Table Saw Digital Readout Options

[Bryce Andersen]

Greetings all, I am new to the non classifieds section of Sawmill Creek, and looked but didn't see any recent discussion on DROs. If there is one and I missed it, please forgive me.

I just bought a 3HP 36" PCS Sawstop, not because I am a serious woodworker, but because I have serious fear of the table saw and the saw could pay for itself with one accident. That being said, I got myself sold on the rip flip system by Woodpeckers as a way of micro adjusting the fence. The repeatable cuts with the flip stops were just an added bonus, but then I started reading about DROs and got intrigued. I have looked at the Wixley digital fence readout and the Digifence by Accurate Technology Inc and am not sure what to do and am wondering if you all have any experience or thoughts as to DROs.

I am also open to any thoughts anyone has on micro fence adjustments. I have seen the incra fence system and am intrigued by it, but I'd prefer to not change out the fence at this time.

Thanks all!

-Bryce

[Alan Lightstone]

I had the Wixey on my previous SawStop contractor's saw, and liked it a lot. I wasn't fond of drilling into the solid metal rail. That took some work.

I haven't installed one on my ICS yet, but keep meaning to get around to purchasing and installing a Digifence, or perhaps another.

No question that having a DRO and a microadjuster is a great combo. At least IMHO.

[Cary Falk]

I had the Wixey on my table saw and hated it. It drove me crazy trying to chase all those digits bumping the fence with my hand. A micro adjust would have made it better. I took it off and am fine with using my cursor.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I was looking to install a DRO on my Sawstop couple of years ago. I made myself a micro adjuster to help shave a little more off with each cut, but it didn't have any measurement info, so it wasn't repeatable if I changed the fence position and then wanted to come back and cut another piece.

I opted for the Incra fence and love it. It does require your table to have about an extra 30" of clearance off the right side of the table. I initially went with the imperial system and then bought the conversion kit to change it to metric.

With the indexing on the TS-LS Positioner and the micro adjust, I can rest the width needed no matter how many times I've adjusted the fence in the mean time.

Another decision in going with the Incra, I decided to use that unused space, on the right side of the fence, and install a router there. I don't use this much, but it's nice to have.

[Michael Drew]

I have the Incra as well. I love it, but......I would really like to add a DRO to it. I have not figured out how to do that, yet. It's getting difficult to read the scale without wearing cheater glasses..... I also don't like how the scale collects dust, making it even more difficult to read.

[Roger Feeley]

I have the Digifence on an ICS and I'm not sure I would get it again.
-- It installs below the big rail and impinged on the handwheel handle. I had to turn a wooden knob that didn't stick out as far.
-- My Digifence turns itself on anytime the fence moves. I don't use the DRO for absolute measurement. I use it when I'm taping the fence to micro-adjust. Having the DRO there if I overshoot is great. I just got used to pushing the off button a lot. Sometime, I'm going to put in a little switch. I replace batteries too often.
-- The physical connection between the fence and the DRO rail is a little fussy.

Overall, though, the Digifence does what I need it to do. If I was doing more production, I would probably calibrate it and use the absolute measurement feature. I think it would do that just fine.

If I was doing it again, I would take a longer look at Wixey to see if I like the arrangement better.

[Frank Pratt]

I have the Wixey & it works very well for me. My main motivation was that it's getting so I have to strain my eyes to accurately see the cursor. The bonus is the accurate repeatability. A micro adjust would be alright to have, but not needed. The key to nudging the fence tiny amounts is to use a mallet, not the hand. I do that with the fence lock partially engaged so there is no slop & it's really easy to fine tune it.

[glenn bradley]

My Wixey has moved from two saws to it's location on my current saw. Having the DRO available is now built in to the way I approach an operation.

[Eric Arnsdorff]

I have the DigiFence on my 52" Unisaw and love it. It works perfectly. It is very easy to zero and I use it for all of my cuts. It makes a quick setup for a very accurate cut width. This accurate cut width makes repeated cut widths later a simple operation and dead on each time.

I don't see any need for a micro-positioner with the DigiFence DRO.

I went with the DigiFence due to the display being more flexible as well as being larger. The DigiFence also appears to be a bit better built. I do have a Wixey on my planer and it works very well for it but isn't as easy to zero and such.

