# My Cheap Tailstock DRO



## Jason812 (Jan 8, 2022)

I had a solar powered Mitutoyo 6" caliper that had jacked up inside anvils.  I don't remember where exactly they came from but were free.  I must be fat and cause a solar eclipse because every time I tried to use them, I blocked the light and they would go blank.  So I stole other ideas and put them to good use.  Just a mount held on the tailstock by magnets which was machined from some junky 2" cold roll I dug out of the dumpster at work.  The calipers are also held with the same 12mm magnets you can get at Lowes or Ace and I assume plenty of other places.  The corner should have been 93 degrees instead of 92 degrees and if I ever get a piece of aluminum,  I will probably remake the entire setup as I'm not thrilled with the finish but it works.  It is also angled 30 degrees to read easier.


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## zjtr10 (Jan 8, 2022)

Kewl Beans!
Looks good


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## slow-poke (Jan 8, 2022)

I like that, I'm going to copy your idea, thanks!


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## cday2021 (Jan 9, 2022)

slow-poke said:


> I like that, I'm going to copy your idea, thanks!


I'm working on 3D printed mounts for the iGaging 6" DRO. The tailstock quill bracket uses M4 screws and nuts to tighten around the quill. The sensor is mounted with a 3D printed bracket using neodymium magnets. The digital readout uses one 1/4-20 bolt to fasten to a magnetic base. No drilling and tapping of the tailstock required. I'm swapping out the long USB cable the DRO is sold with for a short one. The iGaging DRO has the advantage of being able to set the DRO reading if you want. If you're interested, let me know. I'm considering printing and supply these for others if people are interested.

This is for the PM-1340GT if it isn't clear, but it may also fit other tailstocks. The one in the picture above looks like my 1340. Here's a 3D model so you can see what it looks like. I'm waiting on the magnets to come in to complete it!


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## Doug Gray (Jan 9, 2022)

cday2021 said:


> I'm working on 3D printed mounts for the iGaging 6" DRO. The tailstock quill bracket uses M4 screws and nuts to tighten around the quill. The sensor is mounted with a 3D printed bracket using neodymium magnets. The digital readout uses one 1/4-20 bolt to fasten to a magnetic base. No drilling and tapping of the tailstock required. I'm swapping out the long USB cable the DRO is sold with for a short one. The iGaging DRO has the advantage of being able to set the DRO reading if you want. If you're interested, let me know. I'm considering printing and supply these for others if people are interested.
> 
> This is for the PM-1340GT if it isn't clear, but it may also fit other tailstocks. The one in the picture above looks like my 1340. Here's a 3D model so you can see what it looks like. I'm waiting on the magnets to come in to complete it!
> 
> View attachment 391594


How you you deal with the rotational play of the tail stock quill in this situation?


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## Cletus (Jan 10, 2022)

Also, seems like you cannot retract the quill fully to pop the Morse Taper out of battery, how do you deal with that?


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## keeena (Jan 10, 2022)

Cletus said:


> Also, seems like you cannot retract the quill fully to pop the Morse Taper out of battery, how do you deal with that?


Can't speak to all lathes, but the TS on my G4003G will pop out MTs that have a tang at about the 1.25" mark. Even non-tang'ed MTs will pop at about 3/4". Its something that's always annoyed me because you loose about 1" of travel. But in any event: the design would work fine if your TS is similar.

If not: I'd imagine you'd have to extend the screw w/in the TS to pop out the MT earlier in the travel. Some MTs do have a threaded end and you can install a longer screw in the MT so it ejects earlier.


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## Cletus (Jan 10, 2022)

Ahhh, cool! 
My Grizzly, the TS quill has to be retracted fully before it ejects the Morse taper.


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## keeena (Jan 10, 2022)

Cletus said:


> My Grizzly, the TS quill has to be retracted fully before it ejects the Morse taper.


Which model lathe?


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## mksj (Jan 10, 2022)

I did mount an Igaging Absolute on my 1340Gt many years ago, I put the display on an adjustable arm. You can get some interference of the bracket with the tailstock, so I eventually put a knurled locking knob so I could easily move the scale bracket to different positions so it would not interfere with the QCTP.  On my current lathe the ram needs to come allmost all the way back to eject some MT3 holders, I had enough room on the backside of the tailstock to mount the scale head. The DRO scale mounting bracket is recessed and has two set screws to secure it to the ram. On the 1340GT you might want to mount the Igaging on the top, and possibly using neodymium magnets to secure it, although I secured mine with two small screws behind the reader and used small jacking screws in the corners for alignment.


