Help me make a decision about being a cheap butt re: DRO for lathe and mill.

[Whiterabbit]

Hi guys,

Long story short as possible, I want DRO's on my lathe and mill. I "need" 24" to cover mill Z and Lathe bed. However, this is of course the most expensive one. Also as a single unit, discontinued. So, I bought a 3pc set, 6, 12, and 24" to get the 24" I wanted (originally for the mill). I was gonna do the lathe later. But, I don't "need" the 6" and 12" for the mill. No problem, the lathe needs DRO. Perfect! Except I don't need 12", and it sure seems like a waste to cut it down! Then I still need to buy another 24" for the lathe.

So, here's where I start thinking (bad idea).

I never have a lathe or mill project (yet!) where i need more than 12" of Z on the mill, or more than 12" travel on the lathe bed. So, if I had a way to move the scale on the 12", I could, technically, temporarily fasten the 12" scale to the frame as a part of my operation setup. Then I just plan to move the scale as needed to put the carriage (lathe or mill) where it needs to be before fastening that axis slide.

If I do that, I don't need to buy any more DRO, and I am setup.

But because it's not a permanent mount, I set myself up for failure if the scale moves during an operation.

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So, what do you think? use the 12" on the lathe or mill Z (I'm thinking mill Z could be perfectly servicable for this) even though I have way more travel than that, and move the scale as needed? Or just buckle under and buy the darn 24" scale (even if it means buying another 6-12-24 set) and outfit it "right".

SEIG tools, we aren't talking bridgeports here.

What say you?

[country gent]

For the lathe there is the travel dial that works pretty well on the x axis. On the y a digital is handy but even more so would be the tailstock spindle as drilling reaming holes to depth can get to be an issue at times. On the mills readouts are handy and z axis is seldom put on the readout as weight of the knee helps keep play out. the spindle benefits more and these are available in a style similar to a 6" digital caliper but they get in the way of the spindle stop usually. Since these will be used for precision movement I would really want to spring for the better ones myself. Also look at the shielding and protection on them wheels can slip. glass scales can be susceptible to dust and coolants.

[country gent]

We put a "short" read out on a mill in the tool room and it wasn't 3 days until someone ran it to far and broke it.

[bstone5]

I have a DRO on my mill and use it all the time. The DRO is very nice and handy on the mill.
Never got around to a DRO on my lathe, have a group of dial indicators for the lathe that are used a lot on gun projects and making critical dimension parts. The lathe also has a travel dial since I learned to use a the travel dial back in the 1960s when learning to operate a lathe in machinist school.

[smokeywolf]

Whiterabbit, I get the impression that it's the mill's X axis that you want the 24" scale for. Same maybe for the Z axis on the lathe?

I wouldn't try to go too cheap or jury-rig your DRO.

Like bstone5, I have DRO on my Bridgeport, but use a "Trav-A-Dial" on the Z axis on my lathe. If I'm doing tight tolerance turning or boring on the lathe I put a dial travel indicator on the cross slide that resolves .0001

[jmorris]

On the y a digital is handy but even more so would be the tailstock spindle as drilling reaming holes to depth can get to be an issue at times.

If you have a way of attaching the tail stock to the carriage you pull it into the work and are using the measurement of the cross slide movement.

Easy method is a stud off the back of the cross slide that goes into a hole on the front of the tail stock with a hole cross ways through both that a pin can be inserted/removed instantly.

[smokeywolf]

If you have a way of attaching the tail stock to the cross slide you pull it into the work and are using the measurement of the cross slide movement.

Easy method is a stud off the back of the cross slide that goes into a hole on the front of the tail stock with a hole cross ways through both that a pin can be inserted/removed instantly.

I can see pulling the tailstock to or into the workpiece using the carriage, but the cross-slide moves back and forth on the X axis, while the tailstock moves on the Z axis.

[country gent]

On our bigger lathes we would use the carriage to push the tail stock back with a buffer between them and pull forward with a cable wrapped around the tailstock to an eye bolt in the carriage ( one of the holes for the follower rest usually) this allowed the lathe to run and power feed to move those heavy tail stocks much easier. These cables hung in the bed out of the way when not being used. Not sure I would trust this for a precision depth hoe though. I had a Plate made that clamped around the tailstock spindle and a dial indicator (0-3" travel) could be mounted to the tailstock allowing precise depth measurement

[Whiterabbit]

OK, Looks like I'll install the 24 inch DRO to the Z-axis of the mill. Can consider what I'll do with the 12. The 6 will go on the compound for sure. I have a couple options for the tailstock, so I think I'll be OK there without these readouts.

[jmorris]

I can see pulling the tailstock to or into the workpiece using the carriage, but the cross-slide moves back and forth on the X axis, while the tailstock moves on the Z axis.

That's bad when 8:40 in the morning is still too early. Yes, the carriage.

Tail stocks can also be mounted in front of the carriage as well but that makes the tool post much less useful, in most every case.

[smokeywolf]

OK, Looks like I'll install the 24 inch DRO to the Z-axis of the mill. Can consider what I'll do with the 12. The 6 will go on the compound for sure. I have a couple options for the tailstock, so I think I'll be OK there without these readouts.

Don't think I've ever seen 24 inches of travel on a mill's knee, head or quill. What kind of mill do you have? Can you upload a pic?

[cwheel]

Now that I'm retired, my DRO budget is less than what it used to be when I was working. Not spending someone else's money either. There is a veteran owned business in CA that's selling DRO's with magnetic scales very reasonably priced. I don't like the glass scales, I've had to replace to many of them over the years. This guys scales can be bought in almost any length and cut to the size that's needed. Looks like a stand up business run by a vet. Thinking about getting one for my lathe from him, and I mostly bought Newall in the past because I've never had one fail in service. You might want to google DRO Pros and have a look at them.
Chris