Tail Stock DRO

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IPD_Mr

IPD_Mr

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Joined
Jun 27, 2007
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Zionsville, In
I dropped off my tail stock with Dad yesterday to have him install the DRO. We are leaving Wednesday for the NC Pen Show so I told him to take his time I won't need it for a couple weeks. At 6:34 this morning I get an email with the following pic.
dro.jpg

Now if I had told him I wanted it today it would have been two weeks before I saw it again. :tongue:

Dad did one heck of a job and I just wanted to show off his handy work and to thank him publicly for the help he always seems to provide.
 
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Well I'll be.....:biggrin: OK, there's plenty of time to make at least one pen. Vintage style, with the end piece that draws the ink into the converter, when you twist it. Also accent rings on it.:biggrin::tongue:

Nice work Joe!
 
dalecamino said:
Well I'll be.....:biggrin: OK, there's plenty of time to make at least one pen. Vintage style, with the end piece that draws the ink into the converter, when you twist it. Also accent rings on it.:biggrin::tongue:

Nice work Joe!
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You know Chuck, I got to thinking about everyone razzing you about piddling around with your lathe and not producing a new pen with it, then it dawned on me, Mike was one of the razzers when he himself has had his new lathe long enough to have produced a nice new pen himself.

So.....Mike, where's a nice new pen from that shiny new lathe? I too think vintage style is in order and think you have a few blanks that would be perfect (you know, a nice subtle, vintage look).

And Chuck, don't think this lets YOU off the hook, we're all still waiting on a new pen from you too!
 
Mike, looks like Joe did a very nice job on the DRO. Now I know what Chuck's will look like when we're done:smile: It was nice of him to do yours before he did his own...or maybe you were just the guinea pig:biggrin:

Mike
 
Texatdurango said:
dalecamino said:
Well I'll be.....:biggrin: OK, there's plenty of time to make at least one pen. Vintage style, with the end piece that draws the ink into the converter, when you twist it. Also accent rings on it.:biggrin::tongue:

Nice work Joe!
Click to expand...
You know Chuck, I got to thinking about everyone razzing you about piddling around with your lathe and not producing a new pen with it, then it dawned on me, Mike was one of the razzers when he himself has had his new lathe long enough to have produced a nice new pen himself.

So.....Mike, where's a nice new pen from that shiny new lathe? I too think vintage style is in order and think you have a few blanks that would be perfect (you know, a nice subtle, vintage look).

And Chuck, don't think this lets YOU off the hook, we're all still waiting on a new pen from you too!
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Well.....had me feeling pretty good for a minute :redface: But, I have to agree. We're both overdue, but I AM working on two pens at the same time (sort of) One on the wood lathe, and one on the metal lathe:confused:
 
IPD_Mr said:
Texatdurango said:
So.....Mike, where's a nice new pen from that shiny new lathe? I too think vintage style is in order and think you have a few blanks that would be perfect (you know, a nice subtle, vintage look).
Click to expand...

I guess you had gone fishin or tubin when I posted this:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/blue-skies-kitless-96605/
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Oh, that ole thing! That was so long ago, I forgot about it already! :wink:
I think Chuck and I were thinking along the lines of THIS month , not earlier in the year!

I think you and Chuck ought to have a friendly competition and each come up with something really slick! I'd jump in with ya but my lathes are old!
 
Texatdurango said:
IPD_Mr said:
Texatdurango said:
So.....Mike, where's a nice new pen from that shiny new lathe? I too think vintage style is in order and think you have a few blanks that would be perfect (you know, a nice subtle, vintage look).
Click to expand...

I guess you had gone fishin or tubin when I posted this:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/blue-skies-kitless-96605/
Click to expand...
Oh, that ole thing! That was so long ago, I forgot about it already! :wink:
I think Chuck and I were thinking along the lines of THIS month , not earlier in the year!

I think you and Chuck ought to have a friendly competition and each come up with something really slick! I'd jump in with ya but my lathes are old!
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LOL! I'd be up for the challenge, although would be severely disadvantaged by Mikes collection of examples. You George, have given a poor excuse to exclude yourself. We all know, good lathes last forever.:biggrin:
 
IPD_Mr said:
bluwolf said:
It was nice of him to do yours before he did his own...or maybe you were just the guinea pig:biggrin:

Mike
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He did his first then mine. Grass does not grow under Dad's feet, even when he is asleep.
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NOW MIKE! You know I get some of my BEST sleep when I'm sitting in front of the computer or in front of my lathe. Oh, almost forgot! Also when I'm driving! :eek:
 
Mike,

You're dad did a nice job. I'd be interested to know which DRO's you ordered. When I was browsing the net I had trouble figuring out which ones would fit my lathe and since you have the same lathe maybe I can copy-cat. :)
 
Mike,

Your dad certainly did a very nice job on the tailstock DRO. I did a similar thing to my tailstock last year, using a modifief digital caliper.