I'm very happy with choosing the DigiFence over the Wixey but it does cost more.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have the Digifence on an ICS and I'm not sure I would get it again.
-- It installs below the big rail and impinged on the handwheel handle. I had to turn a wooden knob that didn't stick out as far.

I found that the Wixey impinged a little too. And I have that issue with my infeed table, and the lockdown arm with the SawStop fence, and a few other things.

All of these things get a little in the way IMHO. But I really miss the DRO and need to get another one.

And I REALLY like have that microadjuster. It makes things so much easier and I haven't hit the fence with a mallet once.

[Bob McBreen]

I love my Wixey. I have used on three of my saws. The repeatability is wonderful by my favorite feature is the ability to switch between imperial & metric by hitting a button.

I wish that Wixey made a dro for miter saws.

[Derek Cohen]

Greetings all, I am new to the non classifieds section of Sawmill Creek, and looked but didn't see any recent discussion on DROs. If there is one and I missed it, please forgive me.

I just bought a 3HP 36" PCS Sawstop, not because I am a serious woodworker, but because I have serious fear of the table saw and the saw could pay for itself with one accident. That being said, I got myself sold on the rip flip system by Woodpeckers as a way of micro adjusting the fence. The repeatable cuts with the flip stops were just an added bonus, but then I started reading about DROs and got intrigued. I have looked at the Wixley digital fence readout and the Digifence by Accurate Technology Inc and am not sure what to do and am wondering if you all have any experience or thoughts as to DROs.

I am also open to any thoughts anyone has on micro fence adjustments. I have seen the incra fence system and am intrigued by it, but I'd prefer to not change out the fence at this time.

Thanks all!

-Bryce

Bryce, I had the Wixey on my contractor saw, and then moved it to its replacement, a Hammer K3. It was a little fussier to set up before I added a micro-adjuster to the K3 rip fence. Now the combination is magic. It has been reliable in the several years I have used it.



I added one to my Bandsaw as well!



This makes for easy set up of repeatable settings.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Alan Lightstone]

I have the Digifence on an ICS and I'm not sure I would get it again.
-- It installs below the big rail and impinged on the handwheel handle. I had to turn a wooden knob that didn't stick out as far.
-- My Digifence turns itself on anytime the fence moves. I don't use the DRO for absolute measurement. I use it when I'm taping the fence to micro-adjust. Having the DRO there if I overshoot is great. I just got used to pushing the off button a lot. Sometime, I'm going to put in a little switch. I replace batteries too often.
-- The physical connection between the fence and the DRO rail is a little fussy.

Overall, though, the Digifence does what I need it to do. If I was doing more production, I would probably calibrate it and use the absolute measurement feature. I think it would do that just fine.

If I was doing it again, I would take a longer look at Wixey to see if I like the arrangement better.

Looking at the picture of it, I'm not sure how the Digifence gets in the way of the handwheel on the ICS. Could you elaborate?

I could see this happening if you had the fence to the left of the blade (which I almost never do), but the picture has it installed on the right side of the fence. Or is it a long metal piece like the Wixey which is installed under the rail?

People generally say better things about the Digifence, but is that not true when installed on an ICS?

[Scott Shimmin]

You could check out Accurate Technology at https://www.proscale.com/

They have digital readouts for a variety of products, including table saws, and their customer service is top notch.

[Alan Lightstone]

OK, so I went with the Accurate Technologies Digifence. As with the Wixey, you have to drill a few holes through the hardened steel rail. Well, 6 drill bits later, and I gave up and epoxied and fiberglassed the parts to the rail. God I hate drilling into hardened steel. I clearly don't know what I am doing with that, despite reading as much as I could on Google.

We'll see how accurate it is. A little bulkier than the Wixey, and a little finickier to install. Plus I had to work around my microadjuster, which thankfully was possible.

Hopefully I'll like it a lot.

Here's a few pictures:
Accurate Technologies Digifence 2.jpg
Accurate Technologies Digifence 3.jpg

So now I have digital readouts on my planer, tablesaw, and wide belt sander. Geek-like?? I'm sure. But much happier this way. Bandsaw next? Panel saw?