[Mill] Next Purchase: Power Feed or DRO?

Splat

Splat

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Ok kids, we don't play the lottery so this must have been beginner's luck. We won a little cash from one of those scratch-offs. :drink: So I'm wondering what I should get next for my small knee mill. I'm not doing a lot of intricate work but I could see the value of having an X-axis power feed or 2 or 3-axis DRO. Which would you get next?
 
Hey Spat

I got the power feeds first. The DRO is nice, but the power feeds will improve the surface finish by a long shot. Power feeds do help you produce parts with out working your self to death. Without them, its lot of cranking. I put power feeds on all three axis, I got spoiled with the X, then the Y, then said to my self, this knee is just way to much work cranking up and down.I got the DRO shortly after, and once you get one, you will forget all you learned about reading dials, back lash, not a problem. DRO,s measure table movement , and makes your life , and your brain easyer.

I would go with the feeds first. You can get better finishes, you can work much longer without getting tired. Let the feeds do all the work, give your arms , and wrists a break from it all.
 
Splat,

I'd take a sore arm any day if it meant never again having to read dials or compensate for backlash. Once you get a DRO you'll wonder how you ever got by without one. A DRO will allow you to find the center of a part in seconds, convert from English to metric and back again with the flip of a switch, never have to compensate for backlash again, and put as many holes or pockets in a part as you like and never have to worry about losing track of your starting point, and ready directly to .0002".

Tom
 
Thanks guys. 1 for DRO, 1 for feed. I just found the Igaging mag scales but I guess I should post a separate thread about that.
 
put me down for digital, I do a lot more at work putting in holes than I do long cuts.
 
Some good points about the DRO
From previous posts, I understand that Splat is a newbie to this machining thing.
IMO, a newb, should learn basic things first. That would be learning to read dials, dealing with back lash before getting involved with DROs. The power feed/feeds would help him get the work done , without working him so hard. If the power feed was to crap out, well then just turn the handles. The mill will still work as normal, and the job will still get finished.

Not learning basic things like how to use your dials, and dealing with the machines back lash is taking a major leap past basic learning skills. Think about what will happen when his DRO has a problem. What then? Does he shut the machine down, and wait till he repairs the DRO? Now don,t get me wrong here, Im not against DRO,s, I have a 3-axis Newall on my mill. But I learned the basic stuff first.
Side stepping this basic learning curve is not such a good idea.

One of the first things to learn, is how to run your machine, and learn these steps.
Im allso one of those guys the firmly believes that on a lathe for instance, the newbie should not be using a 3-jaw chuck. He should learn basic,s, like how to dial his work in properly. Only when he has mastered this, should he be using a 3-jaw. Simple way of thinking, what happens when he must remove the work piece, and rechuck it, or turn it around? Thats when a operator would be wishing he learned to dial in a 4-jaw.

Thes are basic,s guys. One should think it over before deciding to side step the learning skills, thinking he or she doest need them. Once basic skills are mastered, then the bells and whistles are a great addition.

Something has to be said about, you walk, before you run!
 
8ntsane said:
Some good points about the DRO
From previous posts, I understand that Splat is a newbie to this machining thing.
IMO, a newb, should learn basic things first. That would be learning to read dials, dealing with back lash before getting involved with DROs. The power feed/feeds would help him get the work done , without working him so hard. If the power feed was to crap out, well then just turn the handles. The mill will still work as normal, and the job will still get finished.

Not learning basic things like how to use your dials, and dealing with the machines back lash is taking a major leap past basic learning skills. Think about what will happen when his DRO has a problem. What then? Does he shut the machine down, and wait till he repairs the DRO? Now don,t get me wrong here, Im not against DRO,s, I have a 3-axis Newall on my mill. But I learned the basic stuff first.
Side stepping this basic learning curve is not such a good idea.

One of the first things to learn, is how to run your machine, and learn these steps.
Im allso one of those guys the firmly believes that on a lathe for instance, the newbie should not be using a 3-jaw chuck. He should learn basic,s, like how to dial his work in properly. Only when he has mastered this, should he be using a 3-jaw. Simple way of thinking, what happens when he must remove the work piece, and rechuck it, or turn it around? Thats when a operator would be wishing he learned to dial in a 4-jaw.

Thes are basic,s guys. One should think it over before deciding to side step the learning skills, thinking he or she doest need them. Once basic skills are mastered, then the bells and whistles are a great addition.

Something has to be said about, you walk, before you run!
Click to expand...

Paul,

I'm all for learning the basics as well, but not for something like this. What about digital calipers? We all have a pair. What if they break or the battery goes dead? Should we all have vernier calipers and know how to use them just in case? DRO's are the modern equivalent of dials on machines just as digital calipers are the modern equivalent of vernier calipers.

I would rather see a new machinist spending time learning meaningful things like how to properly square up stock, calculate what rpm a certain cutter should be run or how to use a boring head to bore a hole than trying to find his way around a part using dials and backlash compensation.

Just my 2¢ on the topic.

Tom
 
Paul and Tom, I hear what you're both saying and I agree. I've been working with shop tools for most of my life, just never used a mill or lathe. My Dad was an instrument mechanic for most of his life. He had 6 brothers and they learned a lot from each other. They could do just about anything. I was lucky enough to have my Dad teach me many things. I'm all for learning the foundation for anything involving machinery. I know how to read my dials, compensating for backlash, squaring stock to/on any machine, and more. Sure, there's a lot I don't know but hopefully I'm smart enough to know when I need to learn something. :p I put the order in for 3 Igaging mag scales. We'll see how it goes.
 
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