Replies

1. 
   gr8monkeyman | Mar 29, 2007 09:15pm | #1

   I don't have one, but I played with it at Woodcraft. It looks really interesting. I like that it will give a continous readout of the angle as you adjust it. I am concerned with the accuracy though. The saw I was testing it on read a different arbor angle then the wixey by about 4 degrees.

2. 
   mbholden | Mar 29, 2007 11:21pm | #2

   Mytulpa,

   I have one and enjoy using it.

   Seems to be quite accurate. Used it to set the blade at 45 degrees and then made a couple test cuts and the cut ends formed well matched square - 8 cuts, each side the same length.

   Given that, I now trust it. Important thing is to zero it out properly first, as it reads relative angles, not absolute.

   Mike

1. 
   mytulpa | Mar 30, 2007 01:56am | #3

   the one i got is to measure between fence and saw blade. i don't think it will measure angles.

1. 
   cmiller231 | Mar 30, 2007 05:01am | #4

   Mytuba . I went to that guys web site and one thing bothered is that he ( the  owner ) says that  he does not give out address (and phone # I think) because it is more efficient for his business .Well i got news for him ,i do not do business unless i know country of orgin .

    But if  you are buying it from Woodcraft   you are safe  No problem returning it if necessary .

         I believe the price is 159$ ??   Plus It is 60" long .Great price . I paid over $300 _ $350 ( Accurate) a couple of yers ago.I would suggest this for most anybody . I'am not pushing either brand  and have no connection with either company.Just the concept is  what i like .

       What i like is being able to cut another rail for a face frame for example  and the length will be right on. No more planing to make all cuts   at once .

     You might want to ask if it has absolute and incredmental. I use this when i switch from thin kerf to regular ( 3/32"- 1/8" blades )Or use with dado slots.

                                                                                     Chris

    

    

1. 
   mytulpa | Mar 30, 2007 05:28am | #5

   well, it says on the box it's from china. i still think the manual is crap. it doesn't really show instructions for the newer version of the unifence. i haven't checked out the website yet. what fence do you have? any tips on installation? how long did it take you? thanx - glenn

1. 
   cmiller231 | Mar 30, 2007 06:00am | #6

   I have a Power mattic 66 with a  Accu fence .

   On mine the thing that ( slides )picks up the reading ( Read Head ) has a finger  on it to allow for a slight misaline ment.  Looks easily breakable .I took my time  installing it  ,don't rember how long took. Just be REAL careful removing ( if you have to)    the fence .

    It was quite interesting settimg the fence by eyeballing  tape and then read the readout.. My old eyes get plus or minus .010 moist of the time .

     I had to saw some  wood shims the other day for dresser  slides ..Took 2 rough cuts to straighten scrap piece,  moved to the left the thickness of blade plus thickness of shim.025 . Shim was with in  .002.                                      Chris

     I was going to email him and ask if he had anything for radial arm readout .Now i'am having second thoughts.Accurate  wants $400  for a eight ft fence including readout.

2. 
   nikkiwood | Mar 30, 2007 05:20pm | #11

   So your fence gauge is not Wixey, but Accurate?Do they mount the same way?********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   cmiller231 | Mar 30, 2007 09:02pm | #13

   Mine is made   by Accurate Technology  inc    Their web site is

     http://www.proscale.com/     This is for the professional line

   http://www.digi-kit.com/       This is the home  shop version

   They both have decimal, metric or fractions.  

    As far as mounting goes  mine has a read head  that slides on a track like a caliper. . Then a short  phone cord  3_4" connects it to the read out box. I think Wixey  is different than mine in this respect.You can also get a different readout box if you want .If you go to their web site you will also see close outs . so you might be able to get a break there .                                                                   Chris

2. 
   riethoven | Mar 30, 2007 09:25pm | #14

   Accurate Technology has been around for at least 12 or 15 years and Wixey is a newcomer. I had a ProScale readout on my Northfield Planer and it was great. There is nothing better in machine woodworking than having digital accuracy down to .001". It is all about quickly repeatable accuracy. I also had the cutterhead reader machine that AT makes and it was super accurate also.One difference between the Wixey and the ProScale is that the proscale can be remotely mounted because the readout is attached via a cable rather than being mounted directly to the reading strip. I can't believe how cheap the Wixey setup for the tablesaw is. But I don't want to be the first to buy one. Their planer setup is only good for a planer with a 6" capacity and I think my big planer has a 12" height capacity.I will keep reading posts to see how others are doing with their Wixey.

