Here are some close-up pics of my indicator holder for Chris. This should make it a little clearer.

This shows the mount removed from the lathe. I didn't have a longer piece of aluminum in the scrap box so I improvised on mounting the indicator. I used a 3/8" mill to cut a groove in the mount so that the indicator tube sat just a hair above flush. That allowed me to bolt on a little plate that clamps the indicator snugly but is still easily adjusted.

Here is an end view that makes the above explaination a little easier to understand.

The part on the left sits on the prismatic way and holds the indicator. On the right is the mating part that clamps underneath the way. You can see 2 guide pins that fit into the upper half and keep the clamp from twisting. There is a 1/4-20 set screw that allows adjustment of the clamp gap. Since the clamp only reaches about half way back because of the rack gear you need something there to keep the clamp level and even. The other hole is where the cam screw goes thru the base.
Now, for todays little

I do a lot of parting and I really needed a coolant system, but I don't have a decent air compressor. So, time to mod!

This is the windshield washer tank and pump off of my old van. They can be had new for $20 or less at a parts shop or even cheaper from a salvage yard.

Here's the end of the hose with a spare needle from an ink cartridge refill kit clamped into the end of it. I used a scrap of aluminum to mount the coolant tip to my toolpost so that it points down at the tip of my parting tool.

And finally the power system. I used a spare wall-wart (power transformer) to power the pump. The pump motor is 12 volt DC and it calls for 1.5 amps. The transformer I used is a 12 volt DC 1.3 amp so it was just right. A little less current won't hurt the pump and it helps reduce the pressure just a touch. I didn't have a momentary contact switch on hand so I grabbed a spare light switch from the shelf. It works just fine, I just flick it back and forth with my thumb when I need a bit of coolant. I will change this out to a momentary switch later on so I don't have to double-flip the switch.

Tomorrow boys and girls we will be adding some nitrile rubber sheeting to the lathe to keep the chips off the ways. Stay tuned, you don't want to miss it.
