Added a Digital Readout (DRO) to my old Rockwell 4-post thickness planer.

[Steven Woodward]

I have found the DRO to be precise and efficient. With the desired thickness dialled in, material can be planed with confidence, knowing that it will come out the desired thickness. This is a big improvement over my previous method which was: 1) measure board thickness after the first pass, 2) calculate the additional amount to remove, 3) knowing that 1 rotation of crank changes the thickness by 2mm, estimate the fraction of circle that the crank needs to be rotated, 4) hope for the correct thickness on the next pass.

Another big advantage is that I can plane some pieces of wood to desired thickness, then do other work with the planer, then return to the original thickness and plane more pieces that match the thickness of first pieces. This is really handy in a project.

I chose the Wixey WR510 Type 2, because it looked like a simple mechanical design with no wires coming out of the display, and it runs on AAA batteries rather than button cells, and price was reasonable.

A couple of things I found with the Wixey that may be overcome with a different DRO are: 1) display resolution is 0.005 inch, which is fine in reality but I would prefer to see 0.001 inch. 2) cannot change display from inches to mm without recalibrating, 3) display sometimes freezes and requires a power cycle to get working again, but calibration is not lost, so not a big problem.

The Wixey came with some brackets for mounting to common lunchbox planers but these were of no use on my 4-post planer, so I had to make my own mounting fixtures as shown in photos. Rare earth magnets, glued to the bottom of the display, stick to a custom made steel bracket the moves up and down with the carriage. A wooden block supports an aluminum angle bar that holds the scale for the display to ride up and down on.

Video showing the details of installation, calibration, and verification to confirm accuracy and repeatability: https://youtu.be/6ev_aK7fE60

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[Gordon Stump]

I like that model. I bought the one with the wires. The knob that locks in the slide did not stay tight. I added a spring to the threaded knob and it is working better. 466308 I agree having that DRO is great.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on the DRO for planers :).

[Ron Selzer]

marking as I need to do this to my Delta planer

[Ray Newman]

Well done and very informative. One of these days, I'll do the same.

[Steven Woodward]

Well done and very informative. One of these days, I'll do the same.

I don't know why I waited so long. It is such a time saver, and results are consistent (which is very satisfying for my OCD). Now installing one on my Table saw.

[Bob McBreen]

I have the same Wixey DRO & switch between metric & imperial frequently without any issues or having to reset. I have found that Barry Wixey provides great customer service.

[Steven Woodward]

I have the same Wixey DRO & switch between metric & imperial frequently without any issues or having to reset. I have found that Barry Wixey provides great customer service.

Thanks for that info.

i sent an email to digital@wixey.com , which I assume is in the USA. I don’t know if that will reach Barry. The website explicitly says they cannot be reached by phone. Will update with resolution.

[Andrew Hughes]

I’m interested to know how long the battery last. I had a wixey that came with my powermatic planer it consumed batteries like crazy. When the battery is dead the zero out process has to be done over.
I took it off and sent it to the landfill.

[Steven Woodward]

I’m interested to know how long the battery last. I had a wixey that came with my powermatic planer it consumed batteries like crazy. When the battery is dead the zero out process has to be done over.
I took it off and sent it to the landfill.

Sorry to hear that. The Wixey Type 2 display units use AAA batteries, rather than button cells used in Type 1, and have an auto shutoff feature, so should last a while, but only time will tell. Wixey likely made these changes because they knew about the battery issue. Wixey did not change the model numbers when they switched from Type 1 to Type 2, so have to check for battery type to determine which Type.

Here is a clip from http://www.wixey.com/planer/faq/index.html#q4

https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/d46a16b1-7e4b-41e2-b962-ce004a4cd424466370

[Andrew Seemann]

I had the old Wixey type one on my 15" Grizzly planer and swapped it out for the newer one. The larger batteries definitely lasts longer, plus you don't have to bend over to see the numbers:)

Definitely a worthwhile improvement. Not having to plane everything at the same time to get the same thickness was a big improvement in accuracy and efficiency.


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[Steven Woodward]

I have the same Wixey DRO & switch between metric & imperial frequently without any issues or having to reset. I have found that Barry Wixey provides great customer service.

I contacted Wixey by email (as they do not provide phone support) and explained my problem. Here is the core of Barry Wixey email response:

"When we added the +/- buttons so you could program in the calibration setting we missed this issue. We are working on a fix for this but it has turned out to be more complicated then we thought and is taking extra time to correct.

You will find that if you set the calibration using the built in mechanical method that uses a piece of planed wood placed under the end of the scale that the conversion is correct. If you use the +/- buttons to set the calibration you will need to keep it in the same units."

[Mark Bolton]

The other issue your going to find with the wixey depending on how you work is +/-5 thou resolution so your spread is close to 10. This is fine if you only use your planer for a rouging tool but if you use it for pre-calibration .001 thou resolution is critical. Igaging or Proscale are the next step. Bonus is the Wixey is cheap so upgrading when it becomes clear is not so painful

[Steven Woodward]

The other issue your going to find with the wixey depending on how you work is +/-5 thou resolution so your spread is close to 10. This is fine if you only use your planer for a rouging tool but if you use it for pre-calibration .001 thou resolution is critical. Igaging or Proscale are the next step. Bonus is the Wixey is cheap so upgrading when it becomes clear is not so painful

Already I would like the 0.001 resolution. I liked how the Wixey did not have cables, and I liked the AAA batteries instead of button cell, and the price was reasonable. My work around for the Wixey is to always set the planer height by moving the carriage up, and then stop as soon as the Wixey display reaches the desired number. That way I at least get repeatability better than 0.005.

