Got My Wixey

[John Terefenko]

Heard all this rave about this tool so I thought I would try it. So today I got my Wixey digital gauge in the mail. I set it up on my tablesaw. I will explain what I did and if anyone has one maybe they can tell me what I am doing wrong. I set the divice on the table and zeroed it in and then placed it on the blade and it told me my blade was set at 89.7 degrees so I adjusted it. Now I took the device off the blade and set it back on the table and now the table needed to be zeroed again. I did this and placed back on the blade and now the blade is too far past 90. This went on for about 4 or 5 trys. I being not so smart thought if you set the device the first time moving it back and forth should get the same readings. Why does it not do it and what is the proper way to set this thing??? Has anyone else tried what I just described and if you did what was your findings???

[glenn bradley]

My suspicion is battery. Contact Barry:

Barry Wixey
Wixey
email digital@wixey.com (http://us.f822.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=digital@wixey.com)
web site www.wixey.com

[Bruce Benjamin]

I don't have any experience with the Wixey angle gauge but I did have one of the Wixey planer gauges, (DW735) for a short while. My experience with Wixey is that they aren't accurate or precise enough for my needs and it sounds like you're having the same trouble. First of all, the planer gauge's smallest reading was .005. That's not fine enough for me on a planer. I can easily feel .005 with my fingers. And it had poor repeatability too. I would check the reading and plane a piece of scrap wood and measure it with my dial caliper. I would then crank the planer head up and back down again so the gauge read the same reading. When I ran another piece of scrap through the planer and measured it with the dial indicator it would be off by several thousands. It did this every time. Sometimes it would be thicker and sometimes it would be thinner. It sounds like you're having the same problem with repeatability as I did only with a different Wixey product. They sure are popular though. Must be a lot of people with lower standards and expectations than you or I have.:rolleyes: :D

Bruce

[Jim DeLaney]

...the planer gauge's smallest reading was .005. That's not fine enough for me on a planer. ...Bruce

What are you doing that 1/200 of an inch isn't accurate enough?

The wood will move at least that much from day to day.

As for the repeatability, the Wixey I have on my Delta 15" is certainly repeatable within 0.010". I do use vernier calipers to verify the setting, but must confess that I don't use a micrometer. I have no need for wood tolerances in excess of 1/100 of an inch. My eyes (and skills) are't any better than that.

[Bruce Benjamin]

I'm working wood, Jim. As I said in my post, everyone seems to have different tolerance for error. Wood may move but if all of the wood is the same then it should all move roughly the same. If it's off then it will always be off. And wood generally doesn't get thicker or thinner on a table top. It gets narrower and wider. Put together a mitered frame or do a glue up on a table top or raised panel with wood that varies by .005" and see if you notice the difference. And the differences with the Wixey planer gauge was usually at least .005", frequently more.

The whole point of the planer gauge is repeatability, accuracy, and precision. For me, the Wixey offered NONE of those things. If I wanted to match the thickness of one piece of wood I already had planed with another I sure couldn't count on the Wixey POS to do that for me. I could easily feel the difference between the thickness of one piece planed at one time and another planed after moving the planer head and back again. If you were to buy a piece of furniture and it had a rail and stile door on it are you saying you wouldn't mind if one rail was 1/200" thicker than the stile to which it's attached? Trust me, you can feel it, see it, and it would bother you for a long time to come. At least it would me.

Regarding an angle gauge that's off by a couple of tenths of a degree, multiply that times 4 corners and see if you notice any gaps. I would. My 43 year old eyes aren't what they used to be but I can still see well enough to know when something isn't right, whether it be in thickness or angle.

Bruce



What are you doing that 1/200 of an inch isn't accurate enough?

The wood will move at least that much from day to day.

As for the repeatability, the Wixey I have on my Delta 15" is certainly repeatable within 0.010". I do use vernier calipers to verify the setting, but must confess that I don't use a micrometer. I have no need for wood tolerances in excess of 1/100 of an inch. My eyes (and skills) are't any better than that.

[Luis Oliveira]

I also bouth it and I have the same problem... here is what I did to make sure I was able to use it and have some readings.

Placed it on top of the Table saw close to the blade and zero it out, then I berely lift it in a 90 degree motion and just place it on the blade, it sseams to be very touchy if you move it side to side or lightly shake it.

