Author Topic: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.  (Read 11730 times)

Offline David Kirtley

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DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« on: October 30, 2011, 02:58:19 PM »
Well, I had been going through all kinds of mental Rube Goldberg variations on how to get a digital readout for my cross slide on my lathe. I finally came up with a simple solution. The mounting point I chose was the hole for the follower rest.  I took a piece of scrap 3/4 in  AL angle and  cut back one side for about 1in to allow some adjustment (and to get rid of the mess I had made of it for an earlier experiment for something else. Then I slotted it for the attachment point. The other part of the angle rests against the saddle for supporting the cantilevered bracket.

The other side I slotted for about 4 inches to allow to move the dial gauge to extend the range for the full range of movement for the cross slide.

The last part was a sleeve to be able to put a knob on it for quick adjustment. Just a 1in piece of 1/2in diameter AL drilled out to 1/4 in for the carriage bolt.

Add a $10 digital dial gauge and a fixture knob to tighten it up and I have a DRO for the lathe.

Sorry for the last pic being a bit blurry. I was taking it blind from behind the lathe.



Offline Davo J

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2012, 04:56:27 AM »
Good idea going digital.  :clap: :beer:
I have seen many with the dial type indicator but never thought of a digital one for some reason, good work.

Dave

Offline WillieL

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2012, 11:57:01 AM »
Good idea going digital.  :clap: :beer:
I have seen many with the dial type indicator but never thought of a digital one for some reason, good work.

Dave
I agree!  A much better idea for my tired old eyes. I like it!!!   :thumbup:
WillieL

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Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2012, 01:00:35 PM »
Preferably for my eyes, I would much rather have a digital... where did you get the indicator?

Very simple, yet elegant solution. I am going to try this one myself!

Eric
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Offline David Kirtley

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2012, 01:08:47 PM »
Just an inexpensive one from Harbor Freight (Cheep Chinese Importer if you are not from US)

Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2012, 07:18:08 PM »
Just an inexpensive one from Harbor Freight (Cheep Chinese Importer if you are not from US)

Got one within walking distance to me  :ddb:
Science is fun.

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Offline Jonny

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2012, 12:05:15 PM »
You will have to keep coolant and liquids off though.
Also limited to the actual travel of the dial guage same as them tyre tread depth guages raved about on here.

Offline David Kirtley

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2012, 01:08:52 PM »
Well, since I put it on back in October, it really hasn't been a problem for cutting fluids. It is pretty far away. I was originally going to go with the depth gauges (Bought 3 of them to test with first). The reason I stuck with the bigger round one is that the readout was easier to read because of bigger readout and it was not rotated. The tire depth gauges also didn't have a spring to keep it up against the cross slide.

That said, I am glad it is not permanent as I don't really use it that often as it is more of a bother in most cases.

When changing from large workpieces to small, it needs to be manually moved along the bracket. It can also catch you unaware if you had been using it close and all of a sudden you are up against the stop or you move outside the range and lose contact with the plunger. You also have to go through the conversion of it being 2x the movement.

I can't honestly say that it is more effective than if I had just put a manual stop on the bracket instead. I still have to stop and take a regular measurement  to get a reference and then zero the gauge.  It really isn't that much trouble to measure manually to final diameter with a single piece and if I am doing several items, just running up to a manual stop and not having to watch the gauge and do the mental calculation for halving the measurement is less trouble.

Offline stovebolt

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2012, 07:59:18 PM »
David, thanks for posting this.  I've had a 2" dial indicator mounted on  my mini lathe for a couple of years now, like you I used the follower rest mounting holes,  but I had it up close, the plunger rested on the compound base.    This is a much better idea and easier to make too.   


Offline John-Som

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2012, 12:11:54 AM »
Quote
The tire depth gauges also didn't have a spring to keep it up against the cross slide.

David

The need to fit a spring on the mini DRO (tyre depth gauge) is unnecessary as pointed out by Aussie Jim. A small rare earth magnet on the tip of the probe maintains the required contact. You'll find details of this at http://start-model-engineering.co.uk

John-Som
start-model-engineering.co.uk - a friendly place for model engineering beginners

Offline Davo J

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Re: DRO for the cross slide for lathe.
« Reply #10 on: January 23, 2012, 12:29:47 AM »
You will have to keep coolant and liquids off though.
Also limited to the actual travel of the dial guage same as them tyre tread depth guages raved about on here.

I think anything that makes life easier for measuring on the lathe is a good accessory. I have a commercial DRO on mine, but if I didn't I would be fitting something digital like this.

It may not suit everyone, but for some of us it makes life easy on the lathe. Also depending on the resolution of the dial indicator you fit, it will divide the divisions of the hand wheel collar down to be more readable for small cuts, and takes the guess work out of it.

Dave