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After Market Thicness Gauge for DW735

1425 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by MrUnix, Jan 9, 2015

bbc557ci

Discussion Starter · Jan 5, 2015 (Edited by Moderator)

Hi all. Been a while since I last posted… always busy, generally too busy to get much done in the shop

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Anyways… I'm in the process of planing down about 450 BF of Ash. It's rough cut and of various lengths and widths. Quite some time ago thought I read here on LJs about an after market thickness gauge that was highly thought of by those who have/use them. My goal is to get the final thickness of the Ash the same (or as close as possible) on all pieces. Anyone have any info or maybe a link to that critter ?? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance !!

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JayT

· #2 · Jan 5, 2015 (Edited by Moderator)

Not sure which one you read about before, but the Wixey digital planer gauge is generally pretty well thought of.

Edit: There are several reviews here on LJ with more info.

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kdc68

· #3 · Jan 5, 2015 (Edited by Moderator)

Not sure which one you read about before, but the Wixey digital planer gauge is generally pretty well thought of.

Edit: There are several reviews here on LJ with more info.

- JayT

v
v
I got one and think it's a great gadget. Easy to install and accurate

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pintodeluxe

· #4 · Jan 5, 2015

Let me know if you see any advantage with the Wixey. I have been pretty happy with the Dewalt factory depth stops on the 735. I guess the Wixey would add some flexibility to the 6 preset stops on the 735.
When not using the depth stop, the Dewalt thickness gauge is pretty hard to read.

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jmartel

· #5 · Jan 5, 2015

I can also attest to excellent customer service from Wixey. I recently contacted them to get a few extra parts for my planer gauge and they came through extremely quickly.

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bbc557ci

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 9, 2015

Thanks for the feedback, and links. 'nuther question…. I expect once the unit is mounted it will need to be calibrated, not a problem. Now, if I stop planning the Ash and then don't get back at it for a week or two, do I need to fuss around or re-calibrate it to again to get it back to the finished thickness?

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kdc68

· #7 · Jan 9, 2015 (Edited by Moderator)

Thanks for the feedback, and links. nuther question…. I expect once the unit is mounted it will need to be calibrated, not a problem. Now, if I stop planning the Ash and then don t get back at it for a week or two, do I need to fuss around or re-calibrate it to again to get it back to the finished thickness?

- bbc557ci

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Once it's calibrated…that's it. You can return after a week or two (or whenever) and it remains calibrated.

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bbc557ci

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 9, 2015

Thanks kdc. That's what I was hoping for

)

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jmartel

· #9 · Jan 9, 2015

It's super easy to calibrate anyway. Just send a piece through, put it under the plunger without changing the height of the planer, hold calibrate, it'll say 0, and then you're done.

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Kazooman

· #10 · Jan 9, 2015

I do not know how the switches on the Wixey planer gauge function. I have thought about springing for one, but not just yet. I do have a Wixey Digital Angle gauge. It is fantastic, with one exception. I do not use it very often. It turns out (for my version at least, they may have changed this) the On/Off switch just turns the display on and off. The battery is still powering the unit and is draining 24/7. I asked Wixey about this and they indicated that this was by design so the unit could store the zero entry. I am not certain why you would want that unless every tool in your shop is dead level with the world. My tools are about as level as I can get them, but the Wixey tells me they are not all the same and I believe it. I want to know how fences and blades are positioned relative to the table on a specific tool. It takes one push of the button to reset the zero for the tool table and then we are OK for angles. I would always do this even if I thought the unit had stored the zero value for that tool.

I discovered this "feature" when my gauge ran the battery down a lot faster than I thought it should. I now take the battery out after every use. A pain, but I guess I have to do it. The addition of a master On/Off switch would be a nice modification. My apologies to Wixey if I have this wrong, but this is what I was told when I inquired and it is my experience.

For a single function gauge like a depth gauge for a planer the "always of for memory" might be useful, but for the angle gauge I wish the On/Off switch actually turned the gauge off.

Actually, any gauge, whether it is the one on the planer, a Wixey, or a nice caliper on the finished product will have some potential for error. Probably not enough to worry about in the final analysis of assembly and sanding, but if I want to be absolutely certain that all of the pieces for a project are the same thickness I run all of them through the planer for the final pass without any adjustments.

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MrUnix

· #11 · Jan 9, 2015 (Edited by Moderator)

if I want to be absolutely certain that all of the pieces for a project are the same thickness I run all of them through the planer for the final pass without any adjustments.

Same here.. and a cheap pair of callipers to verify they are the thickness I want is all that is required.

Cheers,
Brad

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