How a Wixey Was Validated

[dusty]

Hi,

I got suckered in on the shopsmith gauge which to me was not worth it... it just verified that I can do it without the gauge. I did have a bit of fun playing with it but it will no doubt go down as perhaps the biggest waste of my funds for that year.

If you read more of it you will see that it is using the gauge as a "better then the saw's" but no where as good as what I have to offer. I especially like the 8 sided figure with the 1/8" gap all cut by tilting the blade??? OH come on!

I picked up the Beall rather then the wixley as from what I could tell at the time was more to my liking. There is a post some where he about that. Now that purchase was worth while and I do find that a handy item. They are not the same design and have some feature differences. If some one is in the market I would not just go and buy wixley. When I researched this there were at least two other brands on the market besides the two mentioned. So shop around.
http://www.bealltool.com/products/measuring/tiltbox.php

Where I use to work we had an 800 pound granite surface and most of the tools he has so if I still had access to that I would check my Beall out... We also had a shop with access to optical devices that I might have been able to get access to with a little bribe. (Not that I would have had any ideas as to how to use them.) The old fashion mechanical stuff was much the same as it had been back when I worked in a machine shop... that stuff I know but when you start this new stuff with gradents and such???

BTW his stuff is not new to me, this stuff has been covered in several articals and web sites as well as sold by several companies. I just can't see many wood workers spending the time to do this... nor the machines keeping the precission. If I wanted to do all this I would get a few mills and lathes and start metalworking.

Ed

I'm sorry Ed, but I must call on you to explain. Explain to me the differences between the Beall and the Wixey; especially the differences the cause you to chose one over the other. Based on capabilities and proclaimed accuracies, they look identical to me.

What am I missing. Incidentally, I bought the Wixey so if we need to do a comparative analysis I am game.

If the Shopsmith gauge that you feel suckered on is the dial indicator set, you and I might work a deal that makes you feel a lot better. Just let me know what you want for it. Don't feel like you might be taking advantage of me, if you are it is with my eyes wide open. I already have one but would like to have a second.

[JPG]

If the Shopsmith gauge that you feel suckered on is the dial indicator set, you and I might work a deal that makes you feel a lot better. Just let me know what you want for it. Don't feel like you might be taking advantage of me, if you are it is with my eyes wide open. I already have one but would like to have a second.

And if you and Dusty can't come to an agreement, I would like to have my FIRST one!(NOT trying to start an auction< Dusty is 'first')

The human factors of using a dial indicator are no where as 'simple' as the wixey/beall since it is a straight forward direct readout. The dial indicator can be used for MUCH more than Blade Angle.

[reible]

Hi Dusty, you know I think it was about a year ago we were discussing it, a simple search didn't find what I was looking for but I know it is somewhere and if I get some time I'll find it again.

The Beall has the same feature of being able to zero to what it is sitting on and then go from there. The Beall also does that but also knows when it is at "true" level. In addition the Beall comes with instructions so you can re-zero to "true" zero. It uses a battery that I will have in my house in my battery collection that works for a lot of things... the wixey has some coin battery which I would have to make sure I keep on hand (BTW I have a very expensive caliper that I need for work that is digital... I don't know how many times I found the batteries dead and have to go out to get new ones... I'd get a couple of sets but it was a pain... now that I have it at home I use it less often and it is even more of pain to remember batteries.)

I also based my purchase on reviews from several people who I trusted. They had all like the Beall better. I don't have the wixey so maybe I'd be happy with it as well but since I have one and don't see a need for another I'll keep the one I have. I think I had a couple of other issues but I don't recall what they are anymore.

BTW I used the real zero feature this past summer to get the legs of my old OPR square and to then be able to measure to make a cabinet for below... the bad news is I've lost the dimensioned sketch so my plan to draw one up this winter is not going to happen. To bad the gauge could take care of that problem.

Yes, I am not happy with the dial set up from shopsmith. I have a sketch of a way to fix the issure of it tipping and being unstable in the miter slots on my shopsmith. If I can fix it I will keep it around to see if yet again I can set my fence within .002" or .003' using it only as a proof. If I can not get it fixed we can talk. If you check the market place you will find and guess at what my plans are.

Ed


[quote="dusty"]I'm sorry Ed, but I must call on you to explain. Explain to me the differences between the Beall and the Wixey]

[reible]

Hi, sorry it will be dusty call if and when...

I already had a dial indicator and I have a good number of other tools of the trade as I required them for other reasons. I have no issue with the dial indicator but with the part that fits in the miter slot...

Check here and then look for super bar
http://www.mastergauge.com/
This show one better way of doing this and several other places have better solutions as well. The whole things comes down to how do you look for .002" or .003" when the bar in the miter gauge has that or more slop??

I think I paid only $50 on sale but I would rather have spent more for something better.

Ed

And if you and Dusty can't come to an agreement, I would like to have my FIRST one!(NOT trying to start an auction< Dusty is 'first')

The human factors of using a dial indicator are no where as 'simple' as the wixey/beall since it is a straight forward direct readout. The dial indicator can be used for MUCH more than Blade Angle.

[weelildaddy]

Oh dear, Oh dear. What a big confusion a tiny Wixey can cause. I guess it's all a matter of perspective and what you're used to. I'm here to tell you guys that I have two Wixey's and bought them within a month of each other because I was always misplacing one of them. I bought the first one at the time it came on the market and I promise you it is one of the most valuable tools I own. It can by far out do me on any set up and believe me, Iv'e tried to fool it. It's usefullness far outdoes my imagination. I find a new use for it everyday. It lives up to 100% of its claims. As far as the Beale unit is concerned, I can almost say for sure that it's electronics are by the same manufacturer. If it isn't, it does not matter. I have never used it or needed to use it as an absolute level because all my measurements are in relation to each other. I have two other Wixey products which also live up to their name. As I grow older, I find that new and modern direct reading instruments go along way to aiding some body parts.

Sometimes I think we run some threads into the ground and try our best to out do the other but for me, Wixey is king and I challenge anyone to produce something in their shop with more accuracy than a Wixey can provide. Oopps, I take that back. That guy creating sculptures in the eye of a needle is pretty darn good.

[dusty]

Hi, sorry it will be dusty call if and when...

I already had a dial indicator and I have a good number of other tools of the trade as I required them for other reasons. I have no issue with the dial indicator but with the part that fits in the miter slot...

Check here and then look for super bar
http://www.mastergauge.com/
This show one better way of doing this and several other places have better solutions as well. The whole things comes down to how do you look for .002" or .003" when the bar in the miter gauge has that or more slop??

I think I paid only $50 on sale but I would rather have spent more for something better.

Ed

I have had the same problem with the dial indicator not standing stable in the miter track. I have resolved that by mounting it on a metal plate. The plate has been drilled and tapped with an assortment of holes to which I can mount the miter bar.

[reible]

Perhaps we are confusing you with all the posts... we tend to swing from subject to subject. I also think perhaps you didn't go to the link and visit the site the subject of the original post. If you did you will see that this is not about wixey vs something that claims to be much better and they want you to buy it because it IS better and more accuracy then the wixey.

After that we got in to people buying wixey, so of whom have don't know that anything but a wixey exists... well there are several different ones on the market. After I did my research I went with someone other then wixey. I listed several reasons for that so that people who are in the market don't blindly by wixey... if they do the research and buy a wixey fine, it is up to them.

BTW the insides of the Beall are total different, they are not even close except if you view them as little boxes that measure angles. I believe they even came out before wixey and there was some "issues" in court about this... I don't know how that turned out but both boxes are on the market and several other companies now seem to have wixey insides from the descriptions. I guess that is yet another issue.

"Sometimes I think we run some threads into the ground and try our best to out do the other but for me, Wixey is king and I challenge anyone to produce something in their shop with more accuracy than a Wixey can provide. Oopps, I take that back. That guy creating sculptures in the eye of a needle is pretty darn good."

So I guess you are challenged not by beall but by the stuff the guy sells as referenced in the first post. Take a look at his web site and take up the challenge with him if you like.

For me I just want people to research and buy what they think is best for them after all I don't have to use it so why should I care???

Ed

[reible]

Now that is what I'm talking about! This would solve a lot of it except for the part about the loose fit in the miter slot. (Thought about selling those??? it looks good enough to.) I've even thought about using oak or rock hard maple with an adjustment to get it to a tight fit in the miter slot.

Ed

I have had the same problem with the dial indicator not standing stable in the miter track. I have resolved that by mounting it on a metal plate. The plate has been drilled and tapped with an assortment of holes to which I can mount the miter bar.

[pinkiewerewolf]

I went there, signed up, got the temporary login, logged in look at the Wixley, looked at the pictures he was using to demonstrate how bad the wixley was and said to myself this guy sure wants to sell me something......

I will not even go into what else came to mind.

Not sure if I will ever go back.

Ed

I had the same thought, then I saw all the products that he sells.
That would explain why he is telling me to forget everything I've learned and not listen to the known experts advice.
I'll stick with Nick's and Rick's advice.
I have the dial indicator and it works great.
I'll get a Wixey one of these days too but for now my angle gauge works well enough for my projects.

[JPG]

Hi, sorry it will be dusty call if and when...

Ed

I was not making a serious attempt, but more of an agreement with Dusty that it can be put to use. I would have proceeded iff you desired. I wasn't trying to take it away from anybody!
Interesting that SS couldn't get a close fit to miter slot. I noticed your recommended gauge DOES come in a SS model.