New dial for Atlas 10F

[Grinderman]

The dials on this lathe have annoyed me from day one, from the microscopic graduations to the set screw in the middle of the zero hash mark. You can buy new dials from Tallgrass tools but they're kind of pricey. I figured I have two hands and a lathe, I can make one. I watched a few videos and pretty much followed mrpetes plan of action.
I used a 100 tooth saw blade for the index and a 60 degree brazed carbide threading tool for the scribe. I have a heavy duty Starrett magnetic base that I used with half an old 6" scale for the pawl.
I made a jig like mrpetes for stamping the numbers. My number set is 1/8" and they are 5/16" square. After boring the hole for the dial, I cut a slot that was 7/16" wide centered on the hole. I then had to make (2) 1/16" shims and (1) 1/8" shim the length of the stamps. The zero gets a 1/16" shim on either side and the double numbers get the 1/8" shim on one side, then the other which gives you a nice distance between numbers. I made a practice dial because different numbers require different force to produce a good impression. Stamping flat numbers on a curved surface is an interesting process. I made all the parts on the lathe as I don't have a mill yet.
It was a lot of work making everything but it was worth it because you use the dials every time you use the lathe and my eyes probably won't be improving as I get older.
One other thing is there is no need for a fancy 3 position carriage stop for scribing the hash marks. I did all the tens, then the fives and then the ones. It's kind of a sanity check also. If you end up where you started you know the nothing has moved and you can move on to the next step. The dials are both 1/2" thick, 1.700 diameter. The inner dial has a 1" hole bored in it with a 6-32 set screw. The outer dial has 3/8" hole bored with a 8-32 counterbored hole for the knurled knob. The hash marks are .250 long for the tens, .150 for the fives and .100 for the ones.

 

[Janderso]

Absolutely beautiful work.
I've often pondered making up an indexing ring.
Using a 100 tooth saw blade is brilliant.
Well done sir.

 

[Grinderman]

Not my idea on the saw blade but it worked really well, total cost for the project was probably $15.

 

[bob the builder]

Very creative! I had the same problem on my South Bend mini 9. The original dial was only 13/16" diameter & the graduations were too close for my old eyes to see well. I made a new dial that is 3" diameter, printed out new graduations & glued the paper to the dial. It worked well but I had to replace the paper every 10 yrs. What a hassle, right? Once I added a 4th axis to my CNC, I was able to cut the graduations on the dial & it's MUCH nicer. I'll post a link to the video once I meet the new member requirements.

 

[bob the builder]

OK, got my 3 posts in. Here's a link to the video mentioned in the above post:

 

[Manual Mac]

Very skilled job Grinderman.
Good idea with the sawblade.
I read an article many yrs ago where the author used change gears & a detent on his SB9 like you did with the sawblade for simple indexing.

 

[DavidR8]

That’s is really outstanding work!


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[mattthemuppet2]

I agree, beautiful work!

 

[jcp]

Very nice dials....especially the stamping. What did you use to blacken the markings?

 

[Grinderman]

Thanks for the kind words guys. I had some Rust-oleum appliance epoxy spray paint on the shelf. I've found this to be a pretty durable paint in the past. I sprayed the whole dial and let it dry overnight, then mounted the dial on a shaft and sanded off the paint with some 600 paper wet. We'll see how it holds up over time. I did scribe the lines a little deep (.015) to allow for a little sanding.