If you keep it very simple then it seam to read from table to balde and back to table.

I have to say I only used it for about 5 minutes.

Try it out.

[Eric Mims]

I have Grizzly's digital angle thingymabob. From the looks of them they are made in the same factory. Anyways, you should not have had to 'zero' the gauge when putting it back on the table the second time.

Set it on the table and zero it. (keep note that my Grizzly has absolute zero which you set by using the sensitive bubble level that is built on top...this sets actual zero...not sure if Wixey's has this).. OK, so make sure you set your 'temporary zero' on the table. Now move it around on the table..it should stay zero or your table is either uneven (or setting it on debris), legs are wobbly and moving or the unit is screwy.

If it reads zero, put it on the blade and try to keep in same plane as you had it on table (try not to rotate the unit). set your 90 and put it back on table in same spot. It should definitely read zero again. Like I said, if it doesn't, either you're setting it in a different spot that's angled, setting it partially on something, or maybe bad unit..

I should add that you should give it a few seconds after moving it for it to 'settle'. I just set my zero on my bandsaw table at 0, then carried it around the room and came back and set it to my bandsaw blade and it was perfect 90.0, and table was still 0.0. But it took a couple seconds to 'settle'.

[Glen Blanchard]

The first suggestion I would have in trying to get the digital gauge repeatable is to use a square. Place the gauge on the table, and using the square get the "face" of the gauge perpendicular to the blade. Do the same thing after you put it on the blade. A slight tilt of the gauge can change the displayed reading. This way you will know you are repeating the same orientation each time.

The second is to be certain that your table saw is not rocking at all while taking your readings. My SawStop will rock a bit on its Shop Fox moblie base if I am not careful. (I plan on buying SawStop's mobile base when it is available - not a fan of the Shop Fox). This, also, can affect the readout.

I would like to hear if doing these things changes your results.

[Derek Arita]

I have two. Both do exactly what they are supposed to do, everytime I use them. I get the zero on the cast iron table, next to the blade...put it on the blade, keeping the orientation in the same plane and get the 90 degrees...if I place it back on the table to double check, I'm sure to put it back in exactly the same place that I zeroed it. All I can say is, it works everytime and gives 0, 90 and 0 again.
Drop Barry an email and he will respond.

[John Terefenko]

Thanks all for the response and Yes I will give Barry an email. I did exactly as all were saying. I used a machinist square to set the face of the Wixy when I placed it on the blade. I marked a spot on the table where I zeroed it in so as to make sure I am setting and resetting in the same place. I will give it a better try tomorrow before I email Barry. If it does what it suppose to do it is exactly what I need to make 45 and 30 degree cuts but until I can rely on it to cut 90 degrees I can't trust it. I do see it comes with a spare battery so I will try that one as well.

[Phil Thien]

I've heard some Wixeys have had sticky pendulums. You can try tapping it gently with your finger after placing it on the table or blade to see if it jumps.

Mine is rock-solid.

[Phil Thien]

I would then crank the planer head up and back down again so the gauge read the same reading. When I ran another piece of scrap through the planer and measured it with the dial indicator it would be off by several thousands. It did this every time.

Bruce

Is it possible that the problem is with the planer? Maybe something, somewhere, is moving in relation to the scale?

These optically read devices are normally extremely accurate.

[Pete Brown]

I'm not familiar with the gauge, but anything with a gear or screw inside is going to have backlash. Are you running into backlash? Do you move back and forth a lot?

The easiest way to deal with backlash is to always approach the target number from the same direction. If you overshoot, start over.

Pete

[Bruce Benjamin]

I suppose anything is possible but I doubt that this was the case with mine. I actually get better results just using the factory gauge mounted on the planer itself. If the resolution is only .005" then that means it will read the same whether it's .001 or .009. Add the inherent error of the electronic gauge and who knows what the actual measurement is. I do know that I worked on getting it set up right doing everything I could. My planer seems to work beautifully and I can't imagine what part of the planer could cause the gauge to be so far off. Slop or slack in the raising and lowering mechanism wouldn't effect the gauge since the gauge is supposed to read the height of the head compared to the base of the planer. It doesn't know how far I've turned the handle. I returned the gauge long ago and until someone makes one that has a .001" resolution, and is as inexpensive as the Wixey, I'll stick with my current methods. Currently the planer is at least as accurate and precise as with the Wixey and it's less trouble and quite a bit cheaper. Sorry for hijacking this thread by the way. My intent was to point out that this isn't the first problem I've heard of from Wixey.

