Mini Mill 3-axis DRO for $200

[YYCHM]

9:10AM: Alert from Fedex that my package is out for delivery
9:33AM: Alert from Fedex that my delivery is rescheduled to Monday.

Sounds about right. My DRO was delivered as two packages. One was delivered on a Friday the other on the following Monday. I was pi..ed......

 

[DavidR8]

And then they were delivered. Fedex dude had no idea why the status would have changed.

 

[LenVW]

David,
I will let you go through your packages.
Let me know if you were shorted any parts.
I will be into see Raj at KBC on Friday.

 

[DavidR8]

David,
I will let you go through your packages.
Let me know if you were shorted any parts.
I will be into see Raj at KBC on Friday.

Looks like I only got the 6" unit. The cart was split into two orders. The second has the 24" scale so I presume that's coming from down East.
Maybe that's the FedEx shipment that was delayed?

 

[YYCHM]

Looks like I only got the 6" unit. The cart was split into two orders. The second has the 24" scale so I presume that's coming from down East.
Maybe that's the FedEx that was delayed?

I'll be watching this. Installing the cross slide scale was the main challenge on my Utilathe.

 

[DavidR8]

I'll be watching this. Installing the cross slide scale was the main challenge on my Utilathe.

This is the approach:

 

[YYCHM]

This is the approach:

You obviously don't have a taper attachment.........

 

[DavidR8]

You obviously don't have a taper attachment.........

Nope. Sure don’t.

 

[DavidR8]

So my two scales arrived along with a fancy-pants Starrett metric and imperial tape measure. Three boxes, shipped at three different times from three different locations. No wonder KBC had to increase their shipping rates!

 

[LenVW]

How are the components and installation hardware ?
Did you receive all the parts . . . Finally ?

We have a KBC in Mississauga that I deal with and the guys are great at correcting any short comings.

 

[DavidR8]

How are the components and installation hardware ?
Did you receive all the parts . . . Finally ?

We have a KBC in Mississauga that I deal with and the guys are great at correcting any short comings.

Everything finally arrived. Nothing seems to be missing and the scale boxes look to be as made because the packing inside is really snug.

 

[LenVW]

David,
Do you have any experience with DRO accuracy ?
I saw the specs where they stated an accuracy of .004” for the iGaging DRO Plus units.
I would have thought a DRO would be better, maybe they are regarding to variation over the full length.
I need to make a decision tomorrow to get the sale price.

 

[DavidR8]

David,
Do you have any experience with DRO accuracy ?
I saw the specs where they stated an accuracy of .004” for the iGaging DRO Plus units.
I would have thought a DRO would be better, maybe they are regarding to variation over the full length.
I need to make a decision tomorrow to get the sale price.

The accuracy is for the full length. I did a bunch of research to understand that. So the 6" scale has .002 accuracy over 6" I can live with that since my lathe crossslide only has about 3'ish inches of travel

 

[YYCHM]

The accuracy is for the full length. I did a bunch of research to understand that. So the 6" scale has .002 accuracy over 6" I can live with that since my lathe crossslide only has about 3'ish inches of travel

3 inches? What size lathe is that?

 

[DavidR8]

3 inches? What size lathe is that?

South Bend 10.
Might be more than than 3'ish... I've never measured it to be honest

 

[YYCHM]

South Bend 10

If you can swing 10" don't you have to traverse 5" to face off?

 

[DavidR8]

If you can swing 10" don't you have to traverse 5" to face off?

In theory yes. The reality is that there's about 4" from from the edge my toolpost to the centre of the chuck.

 

[LenVW]

Thanks for the clarification on the specs.
Good to hear they packed everything well.
The electronics do not like a shaky ride.

What was the Starrett tape measure for . . . Comparison ? LOL

 

[DavidR8]

What was the Starrett tape measure for . . . Comparison ? LOL

Indeed. I like to stroke my ego by being sure I hit my measurements to the mm
Generally I aim for a class 6 fit

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks for the clarification on the specs.
Good to hear they packed everything well.
The electronics do not like a shaky ride.

What was the Starrett tape measure for . . . Comparison ? LOL

In truth, I use metric for woodworking. Just easier to deal with mm rather than imperial. IMHO and experience.