IMG_3198.jpg


However I found that with th slight rotatinal movement on my tailstock quill this setup was prone to some binding.

I found a solution on one of the metalworking forums where a member had used a link from a remote control helicopter.

IMG_3331.jpg


This link took up the slight movement from the quill and no more binding.

I also found I had to modify the mount on the quill to stop it getting in the way of the cross slide.

Thought I would post the pics just in case you find you have a similar problem.
 
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OK, I've gotta ask.......... Is everyone happy with their DRO's so far?

Last year I bought My DRO's from Grizzly and found that you can order the same instruments that Grizzly sold by visiting Digital Scales and Readout

I'm not happy at all with mine! For starters, the "Units" come on when they feel like it, draining those expensive little batteries! I can turn the unit OFF and an hour later be walking by the lathe and notice the display is on again. Turn it OFF and a little while later it's on again! I can come into my shop first thing in the morning and there sits one of the readouts "ON" and the screen is faint because it was on all night draining the batteries. I've gotten to where I take the batteries out when not in use.

Also, the DRO on my cross slide won't keep up with moving the slide in or out and often will lag just long enough to keep it from working for moving in a few thousandths with a cutter. At times, I can be making repetitive cuts and the DRO just goes blank making the whole thing useless.

I finally got so frustrated with them that I took the batteries out and don't even use them at all!

For those wondering, yes, I already sent both DRO's back and had both replaced and the replacements still do the same thing the originals did.

Is it just me and my bad luck or has anyone else noticed any of these problems?

On Edit: I just noticed your DRO's are blue while mine are Black. I wonder if Grizzly had problems with the brand I bought and switched companies? I think I'll call Grizzly tomorrow!
 
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George they bought the newer model in stainless with supposed to be better resolution. I have the ones you do and I dont have a problem with them turning themselves on.
 
I had no problem with mine, while I had it. Maybe Mark will report on how it's doing. The Mikes and I are installing another one on the 9x20 tomorrow. Wish me luck, that it works. :biggrin:
 
George: Sorry to hear of your issues. I only started using mine the last couple days so can't be considered an authority. I thought I was ordering, from Grizzly, the igaging but when they arrived, they were the AccuRemotes. I haven't had any issues with them turning themselves on and off, however I am aware that I was lied to, when I was repeatedly told that 69 was a good number. I have noticed after turning 69 sometimes I think I turned it off, no, wait, I think I turned it on, no wait, was this darned thing on or was I imagining I saw .431 Oh, yeh that's why my Sierra is undercut! When you call tomorrow, would you please tell them I'm having trouble with mine too? I don't remember if it's on or off!!! You will remember, will you not? LOL LOL LOL!!!!! Now to be serious, I haven't had mine long enough to tell, but so far, so good!
 
George, not that it's much consolation, but the readers have memory. If they shut off on you just turn it back on and they will be where they were when you shut them off.

Mike
 
I kinda want a DRO on my tailstock but then again....do I really need one if it only goes 1.5"? LOL What about all my kitless holes that go deeper than that....marking my drill bits is my only option for a lot of the holes I need to drill. I find myself moving back over to the wood lathe when I need a hole drilled.
 
Gilrock said:
I kinda want a DRO on my tailstock but then again....do I really need one if it only goes 1.5"? LOL What about all my kitless holes that go deeper than that....marking my drill bits is my only option for a lot of the holes I need to drill. I find myself moving back over to the wood lathe when I need a hole drilled.
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This is what i use Quick Change Tool Post Sets and Holders

Scroll down to the bottom, second from the bottom. Morse taper holder. You can hold your drill chuck in your QCTP and have unlimited travel. You can also install a DRO on your carriage and use the DRO for it as well.
 
avbill said:
why is it necessary for you guys to have a DRO?
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Well for making kitless parts it would help you get to the perfect tenon size faster using a cross-slide DRO and for the tailstock it would help get the drilling depths needed. For making a section you drill in one side then the other leaving a tiny amount of material for the housing threads...if you go slightly too far from either direction you ruin the part. I know for the few I've made I also drill into the cap and body with 2 or 3 different size drill bits down to various depths so the parts will fit but leave as much wall thickness as possible.
 
avbill said:
why is it necessary for you guys to have a DRO?
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As I read this thread I was thinking the same thing, if I needed that kind of precision in drilling depth, I think I would use my carriage (put the tool in my tool holder) as Justin suggested.

