Wixey digital fence readout gauge

[Tar Heel]

I know several of us recently bought this gauge when Woodcraft had them on sale. I have installed mine but cannot get it calibrated correctly. The typical Chinese manual leaves much to be desired and doesn't mention how to calibrate it. I move the fence to the point that it is touching the blade without pressure and then push the calibrate button. The resulting cut is about .007 inches short of what I set it on. For example, setting it on 6 inches results in a 5.993 inch cut. This may not be much to some people but if I want a six inch cut I want a 6 inch cut. Just wondering if DavidF, or anyone else has any suggestions.

 

[toolferone]

Are you locking the fence down at the blade before you hit the button? My fence moves as I lock it down. Is your fence 90 deg to the table and is the blade 90 to the table too?

 

[Tar Heel]

Tom, the answers to your questions are no, yes, and yes. I'll try it with the fence locked. I have tried it several times at various widths since my initial post. The difference now is exactly 1/8 inch which, as we all know, is the width of the blade. The tape on my fence is dead-on accurate (why did I buy the Wixey?????). I can set the fence by the tape at, for example, 12" and the Wixey reads 12 1/8. Same 1/8" difference at different settings. ????????

 

[Tar Heel]

Tom, locking the fence before calibration results in 1/16" difference.

 

[FredP]

is your saw left tilt?:dontknow: that splains it!:widea: you musta got the right tilt wixey!:rotflm:

 

[Tar Heel]

Fred, it's right tilt.

 

[toolferone]

Tom, locking the fence before calibration results in 1/16" difference.

When I set mine I work the fence so it just kisses the blade as it locks down. I usually have to fiddle with it a few times to get it locked down just right. The fence has to be locked down before calibrating it.

 

[Tar Heel]

Problem solved. I spoke with DavidF by phone tonight and he said his was dead-on accurate. He mentioned that the bracket on the fence that the gauge magnet attaches to might need tweaking. I set the fence by the tape to 6", cut a piece of wood which was exactly 6 inches and looked at the gauge. It showed 6 1/16". Without moving or unlocking the fence I took a pair of vice grips and adjusted the bracket (took a couple of tries) until the readout showed 6" when the magnet attached to the bracket. Thanks David for the tip. This forum and the people on it are really great.

I offer this info for the benefit of those who haven't installed their readout yet. You may, or may not, have a similiar problem.

 

[TracyP]

The problem that I am facing installing mine is that the Ridgid fence requires some additional spacers so I need to figure out the best thing to use. Any one installed one on a ts3650 Ridgid? What did you use to install the readout brackets to the underside of the rail? Don't mean to hijack this thread but I see you got your answer so I thought I would ask.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Problem solved. I spoke with DavidF by phone tonight and he said his was dead-on accurate. He mentioned that the bracket on the fence that the gauge magnet attaches to might need tweaking. I set the fence by the tape to 6", cut a piece of wood which was exactly 6 inches and looked at the gauge. It showed 6 1/16". Without moving or unlocking the fence I took a pair of vice grips and adjusted the bracket (took a couple of tries) until the readout showed 6" when the magnet attached to the bracket. Thanks David for the tip. This forum and the people on it are really great.

I offer this info for the benefit of those who haven't installed their readout yet. You may, or may not, have a similar problem.

Stuart, your fix doesn't make sense. If you calibrated the unit as per instructions, then cut a board using the saw's tape to set the fence then bent the Wixey attach bracket to match up with the size of the board, what you have really done is disturbed the Wixey calibration. The next time you calibrate it, it will be off. The readout doesn't care where it is in relation to the fence when you calibrate it, as long as it is firmly attached and the relative position of readout and fence doesn't change. You can actually calibrate it by inserting a spacer between the blade and fence if you don't want to scratch your fence, then use that same spacer between the rare earth magnet and the attachment point before hitting calibrate.

I am a long time Wixey TS digital fence user- over three years. I was one of the testers for Barry Wixey on the prototype over a year before the production unit was released and have been using a production unit continuously since then. I have had the same experience as DavidF- mine is dead on. It should not work the way you describe unless (check all these possibilities)- (1) you are not carefully locking your fence at the point where the blade just kisses the fence, before calibrating the unit, (2) you are pushing the fence against and actually deflecting the blade slightly when you calibrate, (3) you are trying to calibrate it when the blade is at a slight bevel, (4) you have a warped (wobbly) blade or arbor runout that gives improper calibration, (5) the magnet attachment point is not properly mounted to the fence and moves, (6) the rare earth magnet on the side of the readout unit does not make solid, flat, and firm contact with the fence attachment point, (7) the back on the Wixey readout unit is not properly tightened (4 little screws on the back) causing the sensor head too ride too loosely on the sensor strip - this is a common problem, and lastly but unlikely, ( 8 ) the unit is defective.

