# Tailstock DRO



## firebird (Dec 30, 2008)

Hi

During the course of my small boiler project.(still unfinished) I had many occasions where the drilling of blind or flat bottomed holes was required. Constantly removing the drill to measure the depth of the hole became a bit of a chore so I decide at the earliest opportunity I would fit a DRO to the tail stock. Before getting down to design and cutting metal I jotted down a few requirements.

1.  It must be easy to use. Some gadgets are very pretty to look at and are technically brilliant but are often not that easy to use. In that case when its difficult to use its more often than not left in its box

2.  It must be quick and easy to install and remove. Once again if its difficult I would manage without it.

3.  It must have plenty of clearance around it and not interfere with the use of the tailstock.

4.  It must not interfere with any other function of the lathe.

5.  No modification of the tailstock at all. No drilling or tapping.

With these requirements in mind I set about designing and building the DRO. I'm not going to show any plans (Cos there aint any) or show any measurements. The DRO is shown being fitted to my Myford ML7 but should be easily adaptable to most lathes. The DRO itself is a cheap set of digital calipres which can be removed from the tailstock very quickly when required elsewhere. The mounting for the DRO is mostly 3/8 thick ally bar 1 1/2 & 2 inch wide.

2 pieces of ally cut to rough size







Clamped together vertically and drilledx through.











Note how the long stud goes through the centre of the vice I made

Tap the holes in the large part and drill the small half with a clearance drill






Make 2 studs






The 2 parts bolted together






In the 4 jaw chuck to drill and then bore out to 1 1/2 inch


























Boring out the front piece






Then a trial fit on the tailstock






Cut a slot






Then cut out a corner






Drill through






Then tap






Another trial fit






Drill 2 holes






Drill 2 corresponding holes and tap






The front piece has a slot milled in it to accept the calipres and the has some of the excess metal cut away






2 holes drilled and tapped for the clamp






The thumbscrew bracket being drilled






Turning the thumbscrew






All the parts






All the parts assembled






Heres a couple of videos









I need to make a thumbscrew for the front clamp and do away with the cap head bolt, no tools will then be needed to fit the calipres into the clamps.

Cheers

Rich


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## lugnut (Dec 30, 2008)

That's a pretty neat idea Rich. Now I want to know what the pretty blue drill thingy is. I'm not familiar with it. I embedded a machinists rule into the top of the tail stock ram. Now I have to build something like you did.
Mel


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## miker (Dec 30, 2008)

Makes me feel inadequate 

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/showthread.php?t=29904

Really nice job and informative instuctional photos Rich. :bow:

Rgds


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## Bernd (Dec 30, 2008)

Necessity, the mother of invention.

Very nice problem solving there Rich and a great solution you came up with.

Bernd


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## firebird (Dec 30, 2008)

Hi Mel

The blue thingy is a tapping guide. I bought it at a model engineering show a while back for less than £10.00. Its really good, I use it a lot.

http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/CHRONOS_2007_XMAS_OFFERS.html

Its about the ninth item down the list.

Cheers

Rich


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## Maryak (Dec 30, 2008)

Rich,

Very neat idea 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Best Regards
Bob


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## firebird (Dec 31, 2008)

Hi

Finished it off today by making another thumb screw, now no tools atre needed to fit or remove.











Cheers

Rich


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## T70MkIII (Dec 31, 2008)

A very nice idea, Rich.


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## deverett (Jan 1, 2009)

Rich

That was an excellent write up.

I have been thinking on and off for quite a while about putting a DRO on my S7 tailstock and had been looking at the horizontal scales and trying to work out a neat way of installing same. Using your idea of a set of calipers is much neater (and cheaper) than anything I have come up with.

Thanks for the idea.

Dave
The Emerald Isle


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## mklotz (Jan 1, 2009)

Like so many of the Chinese import lathes, mine has a tailstock with a flat top.

I bought one of those magnetic backs for a 2" DI and stuck it on top of the TS. Its tip bears against a vertical plate that clamps to the TS ram (much as Rich has done).


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## shred (Jan 1, 2009)

Very nice. Here's one I made for my 12x36 after reading of Cedges a while back. Works pretty well, though it's still a little bit half-assed-- I put it to work right away versus tidying it up, and it was planned out and built by sorta squinting a little and firing up the mill. "Hmm.. let's try this... ok, that sorta works, but now we need a hole here.. and here...and oops.. maybe one there.." 

I also note Grizzly has a 'Tailstock DRO" (you make the ram-ring) in their latest catalog, which is a more refined version of the same thing including a separate display

You'll probably want to take the sharp tips off the backside of the caliper if you dedicate it to the job. I blunted mine, but still should take more off..


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## BobWarfield (Jan 1, 2009)

Tailstock DRO's seem like really handy gadgets.

I don't have real multi-axis DRO's on any of my machines, but it seems like I have a DRO for whatever the axis closest to the work is:

- A quill DRO for the mill.

- A compound DRO for the lathe.

I use those two very often. A tailstock DRO would make a nice addition to that lineup and looks easy to build.

Best,

BW


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