chuck for a cross slide on a ML7

As the title says can you fit a chuck for a cross slide on a ML7​ as I'm thinking of fitting a DRO to it (still can't make my mind up as to sell the ML7 and buy a WM180 with a fitted DRO buy the time you have finished it's not far off the same price) as I could see an advantage in having a chuck on the cross slide with a DRO.

Cheers Martin

I have no idea what you are trying to do?

If you are talking about the ability to mount something like the GHT versatile dividing head (with a chuck or collets at centre hight) on the cross slide (boring table) then yes you can.

Martin

I'm struggling to understand the requirements exactly but a cheap solid angle plate (3" x 3" may be big enough) with a couple of lengthwise keys could be fitted onto the T-slotted area of the ML7 cross-slide and bolted down with t-bolts.

With the angle-plate in-place you could bore it through to locate a drill chuck taper or threaded stud turned on the lathe.

HTH

Jon

If you mean for drilling, yes, you can buy or make MT2 adaptors for QCTPs

Yes nick, that is the sort of thing I was thinking about if I fitted a DRO because if you just use your tailstock to drill etc, you still have to guess or use a drill stop on it, that's why I was thinking of something on the cross slide also that's why I asked on beginners page as I have only had a lathe for 4 months.

Many milling machines have a dro fitted to the quill. No reason why that concept cannot be integrated with the tailstock of a lathe.

If you have an ML7 it should have graduations on the tailstock barrel to show how far it has traveled. A bit coarse, but you can also use the handwheel. One turn, from memory, moves the barrel 1/8", so half a turn is 1/16" and quarter of a turn is 1/32" and one eighth is 1/64", or .015". It's rare to need more accuracy than that when drilling a hole. In a case where more accuracy is needed, though, you would be best to rough drill first then bore the hole to final size, using boring bar mounted to the cross slide.

I wouldn't even consider selling your ML7 just to get a chinese lathe with a DRO, providing your Myfrod is in good condition. Stick with what you've got and learn all the old time ways of doing things. Get all the books by LH Sparey, Ian Bradley etc etc and really learn how to get the best from these old machines. Remember, Spitfires and Rolls Royce Merlins etc etc were all made without DROs.

That said, budget tailstock DROs have been made from cheap digital vernier calipers before today and are said to work well. In the days of yore, a six-inch ruler was substituted, with a pointer on the tailstock. Accurate to within 1/64" again.

Edited By Hopper on 18/01/2018 12:04:18

Edited By Hopper on 18/01/2018 12:05:45

Hello Martin,

I really isn't difficult to clip a cheap digital read out to the barrel of your tailstock with the readout body fixed to the tailstock itself; mine clips on using a nylon pipe clip so that the slider can be easily moved down the barrel if needed.

You then know how far any drill or tailstock held tooling has penetrated into the workpiece without any need to use a lathe DRO on the saddle motions; that refinement gets you into a lot more expense than you need to solve your question.

Machine DRO, amongst many others, have a range of such things.

Brian

Many of us have just chopped up a cheap digital caliper and fixed it to the tailstock. Moving jaw fixed to clamp on barrel and body held with one screw to the tailstock body.

This gives a quick and easy DRO function without any expense or undue messing about. Loads and loads of pictures if you Google it.

Murray

Good thinking batman, never thought about doing it that way, job for when I get back from my hols and I have to say getting rid of the Myford (it's five years older than me and I'm not young) for a Chinese one. I don't think there will be many of those around in 65 years it's just the £440 that makes me cough a bit but I have fitted DRO to my mill and can't believe how much easier it is.

Cheers

Martin

The utility of DRO's on a lathe is at least an order of magetude smaller than having them on a mill.

I have a graduated saddle handwheel on the Myford and find that is really all I require. I used to have a micrometer dial on the tailstock but have not got around to refitting it since I upgraded to a refurbished S7 with a gearbox.

By all means fit what you like but be aware that they are less usefull on a lathe.

regards Martin

I wouldn't rate the difference as a magnitude, but in my case putting a DRO on my recently acquired lathe made it a magnitude better. I prefer and usually work in metric units but the lathe (advertised as metric) was delivered and installed before I found out it was imperial.

I agree that DROs should be the first thing one puts on a mill but now having got used to one on the lathe would not prevaricate next time.

Ian P

Which reminds me - I must get around to fitting that DRO to the Bantam. Been sitting in the cupboard for a while now. John S showed us the way to do it using Deb's machine a an example.

Murray

While it is easy to fit a cheap and cheerful DRO-alike-thingy to the tailstock that doesn't resolve the issue that the tailstock travel can be quite limiting for some jobs, although my picture above shows a turret in the MT2 holder I built it to allow me to drill and ream holes which exceed the tailstock travel.

- Nick

I'll just stick with moving the position of the tailstock next time I have an extra long series drill and a 6" deep hole to drill

You can only really gauge the utility of a DRO on a lathe once you've used one and lived with it for a while, one thing that I wouldn't want to live without is the large clear display at eye level, quite frankly I don't want to bend down to see a dial every end and turn

What kind of hole needs precision better than "that's about it'?

.

The kind that's used for alignment, perhaps.

[Not knowing your interpretation of "that's about it" ... I can only guess.]

MichaelG.

I have to admit to not having considered the swapping between units aspect, but even that impact is reduced by the fact that on the lathe you do tend to cut and then measure with digital equipment which does take the conversion effort out of the process to a great extent, but it is a point.

regards Martin

Interesting, following industry recommendations for minimising deviation in deep hole drilling is difficult with the tailstock -

https://www.cnccookbook.com/cnc-chef-video-ease-pain-deep-hole-drilling/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=%5BCNC+Chef+Video%5D+Deep+Hole+Drilling+Techniques&utm_campaign=Newsletter+12042017