 

[DavidF]

Stuart, your fix doesn't make sense. If you calibrated the unit as per instructions, then cut a board using the saw's tape to set the fence then bent the Wixey attach bracket to match up with the size of the board, what you have really done is disturbed the Wixey calibration. The next time you calibrate it, it will be off. The readout doesn't care where it is in relation to the fence when you calibrate it, as long as it is firmly attached and the relative position of readout and fence doesn't change. You can actually calibrate it by inserting a spacer between the blade and fence if you don't want to scratch your fence, then use that same spacer between the rare earth magnet and the attachment point before hitting calibrate.

I am a long time Wixey TS digital fence user- over three years. I was one of the testers for Barry Wixey on the prototype over a year before the production unit was released and have been using a production unit continuously since then. I have had the same experience as DavidF- mine is dead on. It should not work the way you describe unless (check all these possibilities)- (1) you are not carefully locking your fence at the point where the blade just kisses the fence, before calibrating the unit, (2) you are pushing the fence against and actually deflecting the blade slightly when you calibrate, (3) you are trying to calibrate it when the blade is at a slight bevel, (4) you have a warped (wobbly) blade or arbor runout that gives improper calibration, (5) the magnet attachment point is not properly mounted to the fence and moves, (6) the rare earth magnet on the side of the readout unit does not make solid, flat, and firm contact with the fence attachment point, (7) the back on the Wixey readout unit is not properly tightened (4 little screws on the back) causing the sensor head too ride too loosely on the sensor strip - this is a common problem, and lastly but unlikely, ( 8 ) the unit is defective.

Hi Stuart,

When I was talking about the bracket I actually meant what Alan was saying that there may be compliance in the mounting that is moving when you calibrate and then move the fence away (note (5). Or, the read head in the device is not tight. As you mentioned that the offset is always the same, be it at 6" or 16" I would not suspect bad reading. This sounds like a backlash problem in the mounting of either the encoder rail assy or the linear encoder its self within the rail, although the double sided tape should hold it fine. I would look at the read head in the device and make sure it isn't moving and check that the mounts are not flexing. If you want I can bring my read head over and try it on your rail and take a look at your installation at the same time. What are you doing over the weekend?

 

[Charles Lent]

A .007 measurement error could easily be caused by a less than perfectly straight saw blade. Most blades have more run-out than that and would cause the cut to be narrower than the gauge setting if you didn't calibrate the gauge with the fence touching the "high spot" of the blade. Bearing run-out of the saw arbor could also cause this error. Go back and find the spot on the blade that comes closest to the fence and then push the fence against this point on the blade and re-zero your gauge. Then try making another test cut.

Charley

 

[McRabbet]

Stuart,

I noticed that when I changed the amount of force that I used to lock my fence into final position that the value on the Wixey readout would change. The bracket that is used to create the touch point against the magnet on the readout is attached to the clamping mechanism that is being squeezed to lock the fence. It actually moves about the amount you describe. To compensate for the movement, I calibrate and read the fence with the locking lever pushed down the same amount and the "squeeze" is eliminated. I get reproducible results now. My experience is based on my mounting the Wixey on a Shop Fox Classic Fence on my Grizzly 10" cabinet saw.

 

[DavidF]

We seem to have two different errors here. In Stuarts first post he describes 0.007" not too shabby I would say, but could be caused by the locking errors that people are seeing. In a later post, and when I spoke to him the error was a constant 1/16th or 0.07" a a big difference! I don't think Stuart is talking about locking errors here, but definately something moving.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Some more thoughts. First I need to know about your calibration and how you are determining the perceived error.

What is your reference when you check the Wixey?

• Are you firmly locking the fence, calibrating the Wixey, AND aligning the fence's fiducial mark at the same, then comparing the readout with the tape at some other settings? If you zero the Wixey and the fiducial mark at the same time, and they still match up at 12", 24", 36", etc. then there is no problem with the Wixey (or the tape). If they do not match at other settings, your problem could be the Wixey or tape elongation (unfortunately fairly common).

• Or, are you using a caliper to measure a piece of just cut wood? If the Wixey and tape match (as above), but they don't agree with the test piece, then it could be your calipers, blade, arbor, fence, or calibration technique.

What kind of fence do you have? The condition of the fence can cause calibration error-

• An improperly adjusted fence- too much toe-in or toe-out can cause cutting errors that might appear as a Wixey error.

• A damaged- bent, warped, or scored, etc. fence of any type (Biesemeyer/clone, Unifence, etc.) could cause the error you are talking about if the damage is where the blade touches during calibration. That kind of damage may not affect the width of stock being ripped.

• How about a Biesemeyer style fence that has some delamination of the cutting face laminate, causing it to stand off the substrate during calibration by the amount of your error. When you rip stock the laminate would be pushed tight against the substrate so the board would likely be wider than the Wixey would indicate.

As you can see, there can be any number of things going on, especially if the saw or fence isn't set up properly to begin with. Ah, the joys of technology. :eusa_thin:eusa_thin

 

[DavidF]

From whaat I understand talking to Stuart:
1. the tape and the measured wood match as they have always done 6" on the tape = 6" measured so I don't believe it is an exisiting condition.
2. The wood using the Wixey is cut too short. I.E when the tape and the wood measure 6" the Wixey is saying 6 1/16" so moving the fence back to where the Wixey says 6" gives an under cut of 1/16th.