Having that DRO hanging off the front of the tailstock, just looks like something that I would continually hit with tools or something else (Just in the way)

That unit looks big I know it's the one that gets suggested all the time on here, but I use a DRO from Shooting Star Technology DRO on my home stuff. It's easier to mount, the scale is only about 1/4" in diameter, 3/8" with the plastic cover, and the encoder is smaller (or at least it looks like it's smaller) plus the thing has programing ability, and all your displays are on the same unit, you dont have to look in two or three different places to see your numbers.
 
avbill said:
why is it necessary for you guys to have a DRO?
Click to expand...

Because it makes playing with our lathes MORE FUN.......... at least that's one mans reason! :biggrin: Anything else is just personal preference, like why use a collet chuck when a Barracuda chuck holds things too or why use calipers when a 12" wooden rule is plenty fine and cheaper!
 
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Mike, I called Grizzly this morning to find out why everyone is having such great results with their units while mine have so many hiccups.

The long and short of it is that they are different units and I didn't catch that looking at the photos at first! The ones y'all are getting are almost double the price as the ones I got but luckily Grizzly is going to let me send my defective units back and upgrade to the newer (improved) units like y'all have! Can't wait.
 
jd99 said:
avbill said:
why is it necessary for you guys to have a DRO?
Click to expand...
As I read this thread I was thinking the same thing, if I needed that kind of precision in drilling depth, I think I would use my carriage (put the tool in my tool holder) as Justin suggested.

Having that DRO hanging off the front of the tailstock, just looks like something that I would continually hit with tools or something else (Just in the way)

That unit looks big I know it's the one that gets suggested all the time on here, but I use a DRO from Shooting Star Technology DRO on my home stuff. It's easier to mount, the scale is only about 1/4" in diameter, 3/8" with the plastic cover, and the encoder is smaller (or at least it looks like it's smaller) plus the thing has programing ability, and all your displays are on the same unit, you dont have to look in two or three different places to see your numbers.
Click to expand...

If my research is right the dro set up everyone is using from Grizzley is around $100 with shipping and your Shooting star is $600 for two axis.
 
Texatdurango said:
Mike, I called Grizzly this morning to find out why everyone is having such great results with their units while mine have so many hiccups.

The long and short of it is that they are different units and I didn't catch that looking at the photos at first! The ones y'all are getting are almost double the price as the ones I got but luckily Grizzly is going to let me send my defective units back and upgrade to the newer (improved) units like y'all have! Can't wait.
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George: That is great news that Grizzly is allowing you to upgrade. That is good business practice and makes me feel even better about mine and Mikes purchase. I had to do some mods to my original injunearing :) and just dropped Mikes off to him yesterday. They left from work to head for the Vintage Show in NC, so he hasn't had a chance to use his. I've been using mine and I love it. Some concerns that have been expressed in this thread are NO issue. When using a drill chuck in the tail stock, the end of the drill is approximately 4 inches from that chunk of aluminum hanging off the front of the TS Quill. I haven't banged anything on mine yet! :) Now I must admit, it is an inconvenience when I need to look at numbers on my tailstock and then switch to the indicator on the X axis. I have to turn my head from approximately 7 degrees right to 6.5 degrees left! :) Of course, that too depends on how far I'm standing from the lathe. If I'm not too close I can do it with just a quick shift of my eyes. It's just gonna take some getting used to. :) :) In all seriousness, you are going to love them.
 
mredburn said:
If my research is right the dro set up everyone is using from Grizzley is around $100 with shipping and your Shooting star is $600 for two axis.
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Yep Your right, and your paying for a single axis units with no programability you have to mount two seperate displays, there is no ability to program settings for each tool, (ya have Quick Change Tool Post don't ya) etc. etc. and those units are 6" long i have one axis on my machine that is 40"... what do I do buy 6? My cross slide is 9" do I use 2?

Ya get what ya pay for. :wink:
 
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mredburn said:
jd99 said:
avbill said:
why is it necessary for you guys to have a DRO?
Click to expand...
As I read this thread I was thinking the same thing, if I needed that kind of precision in drilling depth, I think I would use my carriage (put the tool in my tool holder) as Justin suggested.

Having that DRO hanging off the front of the tailstock, just looks like something that I would continually hit with tools or something else (Just in the way)

That unit looks big I know it's the one that gets suggested all the time on here, but I use a DRO from Shooting Star Technology DRO on my home stuff. It's easier to mount, the scale is only about 1/4" in diameter, 3/8" with the plastic cover, and the encoder is smaller (or at least it looks like it's smaller) plus the thing has programing ability, and all your displays are on the same unit, you dont have to look in two or three different places to see your numbers.
Click to expand...

If my research is right the dro set up everyone is using from Grizzley is around $100 with shipping and your Shooting star is $600 for two axis.
Click to expand...

