I don’t really have regrets about the Bit Zero. I tried it. And I believe as I said, use what works for “your” work flow. Maybe I will find I have a project where the BitZero works better for that work flow. There is no right answer.
For me things need to register in my small brain to make sense Manually setting it up just works for me and my current work flow . And by the time I pull out the touch plate, set it up, put the probe in the hole, hold it in place with one hand while clicking on the mouse with the other. waiting for it to cycle, forgetting to put the magnet on and starting again … I was already moving the probe I just needed to move it a little more to the correct spot and hit zero So for me, I really don’t see it as a time saver , which I believe was the original question.
And to comment on some of the comments above. I use business cards instead of paper, they are just thicker to protect the surface more, I use a probe bit as a end mill will cut into the paper and change it’s thickness.
Someone above mentioned a 15mm probe and then moved 15 mm to hit zero. It took me a little bit to understand that you can just type in the thickness of the card ( paper or whatever the offset was you used) into the Z Zero field. The zero button just enters “0” for you. You can enter whatever offset you are currently at. Just type in 15mm as the current Z position, Done
Now I also use these business to raise my stock up off the waste board so when I cut through I have some clearance. Normally 4 cards high and then I zero Z off 4 other cards off the waste board with a bit more of a pinch, so call it 3.5 cards . Run the job and it just cuts into the fist card a bit. I have found all kinds of ways to use up all these left over business cards
Everyone’s comments are spot on, I use mine mostly for finding Z. Mine is very repeatable, I just did a test touching off five times and came up with a variance of 0.0015" from the largest to the smallest. Seems pretty good for a hobby machine. As a few mentioned, you can easily make your own Z touch plate - had I known back then, I probably would have just made one vs. buying.
However, I will make the case that while I rarely use it, finding X/Y zero can be very useful. Case in point, today I discovered I made a part a little too large (due to a hardware change after the fact). Instead of tossing it all, I want to reshape it and carve off about 3mm where the arrow is pointing. The problem is the rounded corners.
There are certainly other ways to find a good X/Y zero to place an odd shaped piece. I’ve used a v-carve bit and positioned at the edge of each side. But having the Bitzero makes it really easy.
Now I can set zero from that known good location based on those two lines and trim these pieces down to the right size. (I’m running CNCjs so I can update my macros to position the BitZero at any corner, not sure if you can do that with C3D.)
That is my observation as well. I now always hold it by hand, applying some pressure on the BitZero diagonally against the stock.
For soft materials (like Paulownia) the Z-probing cycle noticeably pushes the probe downwards. I think it would be preferable if it probed Z in the same way as the Bitsetter: once quick, once slow.
Thanks for the tip, I’ve started using it again, and it really does save some time. Question though: at one point I forgot to put the magnet clip on the collet/endmill, and of course it failed. Is there a way to use the jog function to get the bit out of the bitzero? I had to turn off the machine and manually push it around to get it out, as I didn’t see any way to access the jog menu after the probe failure.
There is unfortunately no easy way to recover from a failed probe, however the first step to initializing the machine is to retract on Z, so you don’t really have to get it out manually - the initialization cycle will do it for you.
I purchased it and rarely use . My Pro 4 xxl came witht he Bit Setter and I manually do my Z…no big deal.
WHAT I did find SUPER useful I purchase recently is the Bit Runner ! Saves me a bunch of guessing when and when not to turn the Spindle/Router On and Off ! Its fantastic ! But a note…Its control does not carry enough AC Current to handle your Dust Collector so plug that in seperately and you will then have to Manually turn your Dust Collection On and Off but not a big deal if you’re a little late turning it on or off…
I bought the original but never use it because I mainly mill aluminum and need to probe the top of my mod-vise fixed jaw and being a metal vise on a aluminum threaded table it doesn’t work. A v2 would but I like using a conductive light up probe better so I can sweep across multiple vise setups and make sure they are aligned perfectly.
I hope Carbide comes out with an active probe like the Mr-1 has so you can probe all sorts of features vs just finding a corner. I am saving up to upgrade the control board on my HDM in the future and if Carbide doesn’t have a board with the features I need by then Masso will get that money.
If Carbide is taking notes I’m looking for closed loop stepper control, Atc ability, active probing, and a Z axis brake. They already added the much needed auto squaring on the pro5 that I wish was on the HDM being it’s the most expensive machine they ever produced but there are no plugs for adding extra control boards to it and even the current version of the HDM doesn’t have auto squaring and that should be added to newer HDM’s.
Given the choice of a machine with a BitSetter and one without I’d take the BitSetter EVERY TIME.
I do paths that have tool changes (sometimes multiple) so without the BitSetter you are having to re-zero everything and then start a new file running,.
BitSetter saves me so much time and also maintains accuracy.
I have a dedicated 1.5HP Jet Dust collector and I have two remotes in the shop. One on the tablesaw and one on the Shapeoko bench. If you are electronically inclined you could wire up a relay to the BitRunner to trigger the dust collection on its own electrical circuit.
You can buy the PSI dust collector controller relatively cheap.
This one has worked for 10+ years for me. You can have an unlimited amount of remotes to place around the shop. There are other vendors for a remote dust collection.
There are times I do not want the dust collector on so the remote makes things simple. You should use dust collection if possible but there are times I just dont want it on.
For me bitzero is a must, maybe the difference in opinion is due to me working with aluminium mostly and I need a precise Z offset.
I can also trust that I’ve set XY correctly if I’m holding a work piece on a vice, all this saves a lot of time… jogging the machine and messing with offsets was always boring, on those occasions when I care about XY it was especially cumbersome… I can even take an old already machined piece and machine new features into it without having a way to mount it exactly the same as last time.
Manually setting it up just works for me and my current work flow . And by the time I pull out the touch plate, set it up, put the probe in the hole, hold it in place with one hand while clicking on the mouse with the other. waiting for it to cycle, forgetting to put the magnet on and starting again 