Bruce



Is it possible that the problem is with the planer? Maybe something, somewhere, is moving in relation to the scale?

These optically read devices are normally extremely accurate.

[Bruce Benjamin]

As I said in my response to Phil, the planer has very little backlash. But even with a lot of backlash it shouldn't have any effect on what the Wixey planer gauge reads. The gauge doesn't read the turns of the handle. It reads the height of the head compared to the planer base.

Bruce



I'm not familiar with the gauge, but anything with a gear or screw inside is going to have backlash. Are you running into backlash? Do you move back and forth a lot?

The easiest way to deal with backlash is to always approach the target number from the same direction. If you overshoot, start over.

Pete

[Glen Gunderson]

I'm working wood, Jim. As I said in my post, everyone seems to have different tolerance for error. Wood may move but if all of the wood is the same then it should all move roughly the same. If it's off then it will always be off. And wood generally doesn't get thicker or thinner on a table top. It gets narrower and wider. Put together a mitered frame or do a glue up on a table top or raised panel with wood that varies by .005" and see if you notice the difference. And the differences with the Wixey planer gauge was usually at least .005", frequently more.

The whole point of the planer gauge is repeatability, accuracy, and precision. For me, the Wixey offered NONE of those things. If I wanted to match the thickness of one piece of wood I already had planed with another I sure couldn't count on the Wixey POS to do that for me. I could easily feel the difference between the thickness of one piece planed at one time and another planed after moving the planer head and back again. If you were to buy a piece of furniture and it had a rail and stile door on it are you saying you wouldn't mind if one rail was 1/200" thicker than the stile to which it's attached? Trust me, you can feel it, see it, and it would bother you for a long time to come. At least it would me.

Regarding an angle gauge that's off by a couple of tenths of a degree, multiply that times 4 corners and see if you notice any gaps. I would. My 43 year old eyes aren't what they used to be but I can still see well enough to know when something isn't right, whether it be in thickness or angle.

Bruce
The diameter of a human hair is in he neighborhood of 1/200". You are seriously telling me that having two boards be off by the thickness of a hair is unacceptable to you? I can see why you would want finished pieces to have nearly perfect joints, but isn't that the point of planing scraping and sanding? Surely in sanding a piece, that 1/200" discrepancy disappears.

I do understand your point that the Wixey is no more accurate than the built in gauge, but accuracy to .005" in the milling stage of woodworking is, in my opinion, absurd and pointless, especially given all of the finishing work that is required after planing that could serve to remove discrepancies (as well as introduce new ones) within the tolerances of 1/200".

[Justin King]

Sorry to hear your having this problem -- I have one and it works great -- I concur with everything that Glen said on the first page - Mine is repeatable everytime so long as I have the square there and it is perpindicular to the table surface -- I have found it easier to use on the right side of the blade (I have a left tilt saw) and with the blade most of the way up --- is your blade nice and clean?

Justin

[Pete Brown]

As I said in my response to Phil, the planer has very little backlash. But even with a lot of backlash it shouldn't have any effect on what the Wixey planer gauge reads. The gauge doesn't read the turns of the handle. It reads the height of the head compared to the planer base.

Bruce

I was actually talking abou the Wixey having backlash. If it is like most inexpensive types of calipers it will have a little.

Pete

[Brad Townsend]

I'm on my 2nd digital angle gauge. The first one I got was totally goofy. I emailed Barry and he replaced it immediately. The 2nd one was (and still is) right on.

I have the planer gauge (on a DW735). By force of habit, I check each workpiece for thickness with a caliper when it comes out of the planer. I use the phrase "force of habit" because having installed the planer gauge, it seems unnecessary. Once calibrated, I can set the planer to a given readout and that is exactly what I get. I would suggest to anyone who has a Wixey product that is not performing to their satisfaction to contact Barry Wixey and he will make it right.

[Rich Torino]

As a couple of folks have advised... Contact Barry Wixey. He is extremely
concerned about his products and coustomer satisfaction

[Al Willits]

I've got both, the angle unit said my TS was about 2 tenths over 90 degree's and checking with a square and a bright light it was slightly off, and according to my eye with a square the gauge is right on, least as much as the eye can see.


