# tool tips and thier use



## lugnut (Aug 14, 2008)

Not wanting to hijack Cedge's post on wigglers, which is going to be well worth reading and following.  I found this section in Little Machine Shops web site that explains a lot of the tools we use in this great little hobby of ours. It shows the use of the wiggler in the 8th from the bottom of the list. If you haven't already seen it, you need to take a look.
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/Reference/reference.php
Mel


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## Cedge (Aug 14, 2008)

Mel
No complaints from me. I can use all the help I can get. Anything I miss will probably going to be corrected by the LMS link. 

Steve


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## lugnut (Aug 14, 2008)

Steve, the biggest problem that I have with the wiggler is------------remembering that I have one. I've used it a few times and it works great. would work better if I had a DRO system. Looking forward to the rest of your lesson.
Mel


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## Mcgyver (Aug 14, 2008)

> would work better if I had a DRO system



why? I get why a dro would be nice thing in general (haven't bothered myself but maybe one day) but it shouldn't effect how well the wiggler works? btw Steve, good tut, with the ease of digital pics, telling, and comprehending, the story has become some much quicker


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## lugnut (Aug 15, 2008)

Your right a DRO does not make the Wiggler work any different, But would make moving the X or Y a Lot more accurate to the sweet spot : I want one :big:
Mel


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## Cedge (Aug 15, 2008)

Thanks Mcgyver. You're right about the digital age making it easier to tell the tale. The old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words is still true. Imagine how many more dull words my post would require, sans photos...LOL 

Nope... the DRO's don't make the wiggler work any better, but you can bet your sweet rented burro that they make me work better....(grin). I can ride the dials when i need to, but the DRO's are much more friendly to my poor old eyes.

Mel
I fixed the memory problem by parking mine right on the mill table, where I'll see it when I need it.... which has become a nearly constant thing. 

Steve


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## Mcgyver (Aug 15, 2008)

i want a dro as well, just haven't figured out how to make one yet. Going and buying one is no fun and breaks one of the main tenets of the hobby, frugality .

I really like the Newall ecoders, both for accuracy and durability - don't have a lot of first hand encoder experience but they seem like the best. I wanted to see if it was possible to develop something like that at home, even bought some hall sensors to play with. There are lots of challenges with it, but unlike etched glass scales it seemed at least remotely possible to diy ..... but there's still a big spread between the "take a number" and the "now severing __"


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## Bogstandard (Aug 15, 2008)

Mcgyver,

The Newall DRO read heads are reckoned to be about the best available. The latest system they reckon you could almost use them underwater. I contemplated them for about 5 seconds until I found out the prices. A cheap Newall setup was at least double the price that I paid for mine.

But I have to admit, DRO's do make the work a lot easier and faster, and in most cases more accurate, because allowing and compensating for leadscrew wear is a thing of the past when using one.

I can see a time in the not too distant future, where hobby machines will have basic systems fitted as standard. It is already happening on some of the larger hobby machines.

John


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## John S (Aug 15, 2008)

Don't make the common mistake though of requiring more accuracy than is needed or even possible on many home shop machines.

Some years ago I bought a secondhand Heidenhain DRO off a local company who were upgrading to meet BS9000.
This was the older LS308? series that read in 1/2 thous - 0, 5, 0, 5 etc for the last digit.

A trip back later I noticed all the new DRO's had sticky tape over the last digit :-\

It appears that the constant updating was driving the operators mad hence the tape and in effect they now had only three digit reading what before they had four, but at least it was up to BS9000 spec.


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## Mcgyver (Aug 15, 2008)

my love in with the Newalls isn't because i have delusions of working to a millionth accuracy over several feet, but rather that how they work might, emphasis on might, be possible to do ourselves using as a basis for accuracy the ball bearings ...whereas i see a diy etched glass scale as being closer to an impossibility.


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## Bogstandard (Aug 15, 2008)

John,

My Sino ones actually go to 5 decimal places in imperial (four in metric), but I think I said in one of my posts, they are almost impossible to use in that mode because they are continually updating.

Mcgyver,
I don't know if you have seen it, but on one of the Newall sites, it shows the build up of one of their latest read heads and how they operate.

John


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## kf2qd (Aug 15, 2008)

Another possible source for DRO scales would be US Digital - they have several options and the price isn't too bad. they make a plastic strip - I've thought about gluing it to a piece of glass or aluminum (aluminium for those north of the border...) and making my own. $50 for 10 inches of scale plus $30 for the reader head.

USDigital.com

They have other encoders also.


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