Ditron vs Sino...wich is better in your opinion

[rwm]

Any thoughts on drilling and tapping the cast iron for the install? I will be drilling blind holes but I don't think a spiral flute tap will work well with CI? Should I just use a straight flute tap? Taper, plug or bottoming?

 

[Gaffer]

Any thoughts on drilling and tapping the cast iron for the install? I will be drilling blind holes but I don't think a spiral flute tap will work well with CI? Should I just use a straight flute tap? Taper, plug or bottoming?

CI drills and taps easily. I'm in the process of installing the D80 on my Colchester lathe. I used a spiral tap to get it started and finished with the bottom tap. It was my first time drilling and tapping CI. Piece of cake.

 

[rwm]

I assuming you are mounting the scale with the M4 holes on each end? Do you mean spiral flute or spiral point? Since CI does not form stringy chips I'm not sure a spiral flute would help much?
Gaffer- It would be great if you could post some pics as you go. I'm sure it would help me.

 

[maticulus]

Any thoughts on drilling and tapping the cast iron for the install? I will be drilling blind holes but I don't think a spiral flute tap will work well with CI? Should I just use a straight flute tap? Taper, plug or bottoming?

I didn't do anything special to drill and tap into the cast iron. I used wd40 with a nozzle to flush out the bits throughout the process otherwise there was no trouble. I forgot that I had also purchased a SINO DRO initially, but there was confusion with the process on how to enter setup that the seller was not able to help me resolve and it was returned.

 

[Gaffer]

I assuming you are mounting the scale with the M4 holes on each end? Do you mean spiral flute or spiral point? Since CI does not form stringy chips I'm not sure a spiral flute would help much?
Gaffer- It would be great if you could post some pics as you go. I'm sure it would help me.

I will. It's on hold for a minute while I move my mill to my buddy's shop. It's in pieces, and I have to reassemble it and install it for him. Then I have to move my Lagun into place and wire it to my VFD. These are mostly weekend tasks because my day job gets in the way!

I haven't drilled the 4mm holes yet. I drilled and tapped 1/4-20 for the brackets I made to attach to the cross slide. My bottom tap is a spiral flute. Probably not necessary, but it works great in soft materials.

I struggled with where to mount the head - between the ways or hanging off the end. I decided to hang it off the end (backside) and the need for the brackets. I wanted to minimize the loss of tailstock travel. Now I'm rethinking it.

I wanted to do what @JimDawson did (https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/lathe-dro.58063/), but I lack confidence in my machining skillset. I have my lathe apart, so I figured it was a good time to explore my mounting options for the DRO. I went with the glass scales but might buy the magnetic scale for the cross slide. It might fit better, but I need to measure it again. I wish I had the discipline to complete a project before taking on another.

 

[rwm]

I drilled and tapped 2, 4mm holes today. Like you said; piece of cake!
I have magnetic scales. I cut 2cm off one today. I hope it still works!
I can also post some pics. I hate to hijack this thread but that may be too late? Sorry Suzuki!

 

[rwm]

Just so its not a total hijack, I can provide some info on Ditron. That is the slim scale mounted on the cross slide. It is 20mm in width. I lost a little less than 1" of tailstock travel. The scales are well made and I cut one without a problem.

 

[PNW_Guy]

I've used a Sino on a lathe, and hate the "English" translations. For example, I had to look up what "ALE" meant and for some reason that's the abbreviation for "absolute"

I don't know if Ditron is better or worse.

 

[WobblyHand]

The manual I got from Ditron was pretty good. It had detailed instructions for the scale installation that were clearly written. Physical measurements for angles slopes and tilt were mentioned, making it pretty easy to know how to set it up. Quite unlike a different scale I had purchased. The other scale arrived in a box with no instructions at all. Ditron's shipping was quite fast and the scales arrived well packaged. I bought 1um glass scales for my lathe. Pleased with the scales and their installation. They will custom cut them to finished length, if you so desire.

 

[rwm]

The Ditron I got this week had no instructions on how to install the scales. It had instructions on how to assemble the scales (mag tape, cover, end caps) but the scales were already assembled! The display box was missing the hall sensor for the RPM function but I chatted with customer service and they have already shipped that.
You can see my scale install above. See any problems? Anything I should watch out for?