I am happy to come and take a look Stuart if you can't get it sorted.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

From whaat I understand talking to Stuart:
1. the tape and the measured wood match as they have always done 6" on the tape = 6" measured so I don't believe it is an exisiting condition.
2. The wood using the Wixey is cut too short. I.E when the tape and the wood measure 6" the Wixey is saying 6 1/16" so moving the fence back to where the Wixey says 6" gives an under cut of 1/16th.

I am happy to come and take a look Stuart if you can't get it sorted.

In #1 above, if there are fence or blade problems, the tape cursor (fiducial mark) has been corrected for them. Which in essence is what Barry suggests below.

I exchanged emails with Barry earlier today. He said we are right on with the troubleshooting recommendations. He suggested one other thing to check- At the 6" setting, is the readout straddling a joint between two sections of sensor strip? If joint is too wide, every measurement beyond that joint (farther from the blade) will be out by the same amount.

Also, he said the following calibration technique which requires a digital caliper, overcomes blade and fence problems and is being used successfully by a number of people:

[FONT=&quot]"Another calibration method used by people with calipers is to set (and lock) the fence anywhere and carefully make a sample cut. Then measure the piece with your calipers and without moving your fence, hold the ON/OFF button to set the display to 0.00 (calibrate it). Let’s say the piece cut measures 3.450” on your calipers. Now (unlock and) slide the fence toward the blade until the reading on the display says -3.450”. Now lock the fence at this point and make sure the reading still says -3.450”. If you now hold the ON/OFF button until the display reads 0.00” (calibrate) it should be calibrated exactly to the way your saw is cutting."[/FONT]

 

[DavidF]

In #1 above, if there are fence or blade problems, the tape cursor (fiducial mark) has been corrected for them. Which in essence is what Barry suggests below.

I exchanged emails with Barry earlier today. He said we are right on with the troubleshooting recommendations. He suggested one other thing to check- At the 6" setting, is the readout straddling a joint between two sections of sensor strip? If joint is too wide, every measurement beyond that joint (farther from the blade) will be out by the same amount.

Also, he said the following calibration technique which requires a digital caliper, overcomes blade and fence problems and is being used successfully by a number of people:

[FONT=&quot]"Another calibration method used by people with calipers is to set (and lock) the fence anywhere and carefully make a sample cut. Then measure the piece with your calipers and without moving your fence, hold the ON/OFF button to set the display to 0.00 (calibrate it). Let’s say the piece cut measures 3.450” on your calipers. Now (unlock and) slide the fence toward the blade until the reading on the display says -3.450”. Now lock the fence at this point and make sure the reading still says -3.450”. If you now hold the ON/OFF button until the display reads 0.00” (calibrate) it should be calibrated exactly to the way your saw is cutting."[/FONT]

I did ask Stuart that very question about the gap and whether the head passes over it before the error occurs. He said no. It really seems as though the 1/16th error occurs immediately after moving the fence away from the blade after calibrating which would point to hysteresis in the system as the fence makes contact with and then away from the blade. It's an interesting one for sure.

 

[Tar Heel]

I'm been out of town since my last post. Was actually in "little" Washington and was planning to be there until Sunday. Was hoping to drop by and see Alan. When we got to my MIL's place on the Pamilico River, we discovered that squirrels had gotten thru the installation and protective wire and had chewed thru every exposed waterline. Obviously, I'm now in Chapel Hill and will be back down there next Wed. thru, probably, Saturday or Sunday. Spent a few minutes in the shop and straightened the bracket I had adjusted. Still get the 1/16" difference. Also put on a new blade I bought recently. David, I'll probably take you up on your offer but won't be able to this weekend. My wife has reprogrammed the next few days and they will be spent with our kids/grandkids. This gadget is very frustrating to say the least.

I will try to get some more shop time over the next few days and try some of the things mentioned by Alan and David. Alan, my fence is a Biesemeyer.

 

[BobcatBob]

Tom, the answers to your questions are no, yes, and yes. I'll try it with the fence locked. I have tried it several times at various widths since my initial post. The difference now is exactly 1/8 inch which, as we all know, is the width of the blade. The tape on my fence is dead-on accurate (why did I buy the Wixey?????). I can set the fence by the tape at, for example, 12" and the Wixey reads 12 1/8. Same 1/8" difference at different settings. ????????

After reading all the posts and suggestions, I would like to suggest this. You say the tape on your fence is dead-on accurate. That being the case set your fence to 1" using the tape on the fence and lock the fence. Make sure the Wixey is firmly attached to the fence and push the button to calibrate it. Move the fence out to 5" per the tape on the fence and again lock the fence. The Wixey should now read 4". Cut a board at this setting and see if it measures 5". If it does then there must be a procedure error when calibrating the fence to the blade.

Bob