For me, this is a "must have" for a thickness planer. It was ridiculously easy to install (I opted to solidly mount it as opposed to the double side tape option), and calibrating it couldn't have been easier. Insofar as some of the alternate installation notes per the instructions, I installed this onto a new DeWalt 734. Comparing the measurement that the digital readout on the tool indicate to the actual thickness of the milled stock as measured with a good digital caliper; I found 3/4 inches (0.0750") as read on the Wixey tool measured at 0.0750" with the caliper, performing the same exercise with milled stock at 1.000". I did not pursue further various thickness from there. Having the actual fractional measurements on the readout as well as decimal, I like it, it's a nice feature.

Take your time installing it, and calibrating it. You'll be glad you bought this.

I purchased this for my WEN 13" planer, installation was very easy and it is very precise. The package comes with a lot of different screws and brackets to accommodate pretty much every planner out there, I only had to used three pieces, two brackets and one screw. I attached it to the planner with the double sided tape included, did not drill holes to the planner. Works fantastic, turned my cheap planner to a whole new level of precision.

I am very pleased with the gauge. I installed it onto a DeWalt DW735X. Installation was fairly straight forward, with only a couple of slight issues that, admittedly, were more a result of user error than anything. When installing the screws that hold the scale onto the planer, just be careful - I wound up drilling slightly into the steel column that the planer travels up and down on. Thankfully, where the drill bit hit is a spot that the planer will never go down to. Again, purely my mistake and not a problem with the instructions or even the gauge. I simply wasn't thinking it through. Just follow the instructions closely, and you should do just fine.

Regarding set up and calibration, well...I'm not the type of woodworker that needs everything to be cut with complete precision (you know, tolerances of a thousandths of an inch). That being said, I was able to get my readout to within five-thousandths of an inch when compared to my calipers - more than close enough for me. But, while I may not care too much about having an individual board be within a thou an inch on its own, being able to get the same thickness across multiple boards, and more to have that thickness be repeatable, is HUGE. Imagine making a mistake and needing to surface a new board. Getting it to match exactly to any previous boards is a real pleasure. Granted, you could do that with a set of calibers and patience, but still...

All in all, I am very happy with my purchase. In fact, I would dare say that this simple purchase has revolutionized what I can do in my shop now, and for that I would say that it definitely deserves five stars. If you are on the fence about getting this, stop thinking and just do it.

Just by reading the very poorly written instructions, I could not figure out how to install the Planer Readout. The instructions are just a tiny piece of paper with a few very simplistic steps that are very vague and don't make much sense. Unless you already know how to install a Digital Planer Readout, they likely will not be of much use. It was a bit frustrating.

I finally went online and found this video:[...]

The video was helpful and allowed me to fully install it in about 30 minutes. The product itself is fantastic. It saves a lot of time and allows me to be extremely precise with ease. The measurements seem 100% accurate and consistent after several months of use. For only $60 I would recommend this to anyone who owns a planer around the DeWalt DW735 price range. I'd give it 5 stars, but I wasted several hours being baffled by the useless instructions, and without extra research online I may have installed it incorrectly. If you buy the product and use the link I provided, then you'll have a fantastic 5 star product installed in about 30-45 minutes.

While this readout is generic to most planers, some of the directions are specific to the Dewalt DW735 planer I bought.

For the DW735, the mounting bracket attaches directly to the thickness scale on the planer. This iteration of the thickness scale is embossed making the top and bottom portions curved (convex) and raised above the flat scale area. The two pieces of double-sided adhesive on the Wixey mounting bracket are placed so the bottom piece must be over the bottom convex area of the Dewalt thickness scale. This causes the mounting bracket to be misaligned, plus the convex surface reduces the contact area for the adhesive.
To get around this mounting problem, I removed the double-sided adhesive and did not use it.
To properly attach the Wixey bracket to the Dewalt thickness scale I made two spacers from aluminum bar stock, marked the screw-hole spacing onto the thickness scale, then drilled & tapped the thickness scale to use 8-32 machine screws. See attached images.

Note - the thread-making screws included with the Wixey readout are not long enough to use with the aluminum spacers. Those screws would work well if Dewalt made the thickness scale flat for its entire height.