BMW K bikes (Bricks)


You are not connected. Please login or register

View previous topic View next topic Go down  Message [Page 1 of 1]


1Back to top Go down   Digital readouts for your lathe. Empty Digital readouts for your lathe. Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:41 pm

sidecar paul

sidecar paul
Life time member
Life time member
Here's something for all the lathe owners out there.

When cheap digital calipers became easily obtainable, they are now selling at less than £10 in the UK, I thought it would be a good way of fitting DRO's to my lathe. All the ones I have bought have been remarkably accurate when checked with my gauge blocks, so no problem there.

The first job is to remove the jaws either by sawing, if the material is soft, or grinding.
The cross slide fitting is straightforward, with 6" of movement being adequate for most lathes, and a couple of brackets are all that is needed. If the material is too hard to drill then a small clamp may be required.
Be careful not to damage the 'plastic' strip on the arm, as the caliper works by measuring the capacitance of this strip as it moves.

Digital readouts for your lathe. 00310

The saddle readout is more of a problem as the saddle moves more than the 6 or 7 inches that you can squeeze out of a caliper, my saddle moves about 24",so I solved this by making a sliding block. When measurement is not required, the readout moves with the saddle.
When measuring, the clamp lever locks the readout to the bed and movement of the saddle pulls the arm through the readout.

Digital readouts for your lathe. 00210

Digital readouts for your lathe. 00810

This system has served me well for quite a few years already and I can't remember when I last needed to turn something longer than 6"........ it was probably fork spindles for a 1924 Longstroke Sunbeam that I used to have.

The big advantages are no backlash in the slide movements, instant switch between imperial and metric and instant zeroing of readouts.

I haven't put too much detail here as there are many different lathes, but if you can use a lathe then you should be able to adapt the idea.
Cheers,
Paul.


__________________________________________________
'84 K100RS (0014643) (owned since '85), 86 K100RS (0018891) with Martello sidecar (built as an outfit in '88),
'51 Vincent (since '67),'72 Montesa Cota (from new), '87 Honda RS125R NF4 (bought 2015) 
....No CARS never ever!
    

2Back to top Go down   Digital readouts for your lathe. Empty Re: Digital readouts for your lathe. Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:22 pm

Oldgoat

Oldgoat
Life time member
Life time member
Nice Paul! I would luv to get the walk thru tour of your shop some day! Very Happy

OG

    

3Back to top Go down   Digital readouts for your lathe. Empty Re: Digital readouts for your lathe. Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:16 am

88

88
Life time member
Life time member
Thats ingenious Paul! A great cost effective solution and thanks for the tip about minding the plastic strips - I wasn't aware that they were part of the actual measurment process, although I do keep mine in their original box now I know it's even more important how they are handled when out of it.

88KE


__________________________________________________
Digital readouts for your lathe. Ir-log1188....May contain nuts!Digital readouts for your lathe. Ir-log11

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - St. Augustine from 1600 years ago & still true!

K1 - 1989 - AKA Titan (unique K1/K1100RS hybrid by Andreas Esterhammer)
K1100RS - 1995. AKA Rudolf Von Schmurf (in a million bits)
K100RS - 1991 AKA Ronnie. Cafe racer project bike
K75RTP - 1994
K75C - 1991 AKA Jim Beam. In boxes. 
K1100LT 1992 - AKA Big Red (gone)
K100LT - 1988 - AKA the Bullion brick. Should never have sold it.
    

4Back to top Go down   Digital readouts for your lathe. Empty Re: Digital readouts for your lathe. Thu Apr 19, 2012 5:34 pm

sidecar paul

sidecar paul
Life time member
Life time member
OG,
If ever you are in the UK, call in. The walk thro' wouldn't take long, my workshop isn't that big, but I'm sure we could talk for hours or even days.

88KE,
Don't be too fussy with your calipers, the strip is pretty robust, but anyone grinding off the jaws without caution could melt the covering!

Cheers,
Paul.


__________________________________________________
'84 K100RS (0014643) (owned since '85), 86 K100RS (0018891) with Martello sidecar (built as an outfit in '88),
'51 Vincent (since '67),'72 Montesa Cota (from new), '87 Honda RS125R NF4 (bought 2015) 
....No CARS never ever!
    

Sponsored content


    

View previous topic View next topic Back to top  Message [Page 1 of 1]

Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum