DRO Advice

Bluedog

Registered
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
66
Yep, another DRO thread. Acturally, this one may be one of those "Help me spend money" threads since ya'll are so good at that.

I have a Wells Index 747 mill that I have had for a few years. It came with a 2 axis Acu-Rite II DRO and .0005" glass scales, that is ancient, but has served its purpose until now. The X axis in the readout is failing. It is the readout, not the scales, since I have tried swapping the cables to confirm.

I have found used (for parts) Acu-Rite II DRO readouts on Ebay, and I could swap out the failing board in my readout, but they are asking $250-$400 for them. I'm not real wild about sinking that much money in such an old DRO. I can't seem to find out if another cheaper/import readout could be made to work with my existing scales.

I have a dropros system with magnetic scales that I installed on my lathe and it has been great, so I have looked into that for my mill. One problem is that I just dread the thoughts of installing new scales on the mill. I just like working on projects rather than working on my machines. (Hats off to you guys who restore old machines.) I guess I'm still kind of leaning toward a new dropros system, even though it is quite expensive, unless y'all convince me to do something else. I have wanted to add a separate scale to my quill for some time now, so if I go with a new system, I'm considering at least a 3 axis system. Question is, should I go ahead and get the 4 axis system? Do you think it would be worth the upgrade? It can also be set to sum the quill and knee scale to give a true Z position if wanted. I have always been happy with my antique DRO that just gives me a X & Y location, so I don't know if I would use all of the fancy features of a new system or not.

Thanks for any thoughts you might share.
 
Last edited:
I'm a milling neophyte with a mill/drill so a bit of a different league from your machine.
That said, I cannot see a reason to not have 3-axis DRO on a mill. The ability to easily take off another 'thou in depth just by looking at the display is worth every penny to me.

I put on a DRO that has an LCD screen and is very easy to program. It's display was the primary reason I went the unit. It's an import but honestly I think they are all imports today. DRO Pros seems to offer top-drawer support which has value to be sure. I could not justify their cost as a hobbyist.
 
Yep, another DRO thread. Acturally, this one may be one of those "Help me spend money" threads since ya'll are so good at that.

I have a Wells Index 747 mill that I have had for a few years. It came with a 2 axis Acu-Rite II DRO and .0005" glass scales, that is ancient, but has served its purpose until now. The X axis in the readout is failing. It is the readout, not the scales, since I have tried swapping the cables to confirm.

I have found used (for parts) Acu-Rite II DRO readouts on Ebay, and I could swap out the failing board in my readout, but they are asking $250-$400 for them. I'm not real wild about sinking that much money in such an old DRO. I can't seem to find out if another cheaper/import readout could be made to work with my existing scales.

I have a dropros system with magnetic scales that I installed on my lathe and it has been great, so I have looked into that for my mill. One problem is that I just dread the thoughts of installing new scales on the mill. I just like working on projects rather than working on my machines. (Hats off to you guys who restore old machines.) I guess I'm still kind of leaning toward a new dropros system, even though it is quite expensive, unless y'all convince me to do something else. I have wanted to add a separate scale to my quill for some time now, so if I go with a new system, I'm considering at least a 3 axis system. Question is, should I go ahead and get the 4 axis system? Do you think it would be worth the upgrade? It can also be set to sum the quill and knee scale to give a true Z position if wanted. I have always been happy with my antique DRO that just gives me a X & Y location, so I don't know if I would use all of the fancy features of a new system or not.

Thanks for any thoughts you might share.
I have used import scales with an accu-rite, but you need to change the positions of the wires for it to work. So it isn't a plug and play situation.

I think I would buy a set of import scales and readout.If you use the present DRO a lot then you will probably use enhanced features, too.
DRO pros has videos which show you all the things you can do with 3 or more axis.If it looks fussy to use (in the video) than it will be in the workshop.
 
I've been lucky to have somebody else pay for my DRO equipment. That being said, I chose DRO Pros for both our SB lathe and vertical Mill because of the support they offer. I also like the fact that with the magnetic scales you can just cut them to length with a band saw (or hack saw). They seem to be a good product for an import. We have been satisfied.
 
I have a DRO Pro's EL 400 2 axis system on my Bridgeport. I didn't see any need for anything for the Z axis or quill. The Z axis dial readout is more than accurate enough, and I have never trusted manually seeking a depth within .0005 or less using the quill.
 
Back
Top