Jerry Allen
09-23-2007, 7:13 PM
I picked up a couple of cheap composite digital calipers at HF not noticing that they are only accurate to .01. I would have returned them and got the stainless version which are accurate to .005. But I figured I might as well try using them for a hieght gauge on my planer just for the heck of it.
The height mechanisms on the Makita are rough at best. I usually use a digital caliper manually when I plane.
.01 is pretty small however and for the most part it's better than I can do using the built in guages.
I only drilled one hole in the boss at the left bottom of the moving carriage (#10 screw). I used the the existing hole at the bottom left side, the one with the hex cap screw. Cut up a couple of 3 inch corner brackets and drilled some holes for #8 screws in the caliper to mount it and one .25" hole to mount the bottom bracket to the cap screw on the side. I had to remove the lower inside measurement blade on the caliper to clear the mounting bracket. Since it's composite, it cuts and drills very easy.
Not quite done, and need to make some thumb knobs. Right now it's calibrated to zero on the planer head and that's the way I used it today.
If I use it for a relative measurement by zeroing it where it is I will need to remove the sliding electronics head so I can bottom it and reset to absolute zero and then move the slider back and reattach it.
A better method is to use the Grizzly H8133. It has zeroing and offset buttons, is stainless and reads horizontally for $40. I might try that next time. In the meanwhile this has worked pretty well so far. Definitely not a Wixey, but I have about $8 into it and it makes using the planer a lot easier.
As a side note even if you don't try this, note the V cut in the top edge of the stock red height pointer. It makes it a lot easier to see which line it is actually pointing to. Just file a notch with a triangular file.
The height mechanisms on the Makita are rough at best. I usually use a digital caliper manually when I plane.
.01 is pretty small however and for the most part it's better than I can do using the built in guages.
I only drilled one hole in the boss at the left bottom of the moving carriage (#10 screw). I used the the existing hole at the bottom left side, the one with the hex cap screw. Cut up a couple of 3 inch corner brackets and drilled some holes for #8 screws in the caliper to mount it and one .25" hole to mount the bottom bracket to the cap screw on the side. I had to remove the lower inside measurement blade on the caliper to clear the mounting bracket. Since it's composite, it cuts and drills very easy.
Not quite done, and need to make some thumb knobs. Right now it's calibrated to zero on the planer head and that's the way I used it today.
If I use it for a relative measurement by zeroing it where it is I will need to remove the sliding electronics head so I can bottom it and reset to absolute zero and then move the slider back and reattach it.
A better method is to use the Grizzly H8133. It has zeroing and offset buttons, is stainless and reads horizontally for $40. I might try that next time. In the meanwhile this has worked pretty well so far. Definitely not a Wixey, but I have about $8 into it and it makes using the planer a lot easier.
As a side note even if you don't try this, note the V cut in the top edge of the stock red height pointer. It makes it a lot easier to see which line it is actually pointing to. Just file a notch with a triangular file.