Atlas 10F tailstock DRO

[Grinderman]

I decided to add a tailstock DRO to my lathe for those occasional times when you need a precise depth hole. The Atlas tailstock doesn’t have any flat surfaces to mount anything to so I decided to use the oil dropper hole. The hole is stepped and is about .375 on top and .345 on the bottom. I turned a post to match, mounted it to a 1/8” piece of aluminum and screwed it to the reading head of the DRO. It works great and is easy to take on/off as needed.

 

[Nutfarmer]

I decided to add a tailstock DRO to my lathe for those occasional times when you need a precise depth hole. The Atlas tailstock doesn’t have any flat surfaces to mount anything to so I decided to use the oil dropper hole. The hole is stepped and is about .375 on top and .345 on the bottom. I turned a post to match, mounted it to a 1/8” piece of aluminum and screwed it to the reading head of the DRO. It works great and is easy to take on/off as needed.View attachment 309889View attachment 309890View attachment 309891View attachment 309892View attachment 309893

Nice add on without modifying the original lathe

 

[wa5cab]

You already have what looks like a satisfactory solution. But anyone else wanting something like this who doesn't already have money tied up in doing it this way may search on eBay for a tailstock micrometer dial add-on that someone was offering two or three years ago. I put one on the tailstock of my 3996 and the few times that I actually needed it, it served the function OK. I don't recall what I paid for it but I am sure that it was much less than the DRO and it never gets in the way. Installation took maybe five minutes. Also, the 3996 has the tailstock lock bolt and captive wrench on the back side of the tailstock, and lacks the white lead reservoir on top. So would probably require drilling and tapping a hole on top.

It wouldn't be much

 

[Grinderman]

You already have what looks like a satisfactory solution. But anyone else wanting something like this who doesn't already have money tied up in doing it this way may search on eBay for a tailstock micrometer dial add-on that someone was offering two or three years ago. I put one on the tailstock of my 3996 and the few times that I actually needed it, it served the function OK. I don't recall what I paid for it but I am sure that it was much less than the DRO and it never gets in the way. Installation took maybe five minutes. Also, the 3996 has the tailstock lock bolt and captive wrench on the back side of the tailstock, and lacks the white lead reservoir on top. So would probably require drilling and tapping a hole on top.

It wouldn't be much

That would be great having a dial right on the tailstock. It seems to me I read about something like that but you had to make a new shaft to compensate for the width of the dial. I did multiple searches on eBay for the item you were talking about but came up empty. Do you have a link or pic of your setup? I have about $30 in my setup but it could be done much cheaper using a budget caliper.

 

[chips&more]

Looks good but not for me. As with many tailstock quills mine has an engraved scale on it. And I find it does the job. I have a Trav-a-Dial on the carriage and that is my longitudinal source of accuracy.

 

[wa5cab]

I have to leave in a few minutes for a monthly Land Rover club meeting so don't have time now but I'll get a photo tomorrow.

As I recall, all that I had to do was to remove the tailstock handwheel, slide on the inner part with the Witness Mark, then slide on the outer part and reinstall the handwheel.

I'll try to find the PO that I should have entered for it. May take a while as I don't recall the year and haven't a clue what the seller's eBay ID was.

 

[Grinderman]

Looks good but not for me. As with many tailstock quills mine has an engraved scale on it. And I find it does the job. I have a Trav-a-Dial on the carriage and that is my longitudinal source of accuracy.

I agree, most of the time the quill scale works just fine. Once and awhile though I need to be a little more accurate and this is easy on/off.