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Thread: Wixey planer gauge - Delta 22-540 installation

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Lehigh Valley, PA
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    410

    Wixey planer gauge - Delta 22-540 installation

    I thought I'd give an installation report, pictures, and mini review of the Wixey planer gauge that I just installed on my venerable Delta 22-540 12" portable planer. This is a very basic, 10 year old machine, but it's served me well, and I thought it would be nice to bring it into the 21st century with a digital upgrade.

    The gauge was purchased at my local Woodcraft for $44.99 on sale. When I unpacked the gauge to try it out, the display would not power up, and I found that the battery was dead. Not a great first impression, but fortunately, a spare SR-44 battery is included. The instructions claim a battery life of 6 months (regardless of whether the readout is on or off). That's not too bad, but it makes me wonder why they ship the units with the battery installed.

    The installation procedure is fairly straightforward. Detailed instructions are provided for two specific planers (DeWalt DW735 and Delta 22-580), but for other machines, the particulars are left to the ingenuity of the user. There are some customer-provided pictures of different installations on the Wixey website.

    The process goes like this:

    First, set the planer to a known thickness (e.g., 1") before removing the original thickness scale pointer. The gauge is mounted over the original thickness scale using double-side foam tape or optional screws. The gauge has a jackscrew that is supposed to rest on the projecting ledge of the planer base casting. My planer has no such ledge, so I set the screw to rest directly on the planer stand. Considering that the planer hasn't left the stand in years, I think this will work fine.

    Next, slide the readout so its top aligns with the known thickness from earlier (e.g., 1") on the analog scale. This is not necessary for the operation of the digital readout, but it will allow you to use the Wixey as a conventional thickness gauge if the battery dies. I used a spring clamp to support the readout at the correct level.

    The next task is to create a mechanical linkage between the planer cutterhead and the sliding readout. This was almost easy; the mounting screw for the original depth pointer is very close to, and just about level with the attachment screw on the readout. But it proved to be a case of "close, but no cigar." The mounting surfaces are in different planes, and there was no obvious way to use the Erector-set-style hardware included with the gauge to make the connection.

    A picture on the Wixey website shows that the included hardware can be used on this planer by drilling mounting holes in the cutterhead casting. I didn't feel like taking that approach, so I decided to improvise some hardware. The quick and easy solution would have been to use a piece of stiff wire to make a link between the two screws. Hoping for a slightly more elegant solution, I used some sheet metal to fabricate a bracket. It took about a half hour of nibbling and bending, but the final results is functional, and if I may say so, rather professional looking.

    Once the gauge is installed, there's a calibration routine, which involves planing a board to arbitrary thickness and using it to set the gauge. The process is simple, but not exactly intuitive, so just follow the directions the first time, and after that it's a no-brainer.

    I can't comment much on performance, except to say that testing conducted by an independent agency (well, OK, another caliper) verified that the test board was exactly as thick as indicated. Further evaluation will have to wait until I get time to do some actual woodworking, which could be a few years, but my initial take is that this is a useful accessory that should be much more precise, repeatable, and easy to read than the original thickness gauge.
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Wake Forest, NC
    Posts
    493
    Thanks for the post. I bought one as well (haven't installed it yet), but the battery was dead on mine too. I didn't realize an extra came with it and was planning on buying one. Looked in the box when I saw your post, and "voila".

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Chicagoland
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    2,800
    Can you still fold up the infeed table with the gauge installed?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    North Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    152
    Mike,

    I have a 22-540, and the infeed and outfeed tables don't fold up. They are directly attached to the base of the planer.

    The stock tables are not real accurate, and I mounted some adjustable feet on the bottom of both my tables to get them perfectly level with the plane.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Lehigh Valley, PA
    Posts
    410
    Like Dick said, the tables on the old 22-540 don't fold. The current version of this planer, the TP300, does have folding tables. Looking at pictures, I think they would clear the Wixey gauge without a problem.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    2,800
    I should have mentioned that I have the 22-580 and need the tables to fold up for storage.

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