# Wixey Saw Fence Digital Readout



## TopamaxSurvivor

Thanks for the heads up. That is a good question. Why do they do that? Save a buck, I guess.


----------



## Crushgroovin

Save a Buck LOSE a Hundred! It's the corporate way!


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor

Shot term thinking ;-(


----------



## ellen35

I have one. No problem installing it or using it. I've had it for about a year and, while it can be finicky at times requiring recalibration, it has worked well. 
I have also found that an email to Barry Wixey produces results. I had some questions and they were answered promptly. Try emailing from the Wixey website (I have read other comments that he is not accommodating, but that was not the case with my questions).
Ellen


----------



## richgreer

I have one also. No problem installing it.

However, I made a big mistake. I attached the green strip to the rail upside down. Surprisingly, it worked just fine for a while. Then it started giving me bogus readings. Finally, I discovered the mistake. When you peal that green strip off and attempt to reattach the glue does not hold. Had to supplement it with some CA glue.

FYI - This thing goes through batteries quickly. I replace about every 3 months.


----------



## StumpyNubs

Any fine thread will strip if you cross thread it. If it screws in hard, back it off and try again. You can't hork it down and then complain about the screw. Just my two cents…


----------



## RogerBean

I also bought one of these and installed it on a Biesemeyer fence on my Unisaw. It worked exactly as advertised and installed without any problem. Stripping four screws in a row sounds like an operator problem more than a product defect. I later replaced the Wixey unit with an Incra LS fence, but that was to perform some specific cuts that I wanted to make and not because of any fault of the Wixey unit. I have three other Wixey units (angle gage, height gage, and planer readout) and all work perfectly. Just my opinion.
Roger


----------



## Crushgroovin

It's not user error. If you take a moment to look at my blogs you will see I know what am in doing as far as machines go. I have restore over 2 dozen broken woodworking machines in the past 6 months alone. I am quite adept at this sort of thing.

Sounds like more Kool Aid Drinkers with tiny little Egos. This is such an amazing phenomenon in the woodworking community. People who freak out when someone has anything negative to say about their particular pet product. Mostly happens among lonely old men who find it necessary to respond to every post they don't completely agree with. I would suggest that if you LOVE your Wixey so that YOU go post a review of your own.

Damn I get so sick of these idiots.


----------



## ellen35

Whoa!! Somebody needs a hug! (just kidding!)
Seriously, the beauty of this site is that everyone tries to be helpful to each other. I read the responses here as trying to be helpful to your dilemma. No one was criticizing your skills as a gearhead or a woodworker… just making suggestions as to the product. 
Thank you for your comments on the screws. They may help someone else to watch for this when installing the gauge. 
Ellen
(I am not a lonely old man and I don't respond to every post… just the ones where I feel I have something to add to the post. And… I don't appreciate being called an idiot!)


----------



## Crushgroovin

I didn't call you an idiot Ellen. Nothing you said was negative. Obviously you are not a man, which should have been the first clue that I wasn't referring to you…

I get too much BS from random idiots on LJ's. I have no clue why. I put up a post of my experience, then next thing ya know someone is attacking me. It has to due to the anonymity of the internet. People say things they would never say in person to people they have no knowledge of. I don't go through people blogs and randomly attack people. I have much much better things to do with my time. When people like that hit my blogs, reviews, or projects I ban them. I have had too many very bad experiences with people whose only participation is going through the threads and attacking people.

I mean seriously these people don't know me or my background but suddenly "You can't hork it down and then complain about the screw" uhm excuse me. Yes I am probably overly sensitive because of all of the crap I have taken from strangers on this site. I just get sick of it. I know these people would never ever say these kinds of things to my face. I also know that I would have no problem saying it to theirs.

