- Joined
- Feb 7, 2016
- Messages
- 172
I have found myself needing more precision than the original dials on my VN no10 could handle. Especially since I never knew exactly how accurate the dials were after 100 years of service. Decided to purchase a DRO Absolute Mag 3-axis scale on black friday for half the price. It has taken me roughly 5 Saturdays to install everything and be operational.
I decided the mag scales were best for several reasons:
-I have used DRO mag scales in the past
-Cut to length was needed for my 30" X 6" Y and 30" Z
-6 year warranty
-Slim profile
-The cost to have each lead screw/nut refurbished probably would have cost the same as the DRO and still not give me precision I wanted or ability to convert units on the fly.
I was only able to use one of the included brackets to mount the read head. Due to the shape of the VN, I had to customize a bracket for my Z read head. I didn't want the scale and head on the left side since the locks for Z and X are on the left. The longest part of the installation was orient each scale to the cast iron surfaces. I did lose some travel in the Y direction since the scale for X was mounted on the back side of the table.
I am happy with the setup and the improvement on the machine to last another 100 years of service.
I decided the mag scales were best for several reasons:
-I have used DRO mag scales in the past
-Cut to length was needed for my 30" X 6" Y and 30" Z
-6 year warranty
-Slim profile
-The cost to have each lead screw/nut refurbished probably would have cost the same as the DRO and still not give me precision I wanted or ability to convert units on the fly.
I was only able to use one of the included brackets to mount the read head. Due to the shape of the VN, I had to customize a bracket for my Z read head. I didn't want the scale and head on the left side since the locks for Z and X are on the left. The longest part of the installation was orient each scale to the cast iron surfaces. I did lose some travel in the Y direction since the scale for X was mounted on the back side of the table.
I am happy with the setup and the improvement on the machine to last another 100 years of service.