Awesome new piece of equipment

[dehrlich]

Just finally got a chance to install the coolest piece of equipment in my shop. It's a digital depth read-out on my planer. It wasn't made for the machine, so I had to drill and thread holes and figure out how to make it work, but with my bad back, not having to bend over and look at the pointer on a ruler will be nice. Not to mention the fact that this thing is deadly accurate down to 1/64th of an inch. If you don't have something like this, it's worth investing in.

[Canemaker]

That's really interesting where did you get yours and around what cost?

[dehrlich]

I got mine from Grizzly, don't remember the cost but around $60 I think. Bought it shortly after I got the planer almost a year ago, finally got a chance to install it.

[bergerud]

How do you zero it?

[dehrlich]

How do you zero it?

That's the trick. It has a zero button of course where you can set anywhere along the length as zero. So here is how I did it. I got a thick board and planed it until it was exactly 1" according to my dial calipers. I locked the table there, and zero'd the gadget. Then I unscrewed the sliding part from the table and slide it up until it was -1", and zero'd it again. Then when I put it back where it was, it read 1" like it should. I went ahead and planed the board further, checking every 1/16" and it was dead on.

[bergerud]

Nice trick. I have one of those I bought on sale but after I realized the zero problem, I did not bother to install it. I never trust those digital things unless I can check them every time before I use them. I thought of making a block corresponding to 1" that I could use to check but that is just another thing I have not got around to.

[Deolman]

You will definitely enjoy the new gauge. It won't take long to become very dependent on it.

I have been using a Wixey gauge for my Dewalt DW735 planer for a couple of years now. It has been a great asset for the times I do thickness planing. It is right on. All I have to do to zero it is plane a board, raise the plunger up and put the board between the plunger and it's stop, and zero the meter. Remove the board and the plunger moves to the stop. The gauge now shows the actual thickness of the board. My calipers confirm it as well but I really don't need to verify it. I am confident with the Wixey gauge.As I raise or lower the head it shows what thickness it will set to plane a board. I would never go back to the trial and error method.

[CNC Carver]

Looks like that will save time and your back!

[ronboley]

These igaging linear measuring gages are available thru Anytime Tools on Amazon. I purchased several for my mini mill and lathe. The 6" costs $30 and the 12" costs $40. They are way more accurate than the stamped rulers and pointer on wood working tools...and convenient too. They come with two sets of (watch type flat) batteries. I don't know how long the batteries will last, but it's nice they come with two sets.

[jiml]

My experience has been to remove the Batts after each use, because the units must not shut off completely and the Batts run down.