Wixey Digital Readout

[Les Spencer]

Noticed on a previous thread some of you were impressed as I was with Wixey DRO. Has anyone mounted one to a Delta DC-380 15" planer? :confused: Looking at John Miliunas' new Yorkcraft it looks like it would require the same mounting as the castings look similiar to the Delta. Any finished or installation pic's would help. These old eyes need help. :)

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

I am not familiar with the Wixey, but did mount a Digiscale on my MM J/P for the planer and am very happy with it. Details in this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=20041&highlight=digital).

[Les Spencer]

Jim,

My problem lies in the cutter head being a single piece of cast iron and everything seems to be attached to it. This makes mounting the scale on a fixed surface tough since there is none currently. I will try adapting a bracket which will have to be in proximity to the cutter head so the DRO will slide up and down it's bracket. Most of the surfaces are also round on the head. I had hoped someone had traveled this road before me so I could "borrow" their solution.;)

[Jim Becker]

Yes, mounting things can be a challenge. I was fortunately with my J/P as it had that nice flat area next to the cutting scale that allowed me to drill and screw things without too much trouble. I did have to fabricate a bracket to engage the OEM indicator as you can see in the pictures in the thread I linked to. Some of the stationary planer designs are going to be bears to put a DRO on "just because" there is no place to mount anything!

[Barry Wixey]

Les,

Here are some pictures I have received for some people who have mounted the readout on a Delta 15" planer and a General planer. It requires making some brackets but these guys seem to think it was pretty easy.

Barry

[Bruce Page]

I picked up two of them at Woodcraft last weekend. I'm going to try to mount them on my Delta 18/36 drum sander and my PM 15" planner. I should be interesting...

[Mike Vermeil]

I am not familiar with the Wixey, but did mount a Digiscale on my MM J/P for the planer and am very happy with it. Details in this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=20041&highlight=digital).

Jim,

Now that you've had it going for a while, how do you like it? Once you got it reading accurately, has it stayed in calibration well or do you chase it around some?

Thanks,
Mike

[Peter Gavin]

And let's thank Barry Wixey for responding to the thread....... and welcome him to the Creek. It just goes to reinforces that some manufacturers are watching our comments and adapt to them. I think this is a win-win situation for all.

Peter

[Don Baer]

And let's thank Barry Wixey for responding to the thread....... and welcome him to the Creek. It just goes to reinforces that some manufacturers are watching our comments and adapt to them. I think this is a win-win situation for all.

Peter

I agree, Welcome to the creek Barry.

[Les Spencer]

Barry,


Thanks for info. I have been off line for a couple days. :(

Thanks again,

[Jim Becker]

Now that you've had it going for a while, how do you like it? Once you got it reading accurately, has it stayed in calibration well or do you chase it around some?

Yes, I am pleased with the device and it has stayed in calibration as much as I can tell. That said, I have have not had a huge amount of time in the shop, so I think that watching it longer term will be important. I don't expect any problems, however, as the unit has a decent reputation as far as I can determine. I'd consider their TS fence unit, too, if I can get agreement that it will work with my "original" Xacta Fence. (Although I'm still considering retrofitting with a UniFence as I really like them and miss the one I had on my previous saw)

[Les Spencer]

Got it mounted to the Delta DC-380 planer. Hope the pic's make it. I mounted it to the back because someone had mentioned they were afraid the DRO could be damaged on the loading end. Also didn't have a welder :( to make a 90* to attach to the 1 1/2" angle. Works great so far.:D

[Les Spencer]

I'll try the pic's again.:o If they don't make it this time - :mad:

[John Miliunas]

Nice solution, Les! Looks like a professional install to me!:) I sure do miss my Wixey and I'd love to do something similar on my Yorkie, but alas, even though some of the casting are similar, the main difference is that my motor is enclosed below the table. With that, the cutterhead stays stationary, while the feed table(s) move up/down. The Wixey would end up reading backwards!:( (Hey Barry.... I'll bet there are quite a few guys in my position! <Hint, hint!>):D :cool:

[Bruce Page]

Nice solution, Les! Looks like a professional install to me!:) I sure do miss my Wixey and I'd love to do something similar on my Yorkie, but alas, even though some of the casting are similar, the main difference is that my motor is enclosed below the table. With that, the cutterhead stays stationary, while the feed table(s) move up/down. The Wixey would end up reading backwards!:( (Hey Barry.... I'll bet there are quite a few guys in my position! <HINT, hint!>):D :cool:
Nice install Les. I've marked this thread for when I do my PM15.
Hey John, I don't know if you saw this post or not but backwards works for me..
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24307

[John Miliunas]

Nice install Les. I've marked this thread for when I do my PM15.
Hey John, I don't know if you saw this post or not but backwards works for me..
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24307

Yeah Bruce, I saw that, but for whatever reason, I'd still prefer to have the "realtime" measurement, going in the right direction. As it stands, I have the same drum sander and you've proven that the unit is mount-able. Now, we just need Barry to jump on it and make a version of the DRO to go in the opposite direction. I agree with you that it would be a super addition to a sander, as you have shown. particularly considering how touchy drum sanders are. :) :cool:

[Barry Wixey]

Les, That is a beautiful looking job!!

John, I Have been trying to talk someone into mounting one of these readouts on a machine where the table goes up and down instead of the cutter head. I have suggested that they take a mounting just like Les has and attach that angle iron to the moveable table. Then the reaout gets attached to something on the cutter head that does not move. The angle now goes up and down with the table and the readings are all positive. I think this will work fairly well. It may need to mount onto the left side to make it easier to attach the readout to something solid.

I have done a mock up of this approach on a jet Planer Molder, but on the right side.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24307

I hope this takes you to the photos!

Barry

[John Miliunas]

Grrrrrrr!!!:mad: Sure, now that I sold my Dewalt WITH my Wixey DRO on it!!! :mad: Guess I now have something to put on my Christmas list, as I'd be willing to give that a go on my Yorkie! I really, REALLY miss that DRO!:( I'll take a closer look at the machine when I get home today. Thanks for the tip.:) :cool:

[Harry Bishop]

Thanks Les for the pictures and description of your installation. I used your mounting with a few modifications. I added a third cap screw on the base to prevent flexing (I've bumped the stanchion holding the DRO and seen some movement). I used a foot bracket to lift the DRO on its measuring rod. When I tried the side mount screw, the DRO body kept binding on the measuring rod and no amount of alignment seemed to fix it. I found that by having the bottom of the DRO supported and lifted makes for a smooth ride in my case. Attached is a picture.
I checked the accuracy at various heights against my calipers and it was right on. The best thing I enjoy about the Wixey as mounted is the repeatability of getting back to the same setting after leaving a particular height measurement. Now I can plane more boards to the same thickness if I run out of material on the first run. And the calibration is sooo easy.

[frank shic]

barry, those pictures on your website came in VERY handy last week when i installed a wixey on my ridgid planer as well as a performax 16-32. great product BTW!