I mounted a dial indicator to my South Bend 10K using my carriage stop.

[twooldvolvos]

I have been wanting to mount a dial indicator to my South Bend 10K lathe for some time now without a lot of success. This lathe has precious few flat mounting areas on the apron so using my magnetic indicator holder or my Mighty Mag was never very successful. I tried mounting the indicator holder on the tray but of course, that gave very poor readings.

So this weekend, here is the idea I came up with.

First, I mounted the indicator using the hole on the bottom of my carriage stop:



Then for a surface on my apron for the indicator to hit, I first got a couple of strong magnets and positioned them as so:



Then I cut out a piece of stiff metal in the shape of an L and stuck it to the magnets.



And voila, I have an indicator I can use to easily measure how far my cutting tool moves along the axis of the ways.



Time will tell how useful it really is but it seems to work pretty well. Advantages of this approach is that I did not have to drill any holes and the indicator can be moved along the ways and repositioned by moving the carriage stop. Plus I can still use the carriage stop because the piston inside it can extend beyond the reach of the dial indicator.

 

[piper184]

Good thinking.
Is the dial easy to read in that position?
I too have an aversion to drilling holes in vintage castings.

 

[twooldvolvos]

Good thinking.
Is the dial easy to read in that position?
I too have an aversion to drilling holes in vintage castings.

The dial is easy for me to read in this position. My old indicator is pretty big so that helps too.

Regarding not drilling into old castings, on my apron there are 2 tapped holes on the very back of the apron back by the 2nd rail of the ways. I bolted a flat piece of steel back there big enough for my magnetic base and "donkey dink" indicator holder. The larger flat surface makes a good solid connection but I haven't found an application for it yet. But then I am just a beginner.

 

[Parlo]

For most aplications an indicator can be mounted in the tailstock chuck. No magnets & always on centre.