New mini mill

[Dell]

Hi all
I repair vintage and antique clocks as a hobby and I have just purchased a mini mill ( Warco WM12) as I can’t do everything I want to do with my 10mm Derbyshire Magnus lathe but as I am getting on a bit and eyesight not as good as it used to be I think it and I would benefit from a DRO , my thoughts are definitely X and Y axis but as for the Z I think guill would be more beneficial, so if anyone has thoughts or advice/suggestions it would be much appreciated, also as it it is such a small mill I think I need to go for magnetic strip scales, the chap I think I am getting the DRO kit off said he could mill a slot in back of X axis 3mm 1/8” deep to fit scale strip into and offset the reader ( I am note sure what he means by that as I thought it had to be central ) so my questions are would it be okay to mill a slot in back of X axis and what does he mean by offsetting the reader

 

[hman]

There's nothing "magic" about where the reader is placed, as long as it's able to read the scale strip throughout the full motion of the table. If you offset the reader from the center of travel, you may need some extra scale strip length toward that side. What a DRO does is count pulses. When you set a zero point, the DRO displays a calculated position based on the number (and direction of) of pulses it's detected since the zero point was set.

 

[Ken from ontario]

When moving the table in Y axis, the reader could potentially get crushed between the post/frame and the table, that is why it is important to find that special spot where it can remain intact and still be able to read X axis from either ends.
I still am not sure if there is a need to mill a a slot for the magnetic strip, I'm not saying it won't help but I just didn't think it was necessary when I installed it on my mini mill unless, your mill has much less room in the back of the table than a mini mill, I still would do a dry run and see if it can function without milling the slot .

 

[Winegrower]

Regarding X and Y axes, of course you need them. I have a quill readout, and rarely use it, seems like there is always another way of solving the issue at hand without it.