sorry about the adjustable, I do avoid normally it happened to be on hand to whip off the compound slide. Funny enough I mentally call the draw they go in my "last resort draw" We've just got back from Iceland my new thermal socks were very welcome
- Thread starter R-D-R
- Start date
sorry about the adjustable, I do avoid normally it happened to be on hand to whip off the compound slide. Funny enough I mentally call the draw they go in my "last resort draw" We've just got back from Iceland my new thermal socks were very welcome
Windy Miller
Semi-Professional Potterer!
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Wow - someone's been splashing out. Not happy with the socks then?
I hope those adjustables are kept in the 'tools you shouldn't really be using on a precision machine' drawer
As soon as I saw that photo, I thought hmmm Pete won’t be happy seeing adjustables on a lathe!
Well best laid plans didn't work out and I managed less than an hour this weekend but got the cross slide all mounted apart from the cover plate. In total I Figured 6 different mounting options were available using the kit supplied but in the end went for a hybrid option which involved skimming a couple of mm off the slide bracket. I wanted the system to be just lower than the surface so it would all be flush when finished. Made sense to me to get the the slide in the gap so it's totally protected - just involved a bit of machining.
Excuse the surface rust on the chuck I need to clean it up and coat it! Skimmed 4mm off the bracket so it fit in the gap.
holes drilled, tapped and all mounted, was really simple and very easy to adjust and align using the standoff screws.The readers a few mm lower so when the cover plates on it should all be nice and flush
Fired it up and all works well.
Excuse the surface rust on the chuck I need to clean it up and coat it! Skimmed 4mm off the bracket so it fit in the gap.
holes drilled, tapped and all mounted, was really simple and very easy to adjust and align using the standoff screws.The readers a few mm lower so when the cover plates on it should all be nice and flush
Fired it up and all works well.
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Carl Wilson
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Fantastic to see your progress.
Got home from a week away with work and cracked on to get the DRO install finished. It all went on pretty nicely, most of the time was pondering the various brackets and how best to match them to the machine. Very happy with it so far it seams a really good bit of kit.
I fabricated an extension for the display to raise it, this is temporary but necessary as I'm 6'5" and when I started testing it I thought I had major calibration issues but it was me not seeing the top of the numbers as the top of the display was blocked from view by the bezel making a 7 look like 1 so I raised like this for now. Next project is a top box with draws to go on the headstock to keep collets and tools in which the Display will properly mount too.
Anyway here it is:
Calibration was quick and easy, I used gauge blacks off the bottom of the cross slide which got me parallel to .002mm which is well within tolerance then the scale aligned to the reader in seconds and just nip up the holders.
Cabling is just tied up at the moment until final fitting to the top box
all cables run through Kopex, I had already run a dedicated/fused live feed from the Lathe control box for the DRO so it just plumbed straight into the little Junction box I had made earlier in the renovation for the Lamp. The DRO powers on with everything else when I hit the Power button on the control panel. The separate braided cable is just an earth strap from the Display unit going to the machine body.
Will get the lathe repositioned and level tomorrow. Really looking forward to using it as have a few projects to crack on with. I did test the accuracy briefly with some Gauge blocks and it seemed bob on :-)
Probably took about 4 hours Start to Finnish - lot quicker than I was expecting.
I fabricated an extension for the display to raise it, this is temporary but necessary as I'm 6'5" and when I started testing it I thought I had major calibration issues but it was me not seeing the top of the numbers as the top of the display was blocked from view by the bezel making a 7 look like 1
so I raised like this for now. Next project is a top box with draws to go on the headstock to keep collets and tools in which the Display will properly mount too.Anyway here it is:
Calibration was quick and easy, I used gauge blacks off the bottom of the cross slide which got me parallel to .002mm which is well within tolerance then the scale aligned to the reader in seconds and just nip up the holders.
Cabling is just tied up at the moment until final fitting to the top box
all cables run through Kopex, I had already run a dedicated/fused live feed from the Lathe control box for the DRO so it just plumbed straight into the little Junction box I had made earlier in the renovation for the Lamp. The DRO powers on with everything else when I hit the Power button on the control panel. The separate braided cable is just an earth strap from the Display unit going to the machine body.