Not sure of the planer gauge as I just installed it on my York this last weekend, need to play with it a bit before I trust it, the whole assembly seems a bit weak, might just be me though.

Al

[Phil Thien]

If the resolution is only .005" then that means it will read the same whether it's .001 or .009.
Bruce

Well that is as good a point as any. I looked at the web page for Wixey and it does appear that you have your figures correct. So basically, there is approx. a .01" range, which is 1/100th of an inch. Which is a lot.

I know I am capable of repeatedly setting my TS fence to the same dimension to within .002". And that is using only the fence scale.

The only other tip I'll mention to people using these gauges is to be consistent in how you adjust your planer. For example, if I was looking for .75", I would raise the planer head to 1", and then lower until the gauge switched to .75". If I needed 1.25", I would raise the head to 1.5" and lower to 1.25".

[Bruce Benjamin]

Well Glen, I don't know what to tell you. Thanks for referring to my wood working as, "Absurd and pointless". You certainly have a way with words. I started to get a few tears in my eyes when I first read this until I realized that your opinion was worth exactly what I paid for it. Somehow I think I'll get by without your approval. It won't be easy living with the shame but I'll manage, somehow. :rolleyes:

Perhaps you should read Phil's post, (#22) to see that I'm not the only person who's wood working is, "Absurd and pointless". One of the main reasons I selected this planer is because of the super smooth finish it leaves after planing. I do some fine sanding but very little is necessary. I usually hit it with some 220 and maybe go up from there if it's a project that requires an extra fine finish. But I can see by your comments that I should be hitting it with the belt sander equipped with 80 grit. Thanks for the tip! I've been doing this wrong for years now! :D

Bruce



The diameter of a human hair is in he neighborhood of 1/200". You are seriously telling me that having two boards be off by the thickness of a hair is unacceptable to you? I can see why you would want finished pieces to have nearly perfect joints, but isn't that the point of planing scraping and sanding? Surely in sanding a piece, that 1/200" discrepancy disappears.

I do understand your point that the Wixey is no more accurate than the built in gauge, but accuracy to .005" in the milling stage of woodworking is, in my opinion, absurd and pointless, especially given all of the finishing work that is required after planing that could serve to remove discrepancies (as well as introduce new ones) within the tolerances of 1/200".

[John Terefenko]

Well I got home from work today and decided to try the gauge again before I email Barry and it works perfectly. It repeated numerous times and actually anywhere on the table. I checked the cuts of a 45 degree by cutting two and placing them against one another and not a speck of light and did the same with the 90 degrees. I am now happy with it and went around and set all my fences and tables with it. I found my jointer fence to be off .3 degrees. I found my machinist square not to be dead on as I thought. My draftsman angles are pretty acurate though. I now recomend it and it is a keeper. Why it did not work yeterday I do not know because I did the same things today. Maybe as someone mentioned it was a sticky pendulum. Thanks for all the replys. Now if I can get something for the miter gauge. Any suggestions????? How about it MR Wixey???

[Bruce Benjamin]

I am now happy with it and went around and set all my feces and tables with it.

Hmmm...Now that's what I would call unnecessary precision and accuracy! :D

Bruce

[Gary Keedwell]

Hmmm...Now that's what I would call unnecessary precision and accuracy! :D

Bruce
Bruce...I thought everybody calibrated their feces.:D Only kidding......please no spanking me........:rolleyes:

Gary K.

[glenn bradley]

Bwaaaa-haaaa-haaaa-ha!

[Steve Clardy]

Bruce...I thought everybody calibrated their feces.:D Only kidding......please no spanking me........:rolleyes:

Gary K.


Wooow. Thats a new one.:eek: :D ;) :D

[John Terefenko]

See now that is what happens when you get so excited about a new toy. You can't type. Not that I could have before that. But I guess I better go in there and fix that or this thread may get booted. :eek:

[Dave Lehnert]

I picked up one a week or so ago. When I first opened the package and used it was acting kinda funny but after a very short time it was working very well. I will go as far to say it is DEAD ON accurate. Best $40 I ever spent in my book.
WOOD mag just did a review and at first thought it was off but after some testing it was found the square was off not the Wixy.