Repeat the exact zeroing procedure with the blade at 2-1/4" in height and compare the result.
Reconfirm your blade to slot alignment.
Reconfirm your fence to the same slot alignment for the entire length of the fence.
Check your runout (although I would suspect this of decreasing the dimension, not increasing it).
Please keep us in the loop.

I use my Wixey constantly, and re-zero several times per shop session as I change blades, setups or use the 'absolute' versus 'incremental' features. I have grown quite comfortable with the ability to make a series of 1-13/16" rips, do some cross cuts, realize I need a couple more 1-13/16" rips and being able to repeat that dimension accuratly.

I haven't checked in awhile but, any variation over about .05" would be immediatly obvious to me. I'll be in the shop in an hour or so; I'll run a few test cuts and post the result. Maybe I'm off more than I think(?).

07:39 - OK, I'm back home. Just to add any info that might prove helpful. I messed up the calibration on the fence DRO purposely, then rest the fence against the blade and zero'd the Wixey. I tried to not be any more careful than I usually am for this procedure. I set the fence to a random 3.835" and ripped a jointed piece of scrap 4/4 mahogany.

I used a featherboard to keep it tight to the fence (as usual) and a push block of no particular design(a notched piece of scrap). Result was 3.8325 to 3.834 along 24" of rip. I did have to dig out my calipers that measure to that level of accuracy. My ready-at-hand calipers are analog in 64ths which showed a visual difference but, not one that could be quantified.

Sorta like Chris, my readout loses .005 when I lock the fence. I just always factor this in and watch the display as I lock to see it change to the desired setting. That brings something to mind; make sure you lock your fence when you are zeroing. HTH.

[David Nelson1]

Glen, did you forget a 0 after the decimal point. .005 I can accept .050 is huge especially if your doing M/T.

[Matt Meiser]

Do you mean it jumped by .2 after a while?

[glenn bradley]

Glen, did you forget a 0 after the decimal point. .005 I can accept .050 is huge especially if your doing M/T.

Thanks David. I did indeed drop a "0". :o I've corrected my thread to say "my readout loses .005". I should point out that this is not an actual shift of the fence; it is a reaction of the readout detecting the flex in the fence rail/DRO bracket/whatever. My point is that this is a known visual change, not a measurement change. It is an annoyance that could probably be worked out with some fettling but, I just accept that I set my unlocked fence to xx" + .005" and watch it go to xx" when I lock down. A .05 variation would indeed really kill the fit on many joints. I do a lot of M&T, fingers, DT's and pegs; .005" would get filled in by a finish film. .05" would stick out like a sore thumb. :)

[Myk Rian]

I use the ruler on the fence rail. Hasn't failed me yet.
The only Wixey I use is on the DW735 planer.

[Bob Blarneystone]

Paul, this is how I set mine.

1. I joint a board `4-6" wide and check to see that it's straight.
2. I set the fence to ~3", and then zero out the Wixy DRO.
3. I take a slice off the board, and then measure the board at several points with a digital caliper.
4. I drop the blade below the table, and then move the fence towards the blade until it reaches the average of the measurements, and then I rezero the DRO.

[Paul Snowden]

UPDATE

First let me thank Barry Wixey for the emails and help supporting his product. I took a good lookthe saw today and found that my front fence rail wasn't parallel after being reinstalled. After that fix it works so I hope this might help someone else someday with this problem. Let me also throw out a thanks to the group here

[Leo Graywacz]

0.2" is the distance that the little zigzag pattern is spaced. I have issues with mine at certain areas which have been damaged. Most of the time it works fine, but sometimes the calibration will shift by a factor of 0.2"

Make sure the strip is clean and the gauge is as tight to the strip as it can be.

The best way to use the wixey is to slide it over to whatever dimension you want using the ruler tape on the saw and then use the wixey to fine tune the dimension. That way if it is off you know it right away.

[glenn bradley]

UPDATE

First let me thank Barry Wixey for the emails and help supporting his product. I took a good lookthe saw today and found that my front fence rail wasn't parallel after being reinstalled. After that fix it works so I hope this might help someone else someday with this problem. Let me also throw out a thanks to the group here

Excellent news Paul. Thanks for sharing the solution with us.

[fRED mCnEILL]

To calibrate mine I move the fence until it just touches the blade(stopped of course). I then zero the display. Then I move the fence out an inch or two(or far enough to cut a piece of scrap wood I have laying around.). After cutting I use the calipers to measure the piece I cut and compare that to the readout. If there is a discrepancy I move the fence back near the blade and zero it again based on the amount of the discrepancy.