D.I. Stand for the head stock.

Dean W · Subject: D.I. Stand for the head stock. Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:46 pm

Hi all;

No paying work coming in 'til Friday, so I made something that's been on my shop "to do" list for about 10 years. Really, 10 years, at least! I'd been using an old surface gauge to hold my dial indicators and DTI's for years and years, and every time it's a hassle. It always is when trying to use something for other than what it's made for. Anyway, I finally got around to making this little setup for holding my indicators on the lathe head stock. It will fit on the milling machine head stock, X table, or cross slide and tail stock on the lathe too.

I don't know why it takes me so long to get to the things on that list, but I finally got to scratch one off. Gosh, that felt good!

Dean

rkernell · Subject: D.I. Stand Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:41 pm

Dean,

These look like artistic versions of my Sterrett components. The brass really looks good against the steel. Did you make the knobs as well?

Rick Kernell

Dean W · Subject: Re: D.I. Stand for the head stock. Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:51 pm

Hi Rick, (and thanks!).

Everything was made in the shop. I have a page started if you want to look. There is no text yet, but all the pictures are up.

D I Stand

Dean

rkernell · Subject: Indicator Holder Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:54 am

Dean,

Would it be possible to add to the page the process that you used to round the edges of the brass pieces? Did you use the side cutters of an end mill?

Rick Kernell

blmartech · Subject: Re: D.I. Stand for the head stock. Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:21 am

thats sweet. oh and your list sounds like mine.. always frowing never shrinking.....

Dean W · Subject: Re: D.I. Stand for the head stock. Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:21 pm

rkernell wrote:

Dean,

Would it be possible to add to the page the process that you used to round the edges of the brass pieces? Did you use the side cutters of an end mill?

Rick Kernell

I did take pictures of how to do that, Rick, but I've been unsure if I should put them on the web page. I round corners this way quite often, and I'll put it here. It's safe enough if the operator is safe enough.

Since I don't know how much experience other members have, and am unaware of others' safety habits, I offer this first;

If a person has any tendency to drift off in their thoughts a bit, or if they are not sure of their ability, or the machine's capability to cause a real and serious amount of mayhem, blood shed, and general destruction, Don't Do This.

A rod is mounted in the vise that is the exact same diameter (okay, minus a tenth or two) as the hole in the work piece. The rod shown in the shot above has a smaller diameter coming out the top of it only because that's the way it was coming out of my scrap box. The piece you want to radius is put on the shaft.

A good, really sharp, end mill is used. The work piece is rotated against the cutting edges of the spinning end mill. Very small cuts are taken. Maybe .005" on brass. Only .001-.002" on steel.

In the shot above, you can see that the piece has been rotated clockwise to take a cut off the corner. I took these shots after the piece was done, so it's not right up against the cutter, but it normally would be.

It's hard to emphasize how important it is to "up mill" while doing this. Really, really important. If you try to down or climb mill, you will experience the general destruction and mayhem mentioned above. I don't care how firmly you hold the work piece, if you try to down mill it, you'll be in trouble. You won't even know what happened 'til it's cryin' time.

Take off only one corner at a time, and when you return the piece to its' starting point, be very careful not to swing it into the cutter. If you do, it will put it in a down milling situation, and it will grab the work piece and instantly suck it into the spinning cutter. Again, you won't even know what happened...

I know I made this sounds kind of dramatic, with all the "destruction" stuff, but the danger is real. I consider it an acceptable method only because I've seen "real" machinists do it, and have read of it by a fairly well known modeler in a machinist magazine.

Keep your head on straight if you try it.

Dean

rkernell · Subject: Climb cutting caution Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:28 pm

Dean,

Thank you for doing this and for the cautionary statements. I probably would have tried to do finishing cuts in the climb mode and had a bad experience.

Rick Kernell

Bryan · Subject: Re: D.I. Stand for the head stock. Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:30 pm

I think I will stick to the sander for the small stuff or program a nice arc into the CNC as this looks a little scary for me to try, nice pictures and explanation though, a very well executed project.

Bryan affraid