# DRO install on LC-30A (RF-30 clone)



## DavidR8

I started looking at how to install the DRO on my LC-30A mill.
A big question I had was where to put the X-axis scale; on the operator side or the column side.

This is the DRO, the YH800 model








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Considerations for either side:
* Mounting it on the operator side has the potential to impede the safety stop for a powerfeed.
* On the column side could limit Y-axis travel.
On either side is the X-axis ball oilers on the front and back of the table.

I took some Y-axis measurements. I discovered that with the Y-axis fully toward the column, at the level of the table there's a .5" gap between the column and the table.
The scale is .87" thick so putting it on the back means I'd be reducing the travel by approx. .4"

The column base gets wider toward the bottom so if I have to mount  the scale lower down, it would reduce the travel slightly more.


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## C-Bag

Another reason I didn't mount my scale on the column side was a complete lack of a way to mount it. Most all of the mounted scales I see on RF's and their clones is on the operator side. I can still get to the oiler but mine is the igaging type so there is room around it and I didn't mount a guard over it. Yeah, I could have probably found a way to mount the safety switch but I left it off. You just have to make sure you turn everything off when done. I messed up once, lesson learned and never again.


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## DavidR8

C-Bag said:


> Another reason I didn't mount my scale on the column side was a complete lack of a way to mount it. Most all of the mounted scales I see on RF's and their clones is on the operator side. I can still get to the oiler but mine is the igaging type so there is room around it and I didn't mount a guard over it. Yeah, I could have probably found a way to mount the safety switch but I left it off. You just have to make sure you turn everything off when done. I messed up once, lesson learned and never again.


Would you be able to post a photo of your install?


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## darkzero

I would say it's personal preference & really up to you. Most people do install them on the front on mill/drills. I've got the scale mounted on the column side on my PM45. Yeah it causes a loss of Y travel as does the chip guard bellows.

Hasn't really bothered me yet as I don't work on big things. I wanted it out the way. I didn't want to have to reach under the scale to use my X axis locks, I already don't like having to reach under the table for my Y axis locks as well as not having a quick visual on them. When I install heavy accessories on the table I like to slide them onto the table so I prefer my scale on the backside. Aside from my power feed stops (which I never use) I have a hanger for an air gun installed on the dovetail slot on the front.


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## pontiac428

I mounted my X scale on the front, and I did have to delete the "safety" switch for the power feed.  I don't see much value in the "safety" stop, and I don't miss it.

I used the base of the mill on the left side for my Y scale.  The Z scale fits nicely in the space up front where the feed stop would be if it were a Bridgeport.  Everybody seems to come up with their own ideas for Z, so I did it my own way.  Everything works well, and the DRO is nice to use.


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## DavidR8

Thanks Will, I'm leaning toward the putting it on the column side.


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## DavidR8

pontiac428 said:


> I mounted my X scale on the front, and I did have to delete the "safety" switch for the power feed.  I don't see much value in the "safety" stop, and I don't miss it.
> 
> I used the base of the mill on the left side for my Y scale.  The Z scale fits nicely in the space up front where the feed stop would be if it were a Bridgeport.  Everybody seems to come up with their own ideas for Z, so I did it my own way.  Everything works well, and the DRO is nice to use.


Thanks, I'd like to see how you did your install. Can you share some pics?


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## Shootymacshootface

If you do mount it on the column side, be sure to include a hard stop so the scale does not get crushed. You may end up reducing travel by .5". I think that it would be worth it to mount the scale out of the way. You would never have to think about it again, unless of course you needed just .025" more travel.


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## pontiac428

It's a cluttered photo and you can't see the Y scale or how the Z works, but it's what I have on my phone. I can take better pictures later if you need detail.


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## DavidR8

Thanks @pontiac428


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## darkzero

David, what kind of scales will you be installing? Glass or magnetic or the igaging type?


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## DavidR8

darkzero said:


> David, what kind of scales will you be installing? Glass or magnetic or the igaging type?


I'm installing glass scales.
Identical DRO as @Gravydog used on his mill.








						Mounting 3-axis DRO to my RF-30 clone
					

After getting my mill set up, the first thing I wanted to do was install a DRO so I wouldn't have to deal with the runout on the X and Y axes and the inaccuracy of the dial on the Z axis (dial marked in thousandths but a full turn is actually only 0.084" instead of 0.100"). Also, they are just...




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## pontiac428

Ah, for some reason I assumed you were using iGauging.  Glass scales take up more space, but there are plenty of nice examples out there to look at.


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## DavidR8

No worries @pontiac428, all ideas are welcome


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## DavidR8

A bit of progress tonight. 
Measured and cut out the brackets for the Y-axis scale. 
Simple aluminum pieces. Need to get some 10-32 SHCS to attach the brackets to the mill and the scale to the brackets. 
And some 4mm SHCS to attach the reader heads to the brackets. 


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## WCraig

So far in this hobby, every little project requires one or more trips to the store for fasteners!

Craig


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## DavidR8

WCraig said:


> So far in this hobby, every little project requires one or more trips to the store for fasteners!
> 
> Craig



Indeed. I’m still building up my stock of fasteners. I’m buying more than I need for every thing. 
I only need about a dozen SHCS for this job I’ll probably buy 30+ in a few lengths and diameters. 


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## DavidR8

Tonight's progress:
Fitted the brackets and marked the holes for tapping.
Big step for me, marks the third, fourth, fifth and sixth holes I've ever tapped.
I was a bit nervous about snapping the 10-24 tap. All went well though. 

A few pics.






I think I'll zip off the lower bit of the right side bracket when all is in place.


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## DavidR8

More progress today. 
Got the bracket for the reader head bent and cut to size. Drilled and tapped for the bracket and the cover. 
I miscalculated slightly and the right side SHCS for the cover is right up against the bottom of the table. 
All good though. 

















I mistakenly ordered the wrong length x-axis scale so I cut the scale to length. 
Just determined the length and put it in the bandsaw with my blowgun shooting air to minimize swarf in the scale. 
I held the saw up so it could score the glass. 
Worked like a charm. 
I then drilled holes for the four tiny screws that hold the end cap. 

Don’t have pics but will take some later. 


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## DavidR8

More progress. 
Pulled the table and cross slide. 
Got the x-axis slide mounted and reader head installed. 
This is the end of the offcut of the scale. 
I whittled back the glass to see how I was going to trim it to put the end cap back on. 
The glass basically crumbles like a stale cookie. All these videos of guys using Dremels etc to trim the glass seem to be overkill as the reader doesn’t travel to the end so precision is unnecessary. 




X-axis is on!
I’m going to fabricate a low profile guard. 





Reader mount holes marked and punched. 





Holes drilled and tapped. 
Much easier to do this vertically than the other horizontal holes. 





Head is mounted. 






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## francist

Huh, interesting. Being entirely entirely DRO-challenged I’ve never really seen how those things worked before. Cool.

-f


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## DavidR8

Thanks Frank, it’s been a learning experience for me on many levels. 
Designing the layout, maximizing the use of the supplied brackets and the actual installation. 
Before starting I’d never drilled and tapped a hole. Now I can say that I’ve got a dozen under my belt. 

I have to say that the cast iron is bloody hard to drill even with a brand new HSS drill bit. 


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## MontanaLon

DavidR8 said:


> *I have to say that the cast iron is bloody hard to drill even with a brand new HSS drill bit.*


I found it pretty easy to drill, it seemed to me to drill and tap easier than steel. I was sort of dreading it from what I was hearing and it went way easier than I expected.

Have you watched this video? 






I do have some scrap iron that is harder than hell. HSS won't touch it in any sort of effective way. It is almost like it was quenched after dropping out of the sand.


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## DavidR8

MontanaLon said:


> I found it pretty easy to drill, it seemed to me to drill and tap easier than steel. I was sort of dreading it from what I was hearing and it went way easier than I expected.
> 
> Have you watched this video?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I do have some scrap iron that is harder than hell. HSS won't touch it in any sort of effective way. It is almost like it was quenched after dropping out of the sand.


I definitely have grey cast iron, I'm just a bit surprised that it's so hard to drill. Actually the table was significantly harder than the base or even the cross slide.


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## finsruskw

I had no issues drilling the holes for my DRP Pro install, and was likewise surprised how easily that was accomplished.
The DRO Pro site has a sheet available you can print that lists all the bits and taps you need to install their setup.
I ordered them all from Grainger for under $35.


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## DavidR8

Well after a long work week I took some time to progress the DRO install. 
Got the table back on, reinstalled the Y-axis scale and reader and attached the X-axis reader. 
Mounted the display unit. 
Checked the display against the dials and it’s dead on which makes me happy. 
Acid test will be with a DTI though. 

All that’s left is the Y-axis. 

















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## Shootymacshootface

Looking good!


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## DavidR8

Thanks [mention]Shootymacshootface [/mention] 

I’m learning a ton doing this. 
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## C-Bag

Looking good David. 

Too bad you didn't try getting along without the DRO for a while because you can't get the full appreciation of when you go DRO. Even though I have the iGaging setup it's made my life so much easier and my work so much more accurate. I think my first upgrade was the X drive. Now THAT was a big upgrade from doing it all by hand. I did that a year before the DRO.


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## DavidR8

C-Bag said:


> Looking good David.
> 
> Too bad you didn't try getting along without the DRO for a while because you can't get the full appreciation of when you go DRO. Even though I have the iGaging setup it's made my life so much easier and my work so much more accurate. I think my first upgrade was the X drive. Now THAT was a big upgrade from doing it all by hand. I did that a year before the DRO.



