Featherhead

Just got done installing the Wixey digital planer readout on my powermatic 15HH. Was fairly easy since I have a machine shop at my disposal. The factory mounts would not have adapted well since the motor is stationary and the table moves.



I chose a left side setup so the factory scale would be available should the wixey ever go down.



I fabricated a heavy duty bracket and bolted it to the table base with adjustements so that it could be set plumb and level.



The casting was not square or plumb so the adjustments were a necessity.




The steel bracket to hold the electronic readout was bolted to the power switch.




The final install is pretty clean and out of the way, easy to read and accurate.




One of advantages of the wixey assembly is the ability for it to align level with the table. I had just finished planing of some stock to 1 1/32" so I adjusted the readout at the bracket to exactly that point and when I started calibrating, the boards came out of the planer to within ten thousandths. And that put the analog scale right on.

I cranked the table down to 4" and ran a plank which came out right on. Then took it down to 3 3/8" checking along the way. It was CLOSE !

Turned the plank down on its flat side a started planing from about 2" down to 1 1/8". Tried hitting the calibrate button along the way as per wixey instructions but really this thing seems to be extremely accurate. 10 thou !!!!! plus or minus is way beyond the needs of the average woodworker.

I'm gonna play around with it this weekend and will post a few more comments. Need to figure out how the incremental reading works to remove a precise amount from a piece of stock. Also need to work with the measure option, I quickly stuck a 7/16 spacer underneath and it came up with a 9/16 reading. So I'll workout those couple kinks and post back later.