DRO For Tailstock ???

[Kroll]

Guys I have a 12" Sears lathe that I would like to add a DRO to the tailstock so that I can drill holes to certain depth on several pieces.I was thinking of one of those cheap 6" HF digital calipers,but its still to long.I only need maybe a 4" travel so what about a depth gage?Is the travel on those 4" or is it shorter?Since the the tailstock has no flat places I was going to mount a flat plate from front to back and mount the DRO on top then clamp it on the ram.Any ideals or thoughts on a project like this?Thanks---kroll

 

[rmack898]

Chris, HF makes a 4" version of the digital caliper that might work for you. I keep a few of them about the shop and they are quite accurate. On sale they are $12 so you don't have to feel guilty about hacking one up to make a custom tailstock DRO.

 

[KMoffett]

Those work!

Ken

 

[davidh]

i still have a couple 6" igaging Accuremote stainless steel ones as used on quills, left. they can be shortened to whatever you'd like.

 

[Jim2]

I put a DRO on my ol' Leblond. There were a couple of challenges. The tailstock didn't have any nice, flat surfaces to attach to. The quill retracts far enough into the body of the tail-stock that the more common clamp-style quill mount was a no-go. Also, the key is kind of loose allowing the quill to rotate a bit. . . . Here's what I came up with.

Quill Extended:




Quill Retracted:




Another angle:



The long rod connecting the quill to the DRO is 3/16" diameter and flexes enough to prevent damage to the DRO. The Aluminum band is clamped on the barrel of the tail-stock and provides a solid mount.

Here's a pic showing how the tail-stock was mounted on my ZAY7045, so that both ends of the DRO mount could be machined level and true:




So, you might have to think outside the box to come up with something. Post up a few pics of your tail-stock and maybe somebody will have some more ideas. . . .

Jim

 

[ridgeway]

Jim, very clever idea. Keeps the DRO head out of the way of everything.

I also like the toilet paper holder on your mill!

 

[Fabrickator]

I made mine out of a cheap freebie gauge and made a conventional tail stock clamp to mount it. I prefer mine on the front, but I sometimes have to dip down a bit to read it. Wherever you decide to put it, consider glare from your lighting. That's why mine is on the front.

 

[Jim2]

Jim, very clever idea. Keeps the DRO head out of the way of everything.

I also like the toilet paper holder on your mill!

Thanks, RW--you can't ever had too much, TP!

I've changed things around a bit now. Those old lights are gone now--replaced them with some LED sewing machine lights off Ebay, so some of that extra clutter is gone, too.

Jim

 

[atunguyd]

Do you have a dro in your Y Axis of the lathe? (ie length of bed) if so just use this. Set up your tailstock with your drill at the start position. Now move your carriage so that the edge of your tool post bumps up against the ridge of your chuck (where the key engages). Now zero your DRO Y Axis. Then move your carriage the required drill depth using your dro and lock it down. Now drill using your tailstock and when the drill chuck cones to rest against the tool post you are at your indicated depth. Beauty of this system is you can even unlock and move your tailstock and not worry about loosing your depth.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[kd4gij]

Grizzly has a nice tail stock dro. http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mini-Digital-Readout-Kit/T10118