Survey On Which Dro You Installed On Your Pm-1340gt Lathe.

Have the ES-8A on mine too, Had QMT install it (last minute) & have had zero problems with it so far. Works very well for what I need, probably overkill even. Had an old SB 9 inch I used for years with nothing & still sometimes forget I have a built-in quick measuring tool I don't have to put on my reading glasses to see!
 
sanddan

Congratulations on the new lathe.
I have a new PM1340GT and opted for the DRO EL400. I just liked the magnetic scales. The EL 400 fits this machine without cutting the scales (8x40).
I have not used it yet as I have not finished my VFD programing.
Contact them direct and ask for a quote / there best price. They will give you a discount, or they did me.

James
 
For me the issue is whether you are will to give up about an inch of tail stock travel. The PM1340gt has a well designed tail stock that over hangs the cross slide a great deal. I doubt you would ever miss the travel.

You could always mount the scale on the headstock side of the cross slide. I have seen that done a few times. It has the advantage of not covering up the cross-slide lock (as well as not blocking the tailstock). Down side is of course you are mounting the scale directly in the path of the chips coming off the cutter. A big downside...
 
Wasn't willing to lose my follow rest. Less concerned about the cross slide lock or tail stock overhang. For those who never use a follow rest, your priorities would differ. :)
 
Congrats in the lathe purchase
I love my EL400 ! If you can swing the cost I'd say the mag scales are worth it and the read heads are nice and small. Really helps with mounting in tight spots and doing a neat install.
I will say though it has more functions than I will ever use. Some folks may want them but I'd prefer a 'simple' version without all the fancy functions. Just x and z position display and a zeroing button for each. At least all the extra features don't get in the way when using it. On the install I had issues as well trying to find a minimally intrusive mounting location. Not obscuring compound lock screws was one of the challenges. posted some pics of the install in the colchester bantam thread.
 
Well, thanks for all of the feedback. I decided to go with the ES-8A from PM but I'll install it myself. That option best fit my budget and I've installed a DRO on two different mills so I have some experience. Now it's time to move the old lathe to a new temporary resting place and get it ready for sale. I'll hang on to it until the new lathe is up and running. I have to order up some leveling pads, I was using mason pads but want to switch to a solid steel version as they seem to be a better solution for a lathe. What size fits the PM-1340GT? I searched the different threads but couldn't find an actual size.
 
Nice choice on the DRO, will send some pictures on the factory install to give you a starting point. If I installed mine, I would have modified the X mount to allow access to the lock.

The bottom cabinet has 2 holes next to each other for leveling pads, one is threaded for 1/2"-13 stud, the other is larger. So something along the lines of the BSW-2X depending on the height you want (2-4"). I have the BSW-2A with a 4" stud, the machine uses 4 feet. I also have additional bracing between the cabinets.
http://www.swmanufacturing.com/part_photo.asp?pid=BSW-2A&PROD_ID=101&TYP_ID=1
Non-skid version.
http://www.zoro.com/s-w-leveling-mo...gclid=COmP0uq2uMkCFZRffgodCvAJGA&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
Thanks Mark, just what I needed. Do you have any pictures of the added reinforcement? My current lathe has a similar looking base, on that one I didn't use the center sheet metal support (it came mangled up from shipping) but made a base weldment that tied the two towers together and also spread the leveling feet a bit for added stability. I doubt the support I built would work for the PM-1340GT as it is a slightly bigger lathe. I might look at adding a tool chest to the center area but I'll measure the lathe when it arrives and decide from there.
 
Hey all, I was just watching YouTube and found this video from Keith Rucker.
I thought it might be relevant to people considering a magnetic DRO.
Skip to 23:00
In short, a bit of steel got down near the read head and was screwing up the readings.
It looks like he is using the DroPros ES400 that has been one of the popular items in this thread.
I was always under the impression that magnetic scales were more or less immune to contamination, but it seems I was wrong.

either way, by all reports this is a very nice set-up and is very accurate. Just use a sanity check, and do not assume the read heads are immune to contamination.
 
Cabinets are pretty narrow, I uses some 2x2 steel square tubing connected at each end and then bolted to each cabinet side. Since I have access behind my machine, I mounted shelves to store chucks and short metal stock.
Lathe Cabinet Bracing.jpg
 
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