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- From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
- To: machinist@lists.ibiblio.org
- Subject: [machinist] Adaptation of centerfinder to DTI
- Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2014 21:58:04 -0500
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/adaptation-centerfinder-dti-179593/
Thread: Adaptation of centerfinder to DTI
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Adaptation of centerfinder to DTI
I don't know if anyone else has found a useful application for the misbegotten bent shank fitting for a ball-type centrefinder, described by Starret as "offset indicator holder"
I gave up trying to bend it to my will years ago, and decided it was a cruel joke by a warped misanthrope.
No compact clamp I've ever had, or seen, presented any DTI (known to me) at any useful attitude. I toyed with trying to make one, but that would amount to virtual surrender.
HOWEVER: when I recently splashed out on a new Mitutoyo lever indicator it came with several dovetail mounting shanks of a style my previous (Verdict brand) lever indicators lacked.
I decided to bore the larger one and loctite it onto the shank of my hitherto unusable dog-leg ball shank, per image linked from first thumbnail below
To my way of thinking, and rather accidentally (I had no huge expectations) it turns out to be a match made in heaven
Very light, compact and ergonomic, easy to adjust, best I've used
The angles all work out rather nicely for small holes as shown, as well as reasonably big ones (if you shift the clamp along the dovetail). It's a poor man's "horizontal" or "jig boring" indicator -being able to see the dial all the way 'round saves using a mirror (and suffering brain fade), or getting a crick in your neck while whacking your head on the quill lock.
Compare this for compactness, convenience and cost with the more conventional solution in the second thumbnail (Compac centering holder)
If you "try this at home", best I think to make the plane of the dogleg be the midplane of the dovetail.
If I remember, I'll take another photo showing how the modified shank + ball extensions can be left mounted on the end of the indicator when the shank is used as intended, at least with some clamps (such as the other Mitutoyo universal clamp which came with the indicator).
Makes a handy extension joystick, for positioning the indicator delicately, and on centre, inside a bore on the lathe, frinstance.Last edited by Troup; 04-18-2009 at 06:22 PM.
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The range of hole sizes would be further extended if a swivel stem like this
from http://www.longislandindicator.com/p36.html
was substituted. It incorporates a second ball joint -
02-08-2014, 08:30 PM #3
- Join Date
- Sep 2005
- Location
- San Diego
- Posts
- 2,620
Well, I'll be damned! Never thought of that. Very cool. I had to see the picture, duh.
Originally Posted by Troup
I don't know if anyone else has found a useful application for the misbegotten bent shank fitting for a ball-type centrefinder, described by Starret as "offset indicator holder"
I gave up trying to bend it to my will years ago, and decided it was a cruel joke by a warped misanthrope.
No compact clamp I've ever had, or seen, presented any DTI (known to me) at any useful attitude. I toyed with trying to make one, but that would amount to virtual surrender.
HOWEVER: when I recently splashed out on a new Mitutoyo lever indicator it came with several dovetail mounting shanks of a style my previous (Verdict brand) lever indicators lacked.
I decided to bore the larger one and loctite it onto the shank of my hitherto unusable dog-leg ball shank, per image linked from first thumbnail below
To my way of thinking, and rather accidentally (I had no huge expectations) it turns out to be a match made in heaven
Very light, compact and ergonomic, easy to adjust, best I've used
The angles all work out rather nicely for small holes as shown, as well as reasonably big ones (if you shift the clamp along the dovetail). It's a poor man's "horizontal" or "jig boring" indicator -being able to see the dial all the way 'round saves using a mirror (and suffering brain fade), or getting a crick in your neck while whacking your head on the quill lock.
Compare this for compactness, convenience and cost with the more conventional solution in the second thumbnail (Compac centering holder)
If you "try this at home", best I think to make the plane of the dogleg be the midplane of the dovetail.
If I remember, I'll take another photo showing how the modified shank + ball extensions can be left mounted on the end of the indicator when the shank is used as intended, at least with some clamps (such as the other Mitutoyo universal clamp which came with the indicator).
Makes a handy extension joystick, for positioning the indicator delicately, and on centre, inside a bore on the lathe, frinstance.
Regards,
Stan- circa 2014
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Nicely done. Every time I get the Indicol out and start indicating something in on the mill, I keep thinking "I need to come up with a better idea than than this bullshit." Then, I finish the job and forget about it until the next time.....
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I think that diameter on the dogleg w/ sphere in the center finder set mates with the often maligned Last Word (last choice!) indicator setup.
http://www.starrett.com/metrology/pr...Finders/S828HZ
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- [machinist] Adaptation of centerfinder to DTI, Lawrence London, 02/09/2014
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