90% of the responses and interactions I take part in on LJ's are great. I have developed relationships with some very smart talented people through LJ's. I have freely shared my experience and knowledge with others in a respectful way. I show respect for others and get the same back. But 10% of the time some moron gets loose. I have never one single time found it necessary to be negative regarding anyone else's blog, review, or project. Go through and look at every single post I have had on this site and you will see positive encouraging posts on others threads.

So yes there are some idiots on this site and, as I would if they were standing in front of me, I have no problem pointing it out to them.


----------



## NBeener

My experience … *with Harbor Freight* ... has been sickeningly similar: everything I've bought-if it uses hardware-causes me to take a few trips to MY collection of hardware-store-bought hardware to get it built.

If I don't HAVE the particular fastener on hand, then … almost every time … I have to pull out my tap and die set, and clean up the munged threads.

It's a PITA. I agree.


----------



## Magnum

Crushgroovin:

Thank you for your comments about the few that seem to hop from Post to Post for no other reason than to leave a "Negative Comment" and Usually contribute NOTHING to the Post or Topic at hand. Mr "Hork" is one of them. He just did the same thing on a Post that I had commented on. I think he's upset because I "Blocked" him a month or so ago, which DOESN'T prevent him from "Jumpin on Me" in someone elses Post.

I've also given up on giving any kind of lenghty advice, usually with Pictures, when someone has asked for "Help". IF… they even continue to follow their OWN Posts, there is very seldom if ever a "Thank You" from them. It has nothing to do with my Ego. It has more to do with either their Lack of a Healthy Ego or Lack of "Good, Old Fashioned, Good Manners".

Sorry to be totally off Topic here but you hit a Soft Spot and I was Pleased to read what you said about these types of "Yaa Hoo's". Most?..."Ah! It's not worth the effort." WRONG!! "The Gene Pool is in Dire Need of More Chlorine!"

Thank You: Rick


----------



## JasonWagner

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

This is one of my favorite splurge items that I have bought for woodworking. My problem was that the two pieces that you need to butt joint were not square so I had to square them myself. After that I have had zero problems with the gauge.


----------



## Howie

Crush: you are entirely correct about a "few" that seem to always have negative comments and nothing positive.However if you notice, LJer's quit responding to their comments and sooner or later these people move on to other sites where they can agitate someone else. Just remember life's too short to put up with people like that.


----------



## jbertelson

I have this item, but it was purchased 18 months ago. It performs as advertised, but has a habit of losing calibration from time to time. But I use it all the time, and set up things by decimals, instead of fractions. I keep a conversion table hanging right near the saw. The bolts they shipped with it were just fine…........but….....

Recently putting together a stand than came with my scroll saw, and modifying it to be a drill press stand, I came across a bolt that was just totally cast wrong. It was unreal. Fortunately, it was stock bolt, and I had a replacement in the shop. I think this is what Neil was saying also.

The point here is, I think that these companies change suppliers from time to time, and sometimes a new low ball supplier substitutes a lower spec item, or does poor quality control. I think that good tool suppliers have figured out how to maintain quality control, while purchasing from a country, China, that is all over the map in terms of quality. I would guess that Wixey has not figured that one out yet, and ended up with a bunch of bad bolts. It might actually be a build to spec company in China, that substituted the low quality bolts, and some guy on the sly pocketed the difference. Witness the adulteration of milk with melamine that killed babies.

I hope Wixey sees this post, or you complain directly to them, crushgroovin, they will suffer if they don't figure this one out fast.

Posts like this are important for LJ's, and important for the company that is being rated. I think Wixey had an unintended quality change by a third party. But it is Wixey's fault for not paying attention.

Jim


----------



## Howie

Very good point Jim.


----------



## jayseedub

I'll pile on here with respect to the "horking down" comment. When I submit a review it's a pretty personal thing-so when I hear criticism I tend to take it personally too. Buckle in….

My concern is that your review gives this product One Star. That's a terrible, horrible, miserable rating. When I read the substance of your review it boils down to an installation problem. A frustrating one that shouldn't happen-but for THAT you knock off four stars? You and I are pretty handy-we don't want to HAVE to be handy-but when some bolt problem comes up we let off some steam, curse a bit, then solve the problem. Especially when we got a "deal."