[Mark Bolton]

Already I would like the 0.001 resolution. I liked how the Wixey did not have cables, and I liked the AAA batteries instead of button cell, and the price was reasonable. My work around for the Wixey is to always set the planer height by moving the carriage up, and then stop as soon as the Wixey display reaches the desired number. That way I at least get repeatability better than 0.005.

The cable issue is really nothing once you get it all setup. Its kind of an overthought. The main issue is looking for auto-off after a period and even better wired power (proscale) where your only battery is for backup/power outage. For the work we do the .005 resolution didnt work but having installed the Igaging they have their own issues and are being replaced with the proscale. In the end, the truth is always real.. Ive spent the cost of the proscale in time and aggravation prior to buying the proscale.

The poor man buys everything twice is a mantra to keep in your head.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Finally ordered a ProScale DRO for my old SCM planer. I’ve been hemming and hawing about the cost since I bought the planer a year and half ago. $375 with tax and shipping is worth it to me for the accuracy and long term reliability that I have heard time and again to expect from ProScale.

They have a $70 off promo going until the end of this month. Of course tax and shipping is close to $50, but every little bit helps.

[Steven Woodward]

Finally ordered a ProScale DRO for my old SCM planer. I’ve been hemming and hawing about the cost since I bought the planer a year and half ago. $375 with tax and shipping is worth it to me for the accuracy and long term reliability that I have heard time and again to expect from ProScale.

They have a $70 off promo going until the end of this month. Of course tax and shipping is close to $50, but every little bit helps.

A couple of years from now you will thank yourself for going with the ProScale. I am located in Canada so the Proscale costs gets really expensive with current high "international" shipping costs and broker costs coming across the border, while the Wixey is available with free shipping from Amazon Canada, and a few other Canadian sellers. So my "hemming and hawing" ended up with the Wixey, which I am not unhappy with.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Not to hijack, but I installed my Pro Scale DRO today on my 20” SCM planer and am very happy so far. Thought I’d share a few photos if anyone is considering this unit.

I drilled and tapped (3) 10/32 holes (1 in the side of the table and 2 on the side of the planer) and used double stick tape for the readout mount in case I want to move it after using it for a bit.

You can barely see in the first photo what the OEM (metric) scale measurement looks like. I actually would use the anti kick back fingers barely catching the board as an initial reference point when starting then check with a Precision square as I went and then kept a set of Mitutoyo digital calipers handy for the last couple of passes, which is ultimately precise but a bit of a pain, not exactly quick and easy, and not easily repeatable.

This is already worth the price for me after one milling session.

[Steven Woodward]

Not to hijack, but I installed my Pro Scale DRO today on my 20” SCM planer and am very happy so far. Thought I’d share a few photos if anyone is considering this unit.

I drilled and tapped (3) 10/32 holes (1 in the side of the table and 2 on the side of the planer) and used double stick tape for the readout mount in case I want to move it after using it for a bit.

You can barely see in the first photo what the OEM (metric) scale measurement looks like. I actually would use the anti kick back fingers barely catching the board as an initial reference point when starting then check with a Precision square as I went and then kept a set of Mitutoyo digital calipers handy for the last couple of passes, which is ultimately precise but a bit of a pain, not exactly quick and easy, and not easily repeatable.

This is already worth the price for me after one milling session.

Nice work. I understand the ProScale has 0.001" resolution, versus the 0.005" resolution of the Wixey, and the ProScale looks to be a more rugged design etc. Of course it costs quite a bit more than the Wixey, which is how I settled on the Wixey. Curious about your description of what I think is the calibration process. What it did was run a board through the planer, measure board thickness with digital callipers, and then dialled that measurement into the DRO. I imagine the ProScale can be calibrated the same way ?

[Phillip Mitchell]

Nice work. I understand the ProScale has 0.001" resolution, versus the 0.005" resolution of the Wixey, and the ProScale looks to be a more rugged design etc. Of course it costs quite a bit more than the Wixey, which is how I settled on the Wixey. Curious about your description of what I think is the calibration process. What it did was run a board through the planer, measure board thickness with digital callipers, and then dialled that measurement into the DRO. I imagine the ProScale can be calibrated the same way ?

Same calibration process. I ran a board through that measured 1.000” with calipers and set the Datum point to that and locked it. Easy peasy. The only slightly odd bit was realizing that my planer body is tapered along the height. The travel of the stick (screwed to the planer bed) is plumb, so I had to do a bit of extrapolation and shim the encoder that attaches to the taper machine body so that the stick traveling through the encoder remained plumb. No big deal really and a function of the planer itself and not any particular DRO.

I would love to put one of these on my shaper one day. I’m sure there’s a way or different model that can attach to a spindle casting. Eliminating a round of test cuts with every shaper operation would be nice at some point.

[Mark Bolton]

I would love to put one of these on my shaper one day. I’m sure there’s a way or different model that can attach to a spindle casting. Eliminating a round of test cuts with every shaper operation would be nice at some point.

Just make sure you go with an incremental head so you can work in incremental mode from zero setpoint on whichever cutter your using or if your working off the table, top of the material, or a feature in the part. The DRO on the shaper is invaluable in my opinion.

[Kevin Jenness]

I would love to put one of these on my shaper one day. I’m sure there’s a way or different model that can attach to a spindle casting. Eliminating a round of test cuts with every shaper operation would be nice at some point.

A height gauge is a useful substitute. I have this one which is ok. https://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Digital-Electronic-Height-Magnetic/dp/B0026MTCG8/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=digital+height+gauge&qid=1636046266&qsid=132-4598