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## Cletus (Jan 10, 2022)

keeena said:


> Which model lathe?


Mine is the G4000 Grizzly


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## woodchucker (Jan 10, 2022)

Jason812 said:


> I had a solar powered Mitutoyo 6" caliper that had jacked up inside anvils.  I don't remember where exactly they came from but were free.  I must be fat and cause a solar eclipse because every time I tried to use them, I blocked the light and they would go blank.  So I stole other ideas and put them to good use.  Just a mount held on the tailstock by magnets which was machined from some junky 2" cold roll I dug out of the dumpster at work.  The calipers are also held with the same 12mm magnets you can get at Lowes or Ace and I assume plenty of other places.  The corner should have been 93 degrees instead of 92 degrees and if I ever get a piece of aluminum,  I will probably remake the entire setup as I'm not thrilled with the finish but it works.  It is also angled 30 degrees to read easier.


I'm not impressed with how rough the Mit calipers are inside. Damn depressing. As I think of Mit as one of the finest along with Starrett, B&S, Maher, and a few others from the Swiss, Germans, Austria..

I mounted mine on my quill by screwing it on, but I watched a video the other day that was more impressive.
His mount which I wish I had done:



His video:


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## cday2021 (Jan 10, 2022)

Doug Gray said:


> How you you deal with the rotational play of the tail stock quill in this situation?


I'm hoping it won't be a problem. Based on other tailstock DROs I've seen I'm guessing it won't, but that remains to be seen.


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## cday2021 (Jan 10, 2022)

Cletus said:


> Also, seems like you cannot retract the quill fully to pop the Morse Taper out of battery, how do you deal with that?


That's something I need to test a little further. Right now it pops out my live center and chuck no problem well before the quill bracket would hit the tailstock base. I have a shorter deadcenter I can test with it too and see if that one is an issue. If it is, I will consider making the quill bracket narrower. With the two screws it bites on incredibly well.... I tested the two screw version with just one screw and it was still attached very well, but I might print a narrower version and test it too.


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## Jake P (Jan 10, 2022)

For what it's worth, here's my rendition of a DRO mount:









						1440GT Upgrades and Additions
					

Part three, Tailstock DRO:  I did a lot of looking at the designs of others before I decided on how to mount a DRO on the tailstock.  There's s a lot of really good designs out there!  I decided that I wanted to be able to remove the DRO so I zeroed in on the magnetic mount ideas.  I also wanted...




					www.hobby-machinist.com


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## cday2021 (Jan 10, 2022)

Jake P said:


> For what it's worth, here's my rendition of a DRO mount:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I had started machining a solution until I thought, "hey, I design and 3D print all sorts of stuff, why not do it for this project... and if others are interested, it'll be a cinch to duplicate!"


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## Jason812 (Jan 10, 2022)

Jake P said:


> For what it's worth, here's my rendition of a DRO mount:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is the post I shamelessly got my idea from.  Thanks for the inspiration.

I did not want to drill the tailstock.


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## Jake P (Jan 10, 2022)

Jason812 said:


> This is the post I shamelessly got my idea from.  Thanks for the inspiration.
> 
> I did not want to drill the tailstock.


Absolutely, and I got my inspiration from many other sources as well.  That’s what is so great about these forums, shared knowledge.


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## cday2021 (Jan 18, 2022)

An update to 3D printed mounts for iGaging DRO:





The cable I bought is a little too short (8”) so swapping that out for a 12” tomorrow. I wasn’t happy with the sensor mount magnets I bought so I bought some bigger ones and extended the length of the mount. I also made the quill bracket narrower at 16mm and switched to M3 screws. I have plenty of space to pop out everything I’ve tried in the tailstock so far. 

Doug had asked how rotational play in the quill was handled. The sensor mount being magnetic actually helps really well in this regard… I have minimal rotational play in my quill but if I do rotate it you can see the magnetic sensor mount move slightly… so some free play without binding or contorting more solid mounts…the reading on the DRO either stays the same or bounces by .001 during rotation. I still need to get some use out of it and see if I run into any issues, but so far it’s looking great and it’s really easy to duplicate in any color (I’m a fan of orange). I am using PETG filament for this application (and most parts I print for shop use).


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## sr71xjet (Jan 18, 2022)

cday2021 said:


> An update to 3D printed mounts for iGaging DRO:
> View attachment 392767
> 
> 
> ...


Nothing wrong with that.  How is it doing?


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## tjb (Jan 18, 2022)

Oops.  Just posted my response to the wrong thread.  Here's mine that's very similar to Jake's:


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