And, you seem like in the final paragraphs you really LIKE your "One Star Product." That's odd, and doesn't connect very consistently for me.

You're right-it shouldn't have to be solved in the first place-but when you take a product and give it one star just for an installation problem-that causes people (me, at least) to wonder what's really going on….

Just my opinion and my reaction to what I've read here. I may well be wrong-but it's my opinion and reaction. I do appreciate you sharing your experience here-it's really quite helpful!


----------



## OzarkJim

Have two G1023 in our shop. Both have been upgraded to the longer Vega tube style micro adjustment fences. Installed the Wixey on the new fences and have been very pleased with the results. No more tap tap tap to fine adjust or squinting to see a redline that moves depending on how you stand over it (particularly big issue on the old shop fox). Also no double checking with a tape measure to be sure the fence is set right. You can trust that your cut will be EXACTLY what the Wixey says it will be!


----------



## tvrgeek

Quite an old thread, but the Wixey has not changed. 
I had no issues installing mine on my Harvey. But, now I have it, I don't use it much. Just too long a habit of using a ruler. ( good stainless rulers, no tape measure slop) I should make more of an effort. One thing, is the way the wear flap on the Harvey fence sits, it can slightly move the fence when you latch it. I think I have a fix for it. What I want to make is a half-way latch and a fine thread micro adjust. Then use the screw to have some flip in place stops so one can repeat setups easier. The Wixey may be in the way though so I have to think some. If I had a complaint, it would be in not enough buttons. Kind of a pain changing modes and calibrating. I also wish the track was one piece. Splicing it came out OK, but just leaves one to wonder if it really is correct across the splice. The negative is it would increase shipping costs. 

I did redesign the scale indicator on the Havey to eliminate the parallax error. How stupid to put the lens 1/4 above the scale! I used SawStop lenses and modified the brackets. 

So, Jim, good luck with the Vega fence? It was the de-facto upgrade but I have seen a lot of comments on their quality slipping.


----------



## joebob1611

I'm on my second Wixey readout. First one was on an old Delta contractor saw and the second is on my new G1023RLW. Both are working great and the bolts in my units didn't have the issue you had. The only problem I have now is the sometimes the readout gets stuck when crossing the rail joint and once it loses contact with the fence, it loses calibration. I don't remember that ever happening with my first one. Going to try and readjust the rails to eliminate any misalignment.


----------



## OzarkJim

tvrgeek said:


> Quite an old thread, but the Wixey has not changed.
> I had no issues installing mine on my Harvey. But, now I have it, I don't use it much. Just too long a habit of using a ruler. ( good stainless rulers, no tape measure slop) I should make more of an effort. One thing, is the way the wear flap on the Harvey fence sits, it can slightly move the fence when you latch it. I think I have a fix for it. What I want to make is a half-way latch and a fine thread micro adjust. Then use the screw to have some flip in place stops so one can repeat setups easier. The Wixey may be in the way though so I have to think some. If I had a complaint, it would be in not enough buttons. Kind of a pain changing modes and calibrating. I also wish the track was one piece. Splicing it came out OK, but just leaves one to wonder if it really is correct across the splice. The negative is it would increase shipping costs.
> 
> I did redesign the scale indicator on the Havey to eliminate the parallax error. How stupid to put the lens 1/4 above the scale! I used SawStop lenses and modified the brackets.
> 
> So, Jim, good luck with the Vega fence? It was the de-facto upgrade but I have seen a lot of comments on their quality slipping.


Fairly happy with the Vega fences so far. It is the micro adjustment we were after and the longer length of course. We do have a bit of an issue with one of the fences slipping a bit if you push stock hard against it and didn't press the lock handle down hard. May be and adjustment for that though.


----------

