More mods? I can't help myself, I guess. Earlier I installed a DRO on my old Grizzly G1006 and it's great. An annoyance, though, was that after turning the Z handwheel down to the setting I wanted and then tightening the quill lock and proceeding to mill something, due to normal vibration the handwheel would drift far away from its setting point. Then when unlocking the quill it would move up until the lash in the gears was taken up, a nuisance to me. I looked it over for a way to add some friction to the shaft so it would stay put, and this is what I came up with.
My machine is from the mid-80's so yours may be different, maybe not. I took off the handwheel and the dial behind it. I saw there was a smooth circular path on the piece behind it and the dial itself was a meaty piece of steel.
I decided a one-inch diameter path would fit well, so I drilled two .250" holes one inch across from each other, .875" deep. Remember to stay away from the existing setscrew hole!
Next I made two brass friction pins with the heads a slip fit in the quarter-inch holes and .200" long plus stems of .125" about .500" long. Slightly chamfer both ends of the heads. I went to Ace hardware to hunt for a pair of appropriate springs and found good candidates: .220" OD, 1.250" long and the wire diameter is .030". Whatever springs you choose just need to have significant tension and not coil-bind when the pin is fully depressed.
Next I put some grease on the part where the pins will ride and installed the dial. Wiggle it back and forth a little and the pins will go into the holes, then with the dial itself not quite rubbing, tighten the setscrew and install the handwheel. With the Z clutch knob loosened, turn the handwheel and it should have a smooth and pleasant resistance but stay exactly where you stop.
I am really pleased with this and I think it will work out well for me. Hope you get some ideas from it.
Rob
My machine is from the mid-80's so yours may be different, maybe not. I took off the handwheel and the dial behind it. I saw there was a smooth circular path on the piece behind it and the dial itself was a meaty piece of steel.
I decided a one-inch diameter path would fit well, so I drilled two .250" holes one inch across from each other, .875" deep. Remember to stay away from the existing setscrew hole!
Next I made two brass friction pins with the heads a slip fit in the quarter-inch holes and .200" long plus stems of .125" about .500" long. Slightly chamfer both ends of the heads. I went to Ace hardware to hunt for a pair of appropriate springs and found good candidates: .220" OD, 1.250" long and the wire diameter is .030". Whatever springs you choose just need to have significant tension and not coil-bind when the pin is fully depressed.
Next I put some grease on the part where the pins will ride and installed the dial. Wiggle it back and forth a little and the pins will go into the holes, then with the dial itself not quite rubbing, tighten the setscrew and install the handwheel. With the Z clutch knob loosened, turn the handwheel and it should have a smooth and pleasant resistance but stay exactly where you stop.
I am really pleased with this and I think it will work out well for me. Hope you get some ideas from it.
Rob
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