- Joined
- Oct 15, 2020
- Messages
- 208
Most about anyone has seen or thought of this, I done went and did it, so now I have a Precision Tailstock Quill on my Precision Matthews lathe 
Using some 2"x0.5" aluminum, I bored and countersuck for the quill, and cut a squeezy slit with a 3/32" slitting saw - having relieved a flat on the edge for the head of an M5 SHCS - clearance hole on the top lug, threaded on the bottom so as to cause the squeeze.
The actual DRO is from Amazon or Ebay or something - it's essentially a 4" caliper without jaws. It actually came in a fitted wooden box which seems a shame - till I find a reason for the box anyways.
The beam is attached to the thingamagig by way of an M4x10mm SHCS, and the display/slider is attached to the body of the tailstock via a bent piece of 1/8" aluminum angle, screwed into the tailstock with 2 M3, and into the back of the slider with 2 M3 that go into tapped holes that were already there from the factory.
While squishing the bit of angle in the hydro-press, it bent on the wrong side of the angle, so I added in a 1/4" "shim" of aluminum. This actually served me well as the M3 that I had were 12mm long, and the tapped holes in the back of the slider are through - such that one can lock the beam if the mounting bolts are in too far. Rather than having to cut down the already tiny bolts, the "shim" made them the perfect size to tighten, without interference with the beam.
I put it all together and messed with it until all the SHCS were tight, and the quill feeds without rubbing - three angles to get right so that the beam and quill are parallel on all dimensions.
Putting it at a 45 degree angle to the quill was a side effect of the original scrap of aluminum having a miter cut on it already
Anywho, took longer than necessary, may not be as useful as I wanted, and MT2 tooling that doesn't have a longer release key thing can get stuck (quill retract is 1/4" shorter due to the thickness of the squeezy bit) - but my drill chuck (for which it is intended) has the long MT-release key-tang-thing - so it works beautifully.
YAY!
Here's the stuff....
Thanks for looking, hope it helps with yours - seeing as now that you've seen it, you can't live without it
Using some 2"x0.5" aluminum, I bored and countersuck for the quill, and cut a squeezy slit with a 3/32" slitting saw - having relieved a flat on the edge for the head of an M5 SHCS - clearance hole on the top lug, threaded on the bottom so as to cause the squeeze.
The actual DRO is from Amazon or Ebay or something - it's essentially a 4" caliper without jaws. It actually came in a fitted wooden box which seems a shame - till I find a reason for the box anyways.
The beam is attached to the thingamagig by way of an M4x10mm SHCS, and the display/slider is attached to the body of the tailstock via a bent piece of 1/8" aluminum angle, screwed into the tailstock with 2 M3, and into the back of the slider with 2 M3 that go into tapped holes that were already there from the factory.
While squishing the bit of angle in the hydro-press, it bent on the wrong side of the angle, so I added in a 1/4" "shim" of aluminum. This actually served me well as the M3 that I had were 12mm long, and the tapped holes in the back of the slider are through - such that one can lock the beam if the mounting bolts are in too far. Rather than having to cut down the already tiny bolts, the "shim" made them the perfect size to tighten, without interference with the beam.
I put it all together and messed with it until all the SHCS were tight, and the quill feeds without rubbing - three angles to get right so that the beam and quill are parallel on all dimensions.
Putting it at a 45 degree angle to the quill was a side effect of the original scrap of aluminum having a miter cut on it already
Anywho, took longer than necessary, may not be as useful as I wanted, and MT2 tooling that doesn't have a longer release key thing can get stuck (quill retract is 1/4" shorter due to the thickness of the squeezy bit) - but my drill chuck (for which it is intended) has the long MT-release key-tang-thing - so it works beautifully.
YAY!
Here's the stuff....
Thanks for looking, hope it helps with yours - seeing as now that you've seen it, you can't live without it