Mike: Thanks for sharing your cost analysis with the group. It has been beneficial, at least, to me. I knew it was less expensive our way, but I didn't realize how much. My "Beall" collet chuck is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I don't know yet, what I will do with the other four hundred dollars I saved, but SWMBO has stated that she has no doubtl I can get it done!!! :) That's just for now. Later, on down the road, if I should have a problem with one of the single axis units, I can get a new one of those instead of the six hundred dollar unit and save another five huncred dollars. Let's see, taps? dies? a couple of DROs for my Mill? Tooooooooools!!! Udunn! Udunn! Udunn!
 
jd99 said:
mredburn said:
If my research is right the dro set up everyone is using from Grizzley is around $100 with shipping and your Shooting star is $600 for two axis.
Click to expand...
Yep Your right, and your paying for a single axis units with no programability you have to mount two seperate displays, there is no ability to program settings for each tool, (ya have Quick Change Tool Post don't ya) etc. etc. and those units are 6" long i have one axis on my machine that is 40"... what do I do buy 6? My cross slide is 9" do I use 2?

Ya get what ya pay for. :wink:
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Danny: Further research would tell you, these can also be purchased in 24" lengths. It wouldn't take but two (not six) for your 40" axis. Simple math will make it obvious the cross slide could be handled with one 12" which is also available. So, that's only four displays instead of one. That gives you three extra places to hang lights next Christmas!! :eek::wink: It's just kinda like my daddy used to say about the man that kissed the cow. Everyone to their own notion. I'm pleased that your satisfied with your unit and it seems as though the participants on this thread are satisfied with ours.
 
Actually The hundred dollars covers all three, the tail stock the cross slide and the saddle travel in the black lower end units. its about double that for the stainless versions. Since most of the members are hobbyist and the lathes they are working with are between $600 and A $1000. They don't have a need for programmable DRO.s for each tool. These cheaper Dro's fill thier need.
 
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mredburn said:
Actually The hundred dollars covers all three, the tail stock the cross slide and the saddle travel in the black lower end units. its about double that for the stainless versions. Since most of the members are hobbyist and the lathes they are working with are between $600 and A $1000. They don't have a need for programmable DRO.s for each tool. These cheaper Dro's fill thier need.
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A slight correction is in order, we are SERIOUS hobbyist's! :biggrin:

But you are dead on, I have no need for nor a desire for some lathe that costs in the thousands or tens of thousands just to make a small part for a pen.
 
joefyffe said:
Danny: Further research would tell you, these can also be purchased in 24" lengths. It wouldn't take but two (not six) for your 40" axis. Simple math will make it obvious the cross slide could be handled with one 12" which is also available. So, that's only four displays instead of one. That gives you three extra places to hang lights next Christmas!! :eek::wink: It's just kinda like my daddy used to say about the man that kissed the cow. Everyone to their own notion. I'm pleased that your satisfied with your unit and it seems as though the participants on this thread are satisfied with ours.
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And if you look at my post I wasn't stating any thing about what folks should get, or how one is better, but just giving information of another type of unit, yes its more, but it's more for a reason, and it's also more compact, and easier to mount since from the picture it looks like the scale is large on that grizzly unit.

It helps to know what is out there when ya buy something.

Guess it all depends on what your going to use that machine for, I dont turn pens on my metal lathe that often don't see the need to. I machine other items, and do a little gun smithing on the side. along with some small production runs of parts from time to time.

You want to compare I have DRO on my machines at the machine shop that run in the thousands, and I use a $600.00 unit on my home machine (which was $575.00 and is 3 axis not 2). But I'm not holding tollerances of plus-minus .00025" at home.

Take my statements any way you want, just trying to educate about other options.

Maybe some want to advance from the hobbiest side to something beyond that at some time or another.
 
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joefyffe said:
Danny: Further research would tell you, these can also be purchased in 24" lengths. It wouldn't take but two (not six) for your 40" axis.
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Just to add to this "debate", here in Oz those single units are available in 1000mm lenghts as well, close enough to 40".

I have a 2 axis DRO with glass scales on my 9x20 lathe, it is a unit built by someone else and I purchased it off him when he built a bigger and better unit. It uses glass scales. I paid $200 for it and that included a 3 phase motor and VFD as well, which integrated in to the DRO, but haven't installed that part as the lathe is already EVS.

IMG_1566.jpg


Thinking about buying the individual LCD units for use on my DM45 mill.

I don't really think it is that important what type of DRO I use, just think that any DRO is way better than no DRO.

Do I need DROs?
Of course not, but if that was the criteria that I used to select what I buy for my shed, it would be a bare space indeed.:biggrin:

To me this (serious) hobby is all about having fun and we shouldn't lose sight of that aspect.
 
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