Will get the lathe repositioned and level tomorrow. Really looking forward to using it as have a few projects to crack on with. I did test the accuracy briefly with some Gauge blocks and it seemed bob on :-)
Probably took about 4 hours Start to Finnish - lot quicker than I was expecting.
addjunkie
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Thats a very nice piece of kit, much neater than the older scales. Im on my second DRO machine and find the display, in the wrong place for me. One day Ill shift mine to the wall behind the chuck. As I often feel twisted around while working
Carl Wilson
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That's really nice mate. You are spurring me on to finish mine when I'm back from work!
Thanks
I spent some time today levelling it all up - really liking the DRO. I’ve tried to get the bed ways aligned best I can and got it down to a .002mm taper over 170mm and can turn down to a 1mm dia at the end with no decteable taper or tailstock support. I think that will be more than accurate for my novice standards.
Turned a taper to a point and ensured tailstock aligned.
Glad to get it all setup I can start the many little projects I have on the list now.
I spent some time today levelling it all up - really liking the DRO. I’ve tried to get the bed ways aligned best I can and got it down to a .002mm taper over 170mm and can turn down to a 1mm dia at the end with no decteable taper or tailstock support. I think that will be more than accurate for my novice standards.
Turned a taper to a point and ensured tailstock aligned.
Glad to get it all setup I can start the many little projects I have on the list now.
Pete.
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Nice job but .002mm is less than a tenth of a thou, and over 170mm you might be deflecting the part especially if it's that bar in the photo. Much better to do your taper-turning checks with a shorter and larger diameter piece of stock, something that machines very freely like brass or aluminium.
Thanks @Pete. I thought I would be pushing it at that length on steel I was doing very light cuts and the full 170mm of the bar was about 19mm OD at the stage I was getting the .002 taper. If I get some spare lengths of soft metal I may have another play, I'm calling it good enough for now though.
`I converted a bit of the test bar into a tool to hold the Collet chuck against the spanner so it didn't go to waste
`I converted a bit of the test bar into a tool to hold the Collet chuck against the spanner so it didn't go to waste
Dieselman 63
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The knurling wants to be proper peaked diamonds, it takes a few passes and quite a bit of pressure. You’ve got a little bit at the top but the rest is unfinished 
slim_boy_fat
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What knurling tool do you have/use? It's something on my 'get one, one of these days' list.
Seadog
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Grab an hour earlier today
Turned a Pin for the hole in the compound and drilled a corresponding hole in the tool post bottom. Good snug fit and should stop the tool post rotating under load.
turned a piece down and tested my new knurling tool that arrived yesterday got a much better result with just a couple of passes, room for improvement still but much better...
Turned a Pin for the hole in the compound and drilled a corresponding hole in the tool post bottom. Good snug fit and should stop the tool post rotating under load.
turned a piece down and tested my new knurling tool that arrived yesterday got a much better result with just a couple of passes, room for improvement still but much better...
slim_boy_fat
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Not much wrong with that 
That’s a bit that can be improved, Tool was square. I think the unfinished bit is because when I started I realised the knurling tool arm was brushing the collet slightly so I moved out and then started applying the pressure and didn’t go back over that spot with any proper pressure.
Going to have a better play next weekend when back from work.
Going to have a better play next weekend when back from work.
Nice weather and had some free time so decided to get a bit organised with all the lathe tooling and make a top box for the lathe. Idea is it will store Engineers tools, callipers, micrometers etc also two deeper draws for collets and Tooling.
Made it from some left over 12mm Moisture resistant MDF, just Dominoes and glue to hold it all together
shallow draws at the top will have foam cut outs for all the tools.
See where I am going with the collets ill fit them into some foam along with the collect spanner...
Painted up in matching beige, routed out a recess on the top for rubber mat. It will be bolted to the back of the lathe. The DRO will be remounted, then need to spend time cutting the foam for the tools.
Made it from some left over 12mm Moisture resistant MDF, just Dominoes and glue to hold it all together
shallow draws at the top will have foam cut outs for all the tools.
See where I am going with the collets ill fit them into some foam along with the collect spanner...
Painted up in matching beige, routed out a recess on the top for rubber mat. It will be bolted to the back of the lathe. The DRO will be remounted, then need to spend time cutting the foam for the tools.
