I have always struggled with the bajillion tick marks on the planer scale.  Was that 2 and 3/32 or 2 and 5/32?  So,  I decided to add a digital readout to my planer.

Unpacking the parts, directions, needed items

I needed a straightedge, drill, screwdriver,  9/32 or 7mm socket and ratchet, a small FLAT scrap of wood.  (2X) AAA batteries, and a little patience.  It took about an hour of time.  Most of that time spent was in the scale alignment for smooth vertical trvel.

There aren’t too many pieces involved on this install and the directions are straighforward and pretty well written.  After reading through the instructions, it is time to dive in.

Assembly

Start by removing the red pointer arrow on the planer with a screwdriver.  Keep the screws, you will reuse them.

Now its time to prep for the install of the actual gauge and readout onto the planer.  First you have to choose a lower support bolt that will contact the planer leg and provide some vertiall alignment to the infeed table.  The bolt that works on the DW734 is the shortest one.

I have it barely threaded into the scale below

Setting Height

The next step involves aligning the lower tab so it is flush with the infeed table or slightly higher.  So, you will have to adjust that lower bolt to get the right height.  The gauge is spring loaded and I figured would get in the way when aligning the lower tab, so I removed the spring temporarily.

Now place the gauge against the planer and use the straightedge to make sure the lower tab is flush or slightly higher.  In the picture below you can see the black straightedge is sitting on a L shaped tab and the vertical support bolt beneath that.

This is trial and error, so keep adjusting the bolt until you get the correct height.  My tab is slightly higer than my infeed table,  just in case there are some table adjustments in the future.

Once you are satisfied with the position it is time to permanently attach it to the planer.  Get ready for frustrating part numero uno.  Removing the darn red adhesive protectors.  They are hard to remove and like to pull the foam with, but eventually you will prevail.

Permanent Attachment of scale

I aligned the scale with the inboard edge of the planer body and stuck it on there.  The foam is really sticky so start with extremely light pressure and then compress the foam as much as possible.  The instructions state that attaching the scale with screws is optional if you have a lower support bolt, but I like a belt and suspenders.  Drill two holes with the supplied drill bit through the two holes in the scale body.

In the picture below I have already drilled and attached the two black screws.  They are located on the adhesive foam sections.  The screw heads are either 7mm or 9/32, whichever you have.  I went with 7mm.  Go light with the torque its only plastic.  I did notice that the foam compresses quite a bit when tightening this dow.

Now its time to go ahead and reattach the spring to the top of the scale.  Pulling the spring up inot place can be a little tricky, but I used a small screwdriver in the “loop” of the spring to pull it up and get it started on the tab.

That is it for the fixed side of the planer.

Loose Install of brackets

Now its time to attach the metal brackets that connect the planer head to the digital readout.  Start by installing the smaller L-shaped bracket and “washer” plate to the same location as the indicator arrow.  Use the saved screws from before and leave the bracket loose.  You will need to adjust this about 200 times later.

Next step is to attach the long bracket that has two bends in it to the digital readout.  The long slot attaches to the readout body.  Getting the screw started back into the readout was a little tedious.  Have fun and leave the screw loose.

Now you can attach the other end of the bracket to the planer head bracket with the captured nut and screw.  Leave this joint loose as well.

 

Adjust planer height and readout

At this time you will have to set your planer heigh to a known value so use the rotary stop set at 3/4 and run the head down until it hits.  Then slide the readout down until the body indicator is aligned with the 3/4 mark.  Basically the top of the readout is at 3/4, like the picture below.  For the remaining adjustments you want the readout to stay at that 3/4 reading.  Don’t worry if it moves some small amount, it will get calibrated later.

Alignment for smooth vertical travel

The next step of the process is the most time consuming and became a little frustrating.  You need to adjust the two brackets so the spring loaded gauge travels smoothly up and down past the readout.  During actual use, the readout will move past the spring loaded gauge, but its all relative.

Start by snugging down the screw on the readout and the captured nut location.  This adjustment will pull the readout towards the planer head and it should also align the smaller bracket on the planer head.  Now tighten down the one screw you can access at the indicator location.  Try to pull the spring-loaded gauge up and see if it slides down smoothly.  It probably won’t but take note of what tweak needs to be made.

Once it slides smoothly, tighten down the screw at the readout location.  Remove the screw at the captured nut location and raise the readout so you can access the second screw at the pointer location.  Tigthen it down now.  Lower the readout back to 3/4″ and reattach the captured nut screw.  Try to raise and lower the spring-loaded scale.  Hopefully it still slides smoothly.  Tighten everything down.

Calibrating Scale

Now its time to calibrate the scale.  Install the batteries.  Run the flat piece of wood through the planer until the entire surface is removed.  Lift the spring loaded gauge and put the piece of wood in between the lower tab and the gauge.  Hold cal for 3 seconds to calibrate.

I may mention that the install is a little frustrating at times, but its not a fault of the product.  For it to work on many different models it needs all the adjustability.

The gauge works great!