After Market Thicness Gauge for DW735

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.

-- https://www.jtplaneworks.com - In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.

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

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

-- Measure "at least" twice and cut once

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.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

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.

-- The quality of one's woodworking is directly related to the amount of flannel worn.

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?

-- Bill, central NY...no where near the "big apple"

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.

-- Measure "at least" twice and cut once

Thanks kdc. That’s what I was hoping for :o)

-- Bill, central NY...no where near the "big apple"

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.

-- The quality of one's woodworking is directly related to the amount of flannel worn.

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.

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

-- Brad in FL - In Dog I trust... everything else is questionable