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Students in my shop class always have difficulty reading the scale on our Jet 15" thickness planer. In their defense, the delineations are not exactly the easiest to read, especially for those students who have trouble with fractions (picture 2).

So, using various dado blade setups, I made this inspection gauge for them to know when to stop raising the table. Another added feature for this is that I don't have to worry about calibration being slightly off between the planer and dado blade setups. Now, when planing stock that will fit into a dado, I know EXACTLY how thick to plane each board.

I labeled the inside of each cut, and highlighted the 3/4" mark to easily identify each cut thickness. The board is made of 3/4 maple, which should hold up for some time. I chose not to put any finish on it to keep the dados nice and clean.

Thanks for looking, suggestions welcome & comments/questions replied to!

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585 Posts
Yes; a terrific idea that takes a lot of errors out of the process.
 

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949 Posts
Great idea Tooch! My Ridgid planer has a gauge built in and I have a hard time trusting it. This is a sure fire way to get the job done right! Nice work!
 

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4,286 Posts
Even easier to read & more precise:


M
 

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I take it that you use this gage to slowly sneak up with the planer to get the correct thickness of the board to fit the dado or did I miss something Tootch ?

Klaus
 

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2,584 Posts
That is a good idea Tooch. Having that gauge with you while planing is very handy.
 

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11,346 Posts
Like the idea of matching to a specific dado cut.
I use the Wixey but verify with open end wrenches.
 

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Never think of that concept. It's very useful when you make often several dimensions - to avoid constant measurement - very clever.
 

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2,217 Posts
I also have no idea how to read that gauge… Looks like a useful jig.
 

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270 Posts
Good idea, I also have used combination wrenches for the same purpose. Having them around the planer always makes me nervous, I see one of those in my future for student use.
 

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Good idea, I also have used combination wrenches for the same purpose. Having them around the planer always makes me nervous, I see one of those in my future for student use.

- TechTeacher04
That is totally undestandable!
For my purposes, usually running all the same thickness, I keep that wrench secured to the metal stand with a magnet.
But, I only have to worry about my own carelessness.
 

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That is a really great idea to assist the students, always better to find a solution that try to fix afterwards
 

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Makes sense to me. Good one
 
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