Indicators

darkzero said:
That's what I use most of the time but it mounts in a collet. The shank is 8mm which I got tired of so I made a 1/2" shank for it.

But to meet what you were looking for, I adapted a Noga to mount on an Indicol knock off. I got the idea from Tom Lipton.

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I don't mind if it has an 8mm shaft, I use the 8mm collet daily, anyway. So I went ahead and bought the one suggested on Amazon :) thanks guys! I am really sick and tired of the other one flopping around while I'm trying to center a piece on the rotary table - which I wind up doing at least 1/2 the time I am using the mill. I'm just too damn old to be fooling around with stuff that irritates me - especially when the summer temps hit 90° in the shop and it's 4:45 PM and I'd really rather be sipping a cold one at the beach, watching all the young bikinis romping about before me.

Ah, me. I should be ENJOYING life, not getting ****** about my tools being a pain in the butt.
 
darkzero said:
That's what I use most of the time but it mounts in a collet. The shank is 8mm which I got tired of so I made a 1/2" shank for it.

But to meet what you were looking for, I adapted a Noga to mount on an Indicol knock off. I got the idea from Tom Lipton.

View attachment 330370
Click to expand...

Will, I have a similar set up that locks on the quill. Got the idea from this Darkzero character.
Anyway, my import clamp is pure crap and sometimes slips. Looks just like yours. Does yours clamp solidly every time? I've essentially stopped using it until I can make a better nylon nut for it.
 
Another member on here is a very good friend of mine. He has one, I'll call him up and ask him what make his is. I used it one day while visiting his shop and "borrowing" his brand new mill back in 2015, while he let me cut some bearing housings etc. for my one-off, prototype, super special, gyrocopter Hy-Vo Silent Chain redrive I built for my 150 HP, 595 lbs. hot rod Air Command gyrocopter. Pictures of "The Wicked" (the gyrocopter) can be seen on the home page of my business web page:

www.MohawkAero.com

At the time I built it originally in 2012, it was the first Yamaha 150 HP aircraft in the world. I designed and fabricated the "Silent Drive" for it in 2015, and like the Yamaha conversion it was a a total success right out of the gate and I put hundreds of hours on this stuff.

Since 2012, there are now hundreds of happy Yamaha 150 HP aircraft flying all over the world, with no engine-out forced landings. It is and has been a huge success, far exceeding most folks' expectations (but never mine).
 
You can find video of the Silent Drive, and The Wicked on my Youtube channel, GTGyro.
 
mikey said:
Will, I have a similar set up that locks on the quill. Got the idea from this Darkzero character.
Anyway, my import clamp is pure crap and sometimes slips. Looks just like yours. Does yours clamp solidly every time? I've essentially stopped using it until I can make a better nylon nut for it.
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I haven't had a problem with mine locking onto the spindle. But I don't use mine a whole lot. I have a gearhead mill so my spindle doesn't turn very freely like a belt drive spindle. I put the spindle in high gear & hold the locking knob to turn it. It stays put everytime I have used it so far. Mine just has a plastic cap on a piece of aluminum. All I did was replace the thumb knob & of course make the adapter to attach the Noga.

I originally bought a genuine Indicol but I wasn't happy with the arms (newer red/blue model). I was going to adapt that but decided to just return it & buy the $10 knock off.
 
Okay, mine sort of sucks. I think a new nylon cap might fix it. There are times that thing comes in handy but I usually prefer to use my Tesa centering holder:

tesa.jpg
 
Sounds like it should be an easy fix.

Yeah I don't like to use mine much mainly cause of my gearhead, there's no neutral/can't disengage from the gears. And I don't like the FAT but I figured with that one it could be useful. I believe that's the only FAT I kept. I only keep it around for if/when I upgrade to a knee mill. I've been using the Blake more instead for centering, it's accurate enough for me most of the time but just a pain to set up sometimes (the days when I'm lazy :D ). But like you said these could come in handy for other situations.

I've been curious about the Edge Technology one. Looks nice & everything I have from them I've been happy with. But there's still my gearhead dilema so I probably won't bother. Don't have a need for it anyway.
 
Just wait a bit, Will, and they'll probably send you one for free ... just because you sent out the ol' Darkzero vibe. It's uncanny how people give you stuff; must be because you are just one of the nicest people I know.
 
@redvan22 eventually your box of indicators will grow, but I'm sure you will know that. I began machining with a half-thou Mitutoyo DTI that I still use. Only very recently did I get a one-tenth Mit DTI to go with it.

Here's where I'm going to differ from the above advice. You will need a plunge indicator. I have a bunch, but I've never paid more than 9$ on one. Yes I know they are junk. Yes I know they won't take abuse. Every machine in my shop has one on a base where I need it, so I don't have to move them around... They stay out where they are useful. My very $$$ Mitutoyo DTIs sit in their box in the metrology tool drawer where they are safe.

It's a way I cut costs, but have the versatility of having an indicator handy. FYI I've never had an offshore plunge indicator die on me, or give me bad results. Offshore DTIs are a little more delicate. I broke the stylus on a friend's offshore DTI by accident last week. OOPS!

So you can buy a half thou DTI like a Starret or Mit for less than $150 on sale, and an offshore plunge for under 15$ That will do you for the first 20 years. You do need the kit version, and add some accessories over time.

+1 on the Noga base I love mine and never use the rod type bases any more.
 
mikey said:
Just wait a bit, Will, and they'll probably send you one for free ... just because you sent out the ol' Darkzero vibe. It's uncanny how people give you stuff; must be because you are just one of the nicest people I know.
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Haha, wow thanks Mike! I think you are one of the nicest people I know, not me. I'm not a talkative person & I don't smile much. Not that I'm mad all the time, it's just the way I look. Probably because of which people tell me I one of those people that are very hard to get to know (as in takes a while). :D

I hope they don't try to send me one. I'm not sure why I have gotten freebies. I don't look for handouts, I'm not that type of person. I don't have a YT channel or anything like that where people would want to sponsor someone to get exposure. I don't do reviews. So really it puzzles me. But of course I am forever thankful (to you as well ;)) & never forget those things.
 
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