3. 
   cmiller231 | Mar 31, 2007 02:09am | #18

   You obviously have had a lot more experience with the Proscale than me( i've had mine 2 yrs now)But i agree  with you 100% on the repeatabilty  it turns your machinery into.

    What is your cutter head reader do ??

   What brand is that planer with a 12" height capacity??You must have a huge dust collecter!                                                                                            Chris

    

4. 
   riethoven | Apr 20, 2007 06:14pm | #20

   My planer is an old EMA brand made in Italy. It was made by Casadei. It has a 20"(530mm)capacity with a straight knife cutterhead. The dust shute is 7". I am just getting my shop up and running so I am using a DeWalt 735 portable right now until I complete wiring and adding dust collection. I have a 3 HP drum top collector that I think is around 1500CFM which is enough to handle one machine at a time, and since I am a one man shop that is fine.Regarding the digital readout I want one for every machine. I work to tolerances of .005 typically and it is very nice to not have to constantly check every part I am making with the caliper.

5. 
   nikkiwood | Mar 31, 2007 12:55am | #17

   Thanks for the links.I am guessing Wixey found a cheaper source for his digital module, and now he is undercutting those who have had this technology for a while -- like Proscale. Anyway, I recently bought the Wixley angle gauge, and for $40, it was a great bargain.********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

2. 
   nikkiwood | Mar 30, 2007 09:14am | #7

   Do you have a link for this device? I couldn't find a Wixley home page, so I assume they use another name for their web site.********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   Cincinnati | Mar 30, 2007 10:10am | #8

   wixey.com (Noel in the spelling!)

   Edited 3/30/2007 3:11 am ET by Cincinnati

2. 
   mytulpa | Mar 30, 2007 12:50pm | #9

   his name is barry wixey and his web address is http://www.wixey.com.

1. 
   nikkiwood | Mar 30, 2007 05:12pm | #10

   Helps if I could have spelled the name right <G>.I recently bought the Wixey angle guage, and I think it is both easy to use and helpful. I am very interested in learning what you think of the fence gauge -- once you get it up and running.EDIT: you mentioned that the instructions weren't very good. Are you talking about those he posts on his web site?http://www.wixey.com/fence/owners/index.html********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

   Edited 3/30/2007 10:17 am by nikkiwood

2. 
   mytulpa | Mar 30, 2007 08:29pm | #12

   i still haven't checked out the site yet, so i'm talking about the included manual. however, i see you've put up a link, so.....

3. 
   Germey | Mar 30, 2007 09:57pm | #15

   The most recent issue of that other lower-brow publication did a write up on the Wixey. They liked it. They calibrated a TS with an engineers square and cut test pieces with a very slight error. Then then used the device and detected a 0.1 degree error, corrected it, and cut again perfectly.
   No personal experience, but happened to read the article the other day.

4. 
   Rooms | Mar 30, 2007 11:54pm | #16

   I've used one on my Delta Planer for over a year or so, it works great! The only issue is that it does NOT shut-off automatically from lack of use (as many digital devices do). If I don't remember to shut it off, the battery can be dead in a week's time. Perhaps this has been fixed in more current models.

5. 
   gregjones | Apr 01, 2007 12:05pm | #19

   I have one that I'm using with a Biesemeyer fence and for the most part I am very pleased with it. It was relativity easy to install. The only issue I had with installation was that I had to relocate the power switch on my saw, which I understand is fairly common. One of the more important features that attracted me to the Wixey is that it does not loose calibration when the fence is removed. All the others I looked at require re-calibration.

   I wanted the incremental feature of a digital fence more than a replacement for the stock tape and the Wixey has not disappointed me. At first I was leery of how accurate a two-piece scale (the green bar) could be, but it is very accurate and repeatable. The downside to the Wixey is that the display is rather small and mounted where it is, the saw and fence block most of the direct light needed to read the display quickly. The Accurate Digi-Kit seems much better in this regard. What would really be nice is a button that turns on a backlit display for 3-5 seconds like the one on my home thermostat. Battery life would be less, but it would be very convenient to have.