I definitely see your point. 
I did make a set of T-nuts without it and that was what made me realize that I needed the ability to have more precision. 


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## LEEQ

I see you also chose the Profane Chinese Cowboy DRO. At least that's what I would say if I were a Chinese Cowboy. Yihao GD!! Of course that would also make my mother Chinese, who would quickly take me by the ear for taking the Lords name in vain. I'm enjoying mine with one exception. I got 1um scales and the proper setting for them displays .00000 I am accustomed to the last digit on my mill dro being .0000 I can't seem to change that setting as you can on a Ditron. The company is doing a great job at avoiding my question. Such is the price of cheap. I need a bit of help and I'm getting the old yuck fou American, of course very politely. I might be able to get the 2um scales and read .0000 and still count in .0001 increments in diameter mode, but I'm cheap. I'll learn to live with it I guess. What do you think of the display? I'm loving it. To me it's tons better than the black and green display I'm used to.


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## DavidR8

LEEQ said:


> I see you also chose the Profane Chinese Cowboy DRO. At least that's what I would say if I were a Chinese Cowboy. Yihao GD!! Of course that would also make my mother Chinese, who would quickly take me by the ear for taking the Lords name in vain. I'm enjoying mine with one exception. I got 1um scales and the proper setting for them displays .00000 I am accustomed to the last digit on my mill dro being .0000 I can't seem to change that setting as you can on a Ditron. The company is doing a great job at avoiding my question. Such is the price of cheap. I need a bit of help and I'm getting the old yuck fou American, of course very politely. I might be able to get the 2um scales and read .0000 and still count in .0001 increments in diameter mode, but I'm cheap. I'll learn to live with it I guess. What do you think of the display? I'm loving it. To me it's tons better than the black and green display I'm used to.


I'm getting a consistent .0004 added to all the measurements on the X and Y axis. I'll try the linear compensation function and se what happens.
I do like the large display.
(ps. I'm Chinese  )


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## LEEQ

Perhaps you could get an answer easier than I. Like most Americans I speak only 'merican where so much of the world speaks English as well as there native tongue.  My manual went pretty deep into methods of compensation. Once I set the proper resolution for my scales and did some measuring and math I decided I would not benefit from going through the procedures. It sounds like you are seeing more error though. Good luck with the error compensation. I'm interested to see your results. Is that .0004" per 1"? Or? I'm assuming if you are working on a mill to 4 digits you are in " not mm.


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## DavidR8

Yes, it’s inches. It’s consistently .0004 which is better than it being .0004 at one end and .0006 at the other or some other crazy combination. 
Overall I’m happy 


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## LEEQ

I'd say for the money it's hard to beat. I only spent $28 to upgrade a step too far in resolution (by accident) and get the x axis scale in the slim version. The price was better than good in my book. The manual is decent, and I love the display. The first diameter I turned came out well within a tenth according to my good micrometer.  I hope you have the same good luck as well as enjoying the cool screen set up for things like bolt circles.


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## DavidR8

What lathe do you have it mounted on?
I’m thinking about one for my South Bend 10K but the cross slide is so sloped and curved that it’s challenging to mount one. 


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## LEEQ

Mine is a Grizzly g4003. I had flat surfaces to choose from, but no great place to put it. I weighed my options and went with the front of the carriage. Next time I'll go with the magnetic ones Jim Dawson is fond of. I wanted to this time, but couldn't find anything reasonable. Then of course while waiting for this set I found several references here to Jim's very reasonably priced picks from Ditron. My mill wears the 4 axis el400 magnetic set up from Dro pro's, but I Didn't want to part with that kind of money on this lathe. I hope to find and refurbish a much nicer lathe to which I will add a nice magnetic set to. That way I can sell the Grizzly with the less expensive dro's still on it when I'm done.


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## LEEQ

The Knee on the mill was a bit curvy if memory serves. I made up mounting hardware that had 4 leveling feet ( alan set screws) around one screw that went into a tapped hole in the mill. So that's a 4 bolt pattern for the feet with only the fifth one in the middle screwing into the machine.  The feet allowed me to align the mounting block to the axis and then mount the end of the scale to the block. It took a bit to dial in, but worked great to turn curved iron into flat mounting pads. I tried a similar approach with three legs. It seemed to take much longer for me to dial in than with four. Maybe your curvy old iron would benefit from a similar approach.


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## DavidR8

Took the day to complete the DRO install. 
Had the Z-axis scale left to do. 
Drilled and tapped the yoke to hold the mounting block. Tapped the block to hold the scale. 






The scale fit fine until I put reader head and the end cap back on. The additional length on the scale interfered with the casting at the top of the head. 





I contemplated taking the top off but decided to add another block. 





Worked out the brackets for the reader head. One of the holes for the sheet metal cover that covers the opening was well positioned for the bracket. 





All done now!
Well I have to sort out the cable routing still but it’s fully functional 


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