Mag base accesories

[jarhead]

Hello everyone. I am curious if you buy or make your mag base attachments? Things like the pots, the indicator holders, etc.

I notice my mag base accessories are all metric and may or may not fit certain dovetails, or clamp nicely.

Any solutions?

Thanks, Joe

 

[C-Bag]

Hello everyone. I am curious if you buy or make your mag base attachments? Things like the pots, the indicator holders, etc.

I notice my mag base accessories are all metric and may or may not fit certain dovetails, or clamp nicely.

Any solutions?

Thanks, Joe

This is a problem we all seem to run into. I just looked for an assortment of snugs on eBay. It turned into a triple score in that it was in a package deal with a Starrett height gauge, bunch of snugs and accessories with B&S Best test indicator thrown in. Even with all those it can still be a challenge to match up with whatever I’m trying to set up. Happy hunting.

 

[ChazzC]

This is a problem we all seem to run into. I just looked for an assortment of snugs on eBay. It turned into a triple score in that it was in a package deal with a Starrett height gauge, bunch of snugs and accessories with B&S Best test indicator thrown in. Even with all those it can still be a challenge to match up with whatever I’m trying to set up. Happy hunting.

As they say, if no photos it didn't happen; until then, we'll assume you are waiting for delivery.

Nova heads have sufficient clamping to handle just about anything, but most of the others are just metric or inch. Indicator dovetails seem to be universal (probably because they were copied from the Swiss originals).

 

[C-Bag]

As they say, if no photos it didn't happen; until then, we'll assume you are waiting for delivery.

Nova heads have sufficient clamping to handle just about anything, but most of the others are just metric or inch. Indicator dovetails seem to be universal (probably because they were copied from the Swiss originals).

I’ve posted this in the past so I didn’t want to repeat, but if you insist

 

[ChazzC]

I’ve posted this in the past so I didn’t want to repeat, but if you insist

Sorry, Tony - didn't look far enough back.

 

[C-Bag]

Sorry, Tony - didn't look far enough back.

No problem Chazz. it should be noted that even with this amazing score I still can’t find the right snug. The old guy who owned this rig must have used it daily because the paint on the base of the height gage is worn off, not sanded off. It drives me crazy there are so many proprietary snugs and thread pitches. Starrett is notorious for odd thread pitches. Most times when I finally find the right one I leave it on the particular DI or TI.

 

[ChazzC]

No problem Chazz. it should be noted that even with this amazing score I still can’t find the right snug. The old guy who owned this rig must have used it daily because the paint on the base of the height gage is worn off, not sanded off. It drives me crazy there are so many proprietary snugs and thread pitches. Starrett is notorious for odd thread pitches. Most times when I finally find the right one I leave it on the particular DI or TI.

I posted somewhere that from what I gathered during conversations with "my guy" at Starrett they kept the threads the same as when the original tooling was developed: the rods that go with my 196 set are 0.226"-28, 0.010" larger than a 12-28 (which is why I now have an adjustable 12-28 die).


EDIT: I mis-spoke; per my contact, the thread on a PT13820 Upright Post for a #196:

"Here is the way it is spec’d.​

".231-28 Thread​

"Some of these items have been around so long, there weren’t standard threads. If we change them, they won’t fit the old tools."​

 

[projectnut]

Over the years I've collected literally dozens of different mag bases and attachments. They seem to appear at the local used machinery dealers by the bucket full. I think the proprietor puts them off to the side for me when he buys out a shop. I usually get them for a penny or less on the dollar. The last can full were freebee's he threw in with the bore gauges. I believe the last time I bought a new one was back in the 1980's. At the price from the equipment dealers, it would cost more to buy the material than it does to buy the completed items.

I posted part of my collection of dial and test indicators a while back.

Still Looking For The Right Indicator

This morning I went to the shop for a couple quick little jobs. I put a 4 jaw chuck on the Sheldon lathe, chucked up a piece of stock and went looking for my favorite dial indicator. I know it's in one of those "special places" but so far I haven't found which one. I did however find a number...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Somehow, I've managed to add a few more to the collection since then. I believe the count is now in the low 30's and the number of mag bases is around 10.

What Did You Buy Today?

That machine spindle might be a little light to turn drill that size. I normally limit mine to 1'' max in steel. Good point! There is a reason that they make boring heads.

www.hobby-machinist.com