Incra Ts-ls or Wixey Digital Fence reader

[Ash11]

Hey guys, what would you rather, Incra Ts-ls or Wixey Digital Fence reader? Is the TS worth the investment, or is the Wixey accurate enough?

[VizslaDad]

I don't own either but I think you're really talking about very different pieces of equipment. Were it up to me, and money were no object, I would go the Incra route. The Wixey devices I currently own are fine, although a few drops on a concrete floor haven't helped. 

Of course if money were no object and I were looking at making repeatable cuts on the tablesaw I would also consider a big sliding TS. I understand this isn't the question, though, so I digress.

I haven't met anyone who owns the Incra fence and doesn't absolutely love it (I am sure it's not a universally-adored product but there are a lot of vocally positive people online). The beauty of the Incra product to me is the adjustability and repeatability of cuts, at least as it's been demonstrated to me. That said, it is a lot of coin.

What's your use case? Nearly any fence that can be set reliably square to the blade could be set up with a high degree of repeatability using templates for production cuts etc. Since you're asking about pieces of equipment separated in price by nearly a factor of ten it would be helpful to know what kind of work you do/plan to do.

[BillyJack]

Same post made on Lumberjocks and Sawmill creek...Already enough post and arguments..

[Ash11]

Thanks BillyJack, looking to replace a crappy fence, but yes lots of response from sawmill. Much appreciated 

[workswood4food]

I have the Wixey and it is great when I am doing a lot of TS work, which is pretty rare, actually. When I go to make that occasional cut, the battery is dead, and rather than go into the house where I have a stash of batteries I pull out the tape measure.

I have an incrajig, somewhere, and while it may be wonderful if you have to reset the fence for repeat cuts, I find that usually I can plan my work such that I don't have to reset the fence. And I find aluminum and plastic a bit delicate for the kind of things I do, so I avoid tools made with them whenever possible. When i do have to do a fence reset, I usually am satisfied to set the fence off another piece I have already cut. I keep offcuts around for this purpose, labeled, in case I have already glued up something and need to repeat the cut. For a fence, Biesemeier or one of its many knockoffs are hard to beat. The novelty of the Incra wore off pretty fast.

[drzaius]

The older Wixeys use coin batteries, which reportedly don't last long. Mine's about 6 months old & is still on the original AAA battery(s?), so that's not bad.

[gee-dub]

First let me say that I think this may be an apples to oranges comparison. Having said that I have an even older Wixey tablesaw gauge that still uses the pancake battery. It may be that I’m in sunny weather most of the year but my batteries last nearly a year. The DRO tablesaw fence has become integral to the way that I work. I would not want to be without it. I do not see it as a substitute for an indexing jig type fence.