1955 Round Ram w/J-head - Tramming question

tcweb

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
181
Good day,

I have a 1955 Round Ram, and I have the head dialed in by eye, just so I could do some test cuts, check out the motor, etc.
But it brings up the question...how do you tram the table (or vice) with any sort of precision?

Any tips or tricks?
My instinct tells me to partially loosen the clamping bolts and then use a dead-blow hammer to get things down to .001-.002 over a certain distance.

Since I have no ability to "nod" the head, I assume that would involve shimming behind the bolts that hold the head to the ram?

Thoughts on indicator setup? I have an indicol, several plunger-style dial indicators, and a few .001 and .0001 federal indicators at my disposal.

Bonus question: how far out do you typically extend the ram? (same question would apply to a dovetail ram, I imagine). With a round ram, changing the ram "y" position could mean re-tramming the table, so I don't want to change often if I can avoid it. (I'm lazy...)

-tjh
 
Back
Top