Edge pro tram help ???

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umahunter

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Since I ordered a precision matthews pm932m mill/drill .I want to pick up an edge pro tram what I'm trying to decide is which indicator best suits my machine between the 2 models the .001 indicator or the .0005 indicator don't wanna order the .0005 model and be banging my head against the wall trying to get unachievable accuracy would appreciate opinions from the braintrust of more knowledgeable fellows thanks for any help :) pro_tram_by_edge_technology_bridgeport_milling_machine_angle__08115.1391121124.1280.1280.png
 
It is simply a comparative tool and you're simply tramming to get both indicators to read the same. In my opinion, the 0.001" model is fine.
 
I made one, and used .0005 indicators. As Mikey said its a comparative reading so I think the .001 should be a little less finicky.
 
I bought the .0005 model sent it back the next day inconsistent readings with their cheesy chi di's , made my own with decent.0005 indicators , mo better,
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The father apart the two readings are the more accurate the tram. I use one indicator, on an eight inch beam, it reads 16 inches apart. one tenth at four inches shows up as 4 tenths at 16 inches. I put a .1000 Jo block at each end and sweep them with a 1/10th test indicator.
 
I have the same tool only made by Starrett and it uses .0005 indicators. It really isn't too finicky to work with.

Ted
 
I will assume that quality indicators will be the make or break point of these trimming tools.
 
mI've got a Pro Tram if you want to borrow it, but its got a fairly short swing.

If you want to stop by I'll show how to make your own in about ten minutes. The dual indicators are kind of nice, but I think they are as much of a distraction as they are a help. Its nice that you don't have to swing your head around to read it at both ends, but a single indicator on a bar will do the same thing, and you can do it with any dial indicator you already own for a fraction of the price. AND you don't have to dial each indicator into the other one before you start.

The neat thing about a homemade single indicator tram bar is no part of it needs to be precision built. They cost pennies to make, and if you want you can make a long one and a short one. The longer it is the better you can dial in the tram of your machine. You can make one probably faster than I could tell you how.

Attached is a picture of both. I had a longer home made tram bar around somewhere, but I can't find it. That little one is what I used on my Taig many years ago. Both will produce the same result, but for the cost of the ProTram you can buy a couple fair indicators or a really good one that you can use more than once every few years... or once ever.

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I use my Starrett last word indicator. It comes with a 3 piece bar with two pivots. Gives about a 3 inch radius swing.
Slip it into a collet, indicate directly off the table. The chamfers on the T slots are big enough that the indicator rides over them as long as I move slowly across them. QED.
 
I use a DTI and a Noga NF1018 holder:
http://www.noga.com/Products/Center...s/NF1018/Centering_NF_holder_3|fs|8"_-_NF1018
They advertise it for centering holes, where I like it much better than anything else, way faster and more accurate than a coaxial indicator. It is also great for tramming the head. Set it up so the DTI is almost flat, dial facing up, so you can see it easily all the way around the circle, and with the stylus just barely contacting the table by a few thou, to keep the DTI innards from getting banged around. I can have the head trammed in a couple minutes with it. I understand that it works even better coupled to an Indicol, though the Indicol does not fit my spindle.
 
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