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

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Port Hope, Ontario
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    Added a Digital Readout (DRO) to my old Rockwell 4-post thickness planer.

    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

    1 Wixey DRO Planer.jpg

    3 Bracket.jpeg


    4 Magnets.jpeg

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
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    New Boston, Michigan
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    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. wixey.JPG I agree having that DRO is great.
    Ask a woodworker to "make your bed" and he/she makes a bed.

  3. #3
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    +1 on the DRO for planers .
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #4
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    May 2018
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    Lancaster, Ohio
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    marking as I need to do this to my Delta planer

  5. #5
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    Mar 2008
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    Between No Where & No Place ,WA
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    Well done and very informative. One of these days, I'll do the same.

  6. #6
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    Jun 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Newman View Post
    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.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
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    Sothern Coastal Maine
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    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.

  8. #8
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    Jun 2020
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    Port Hope, Ontario
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob McBreen View Post
    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.
    Last edited by Steven Woodward; 10-12-2021 at 9:04 PM.

  9. #9
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    Jun 2008
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    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.
    Aj

  10. #10
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    Jun 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    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

    Wixey.jpeg
    Last edited by Steven Woodward; 10-13-2021 at 10:45 AM.

  11. #11
    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.


    IMG_9757.jpg IMG_9758.jpg

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob McBreen View Post
    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."

  13. #13
    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

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Bolton View Post
    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.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Steven Woodward View Post
    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.

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