Updated 17/9/09

Serif - WEBPLUS X2

WIXEY DIGITAL SAW READOUT (original article May 2006)

The first thing I noted was the excellent packaging inside the carton. Things were held in place to stop them moving about during shipment. (Other suppliers of equipment take note)

So all the parts removed from the packaging and checked, the instructions read and understood!

If you follow the enclosed instruction to the letter you cannot go wrong. However, the exception was step 1.

When fitting the two halves together, they were not cut at 090°, this was the best fit I could get without machining the surfaces. If I was not so far away from the dealership, I would have returned it.

Fitting of the tracks are the most critical part of the assembly, if you get this wrong you will have problems later. I would suggest that you take one or two dry runs at this part of the process, including the part of getting the spacing correct between the two tracks – once they are stuck down – there is no going back.

Fitting the brackets to the Biesemayer fence is not difficult, just take your time. For the half inch spacing they state for my fence, I just use a piece of 12.5mm plywood (this is not critical measurement).

Once the fence rail is reinstalled, connecting the interface plate to the fence (a good time to lubricate the fence mechanism) and you finished. Just follow the instructions for calibration. I made a couple of test cuts and the was +0.01mm and 0.015mm difference in the two test cuts I made.

Let’s face it’s not a lot, you cannot get that sort of accuracy with a tape or ruler, it’s about one fiftieth of the thickness of the mark your reading.

The little readout is clearly visible whilst standing and is small enough not to get in the way – i did not notice it was there compared to operation without it.

I would recommend that you separate the fence and the readout before removing the fence – the construction is good, but it is not heavy industry/commercial quality, it will become damaged, so a little care now and it should last a long time.

My installation measures 50” to the right and -10” to the left – you could vary this for your own needs so long as it is a total of 60”. It would be nice if WIXEY offered an additional 30” extension. The little box can handle it.

Installation time was about an hour and a half, including the coffee.

In summary – with my failing eyesight a great asset for accurate measurements. I know that, even when I change the blade on my saw, from 2.3mm kerf up to 20mm kerf, I will always have an accurate reading to the left or right of the blade. Good value for your bucks.

Update October 2008

I have been using the Digital saw readout for 18 months and the battery has just been changed for the first time.

I use this device on a daily basic, in fact in rarely turned off and the table saw is the main machine to be used in the work shop.

Calibration is quick and easy - the only thing to watch out for is the meter can sometimes fall out of the ends of the track when the fence is not filled - Apart from that I cannot imagine not using it - the precision and repeatability of my cuts has increased dramatically. I HIGHLY recommend this device for table saw users.