# Quill DRO. Is this the best solution?



## Mirage_Man (Feb 5, 2009)

As some may know I just got a Rong Fu RF31 mill. I am in the process of tooling up. A DRO for the X and Y axis is on the list of things to get down the road. As far as I know most of the available DRO's don't offer a scale for the quill. But one thing I know I'm going to want right away is a quill DRO.

Mac told me about this one being sold on eBay. It looks like a decent solution but I'm curious if anyone has any other options out there?


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## gadget_lover (Feb 5, 2009)

That is a pretty standard way to do it. A slightly less fancy version is 
http://www.shars.com/products/view/2413/Dro_Quill_kit_for_quotzquot_axis_with_6quot_travel


I'll be setting up a similar one on my knee mill. I bought a 3 axis DRO but that's for the table (x and Y) and the knee (Z). I still need to keep track of the quill, so I guess I will have X,Y,Z and Q .  This is what I have on mine:
http://www.shars.com/products/view/...tal_readout_glass_linear_knee_Milling_Package


You can get a DRO that does table and quill. An example is this one at shars.com:
http://www.shars.com/products/view/...al_readout_glass_linear_Quill_Milling_Package

Daniel


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## wquiles (Feb 5, 2009)

Thanks for all of the links Daniel 

Will


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## TranquillityBase (Feb 5, 2009)

Harbor Freight to the rescue 

$15 ~ $20 and a little of your time...


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## gadget_lover (Feb 7, 2009)

Just to throw in more alternatives....

http://shop.ebay.com/350160073287

This ( in case it does not show) is a 4 inch travel vertical scale. $27.50 including shipping. It is essentially the same as the one used in Mirage Man's first post, without the nice backplate and linkage.

My mill's quill has only 4 inches of travel, so this is what I'm putting on mine. Ordered last week. I'm still waiting for it.

Daniel


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## wquiles (Feb 8, 2009)

gadget_lover said:


> Just to throw in more alternatives....
> 
> http://shop.ebay.com/350160073287
> 
> ...



He is "slow" to ship, but I have had excellent luck with everything I order from him (800watt) 

Will


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## precisionworks (Feb 8, 2009)

I've never felt the need for a digital scale on the Z axis, as my mill & yours have a nicely calibrated fine feed dial. Some jobs involve milling the tops down on a set of six pistons, where I want to hold +/- .001" on height. This isn't a problem using the feed dial. FWIW, the pistons are Arias custom units, $150 each, and the job is classified as ZFU (Zero Foul Up)





> He is "slow" to ship


+1

The joke about him on some of the forums is "What's the difference between a glacier & 800Watt?" Answer ... you can see a glacier move Emails also go unanswered. But you eventually get your item. Sooner or later, normally later.


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## gadget_lover (Feb 8, 2009)

precisionworks said:


> I've never felt the need for a digital scale on the Z axis, as my mill & yours have a nicely calibrated fine feed dial. Some jobs involve milling the tops down on a set of six pistons, where I want to hold +/- .001" on height. This isn't a problem using the feed dial. FWIW, the pistons are Arias custom units, $150 each, and the job is classified as ZFU (Zero Foul Up)
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I could probably get used to just using the fine feed dial and the markings on the quill for the Z height, but I had gotten spoiled by having a dial indicator on my micro mill. It gives me instant indication of the current depth.

I suspected that 800watt might be a bit slow. I sent him an email in December about a DRO head that he has for sale. I gave up and bought one from Shars.com and had it (mostly) installed before he finally responded in mid January.

I have time... I have patience. I can wait.

Daniel
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
I have time... I have patience. I can wait.
...


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## precisionworks (Feb 11, 2009)

Just saw this posted on another forum ... a poor man's DRO


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## wquiles (Aug 11, 2009)

Daniel,

Did you ever get your vertical DRO mounted?

Photos? :devil:

Will


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## Mirage_Man (Aug 11, 2009)

wquiles said:


> Daniel,
> 
> Did you ever get your vertical DRO mounted?
> 
> ...



No, not yet. I've been using a Mighty Magnet base and a dial indicator. Eventually I will probably get some other solution but for now it's been working fine for what I'm doing.


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## wquiles (Aug 11, 2009)

This is the one I just decided to order for my mill:
http://www.shars.com/products/view/2413/Dro_Quill_kit_for_quotzquot_axis_with_6quot_travel

I will post some pictures once I get it installed.

Still on the list to do: VFD conversion and 3-axis DRO ...

Will


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## darkzero (Aug 12, 2009)

wquiles said:


> This is the one I just decided to order for my mill:
> http://www.shars.com/products/view/2413/Dro_Quill_kit_for_quotzquot_axis_with_6quot_travel
> 
> I will post some pictures once I get it installed.
> ...


 
If you haven't ordered it yet, get it from here, $38 shipped: http://cgi.ebay.com/SPECIAL-PRICE-B...ash=item1c0b73bcc8&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

I purchased my horizontal scales from him, great prices, combined shipping, & shipped fast.


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## wquiles (Aug 12, 2009)

Too late; already ordered. In truth is that I like the one I ordered since the main holding bracket is included and should be a fairly direct bolt-on afair (or little work) and I really like the way it looks. 

Although the built-in dial on the quill is really good, remember that I have those weird 1/8" dials, so I am getting tired of having to keep mental track of how many revolutions, and adding the difference, resetting to zero, account for backlash, etc.., so it was something I had to do, the sooner the better. Same with the DRO - I "really" need one, but I want to do the VFD first ...


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