- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
- Messages
- 3,793
I was originally going to put this into the POTD - What Did You Do in Your Shop Today section as its not really that significant on its own, but then I thought it may be of most use to present and possibly future owners of Atlas MF millers. It's just one way to get a dial gauge in play to use as a travel indicator for table height.
I didn't want to drill into the machine if I could avoid it, and as much as I like magnets they can be challenging to have around sometimes. So, I went with a clamp style arrangement for the one part that fixes to the knee and then the magnet back to hold the indicator. I know you can get magnetic backs for indicators, but I wanted to keep the profile as low as possible so I just made my own.
The biggest hurdle was finding a setup that could work with the table at the extreme top as well as bottom of travel, as well as anywhere in between. And without having to change parts or switch attachments, if possible. Ultimately it does do the job, and it's a simple matter of moving the indicator to above or below the arm to operate in "push" or "pull" so that the indicator needle can always register positive for the Up table direction. That was an important design consideration for me, and this was one way to achieve it.
So there it is, maybe it'll save someone else a lot of head scratching if they're wanting to figure a similar thing. Thanks for looking.
-frank
Edit next day:
Well after all that, I'm lying in bed the next morning and it dawns on me that most all other MF owners will have their on/off switch right where I stuck my indicator! Duh!
Long story short, when I got my machine the original switch opening was there but it was pretty ratched I didn't really care for the location anyway. So despite the fact that I have a brand new switch and proper On/Off cover plate courtesy of the previous owner I located my power switch elsewhere. Then I patched up the hole with a piece of 1/4" plate and away we go. LOL
Oh well, it really does work nicely so if anyone else does NOT have a power switch there it's a great place to stick an indicator!
-frank
I didn't want to drill into the machine if I could avoid it, and as much as I like magnets they can be challenging to have around sometimes. So, I went with a clamp style arrangement for the one part that fixes to the knee and then the magnet back to hold the indicator. I know you can get magnetic backs for indicators, but I wanted to keep the profile as low as possible so I just made my own.
The biggest hurdle was finding a setup that could work with the table at the extreme top as well as bottom of travel, as well as anywhere in between. And without having to change parts or switch attachments, if possible. Ultimately it does do the job, and it's a simple matter of moving the indicator to above or below the arm to operate in "push" or "pull" so that the indicator needle can always register positive for the Up table direction. That was an important design consideration for me, and this was one way to achieve it.
So there it is, maybe it'll save someone else a lot of head scratching if they're wanting to figure a similar thing. Thanks for looking.
-frank
Edit next day:
Well after all that, I'm lying in bed the next morning and it dawns on me that most all other MF owners will have their on/off switch right where I stuck my indicator! Duh!
Long story short, when I got my machine the original switch opening was there but it was pretty ratched I didn't really care for the location anyway. So despite the fact that I have a brand new switch and proper On/Off cover plate courtesy of the previous owner I located my power switch elsewhere. Then I patched up the hole with a piece of 1/4" plate and away we go. LOL
Oh well, it really does work nicely so if anyone else does NOT have a power switch there it's a great place to stick an indicator!
-frank
Last edited:
