Making a micrometer stop for a Clausing lathe

I've repaired a small pile of Trav-a-dials - they often get gummy from coolant or get swarf in the gears - I've been able to clean them just fine, replace the damaged glass (well, plastic) - just remember to retension the anti-backlash gear upon reassembly

I mount the 2" dial indicator on the stud at the end of (and below) the stop spindle.

's in one of two tapped holes for some accessory I don't own. Between rotating the dial scale and extending the rod with a long tip from an Enco kit the indicator can handle most of the usual range of collet work, though hitting a zero mark located near the East or West positions is uncertain. I should make a mount that tilts the indicator rather than getting my head too close to the rotating spindle. jsw

I usually figure that if they look beat up, they are not worth the risk if personal inspection is not possible. In general, you need these components:

1) Bracket 2) TAD base 3) TAD unit (dial) 4) Sphereical washers for 1/4" screws 5) 1/4-28 screws (4)

The bracket is attached to the lathe carriage or mill and is usually custom-made for the machine it will be mounted on, though SWI used to (and may still) sell brackets for common machines.

The TAD base mounts to the bracket and has 2 hard inserts that two of the 1/4-28 screws bear against to adjust the tilt of the base in the lathe X-Y plane (perpendicular to longitudinal travel). The important part here is that the inserts should be flat - some are dented.

The TAD unit has the dials and a wheel that bears againts the bed ways (in the case of a lathe). Swarf from a PO's installation can get inside the unit, which can mess up the clock action. SWI claims that the TADs are not serviceable, though some owners report success. I wouldn't count on it being serviceable so would not pay much for one that was suspect. SWI included a clip and foam gasket that fit over the wheel and (mostly) prevented swarf from getting inside the unit, but these are usually missing. SWI used to supply spares and may still. The dial cover also was a replacement part and I'd order a spare if they are still available. Old ones tend to crack and yellow with age. Naturally you need the dial finger to be intact, too.

A copy of the manual or knowledgeable friend can be nearly essential. There is a calibration procedure which is a more involved than I care to deal with in a newsgroup message. Email me if you want a copy. I get here once a week at most.

There were 2 or 3 different versions over the years. I have manuals for the Series 6 and Series 7/8 models.

Mike

Hopefully someone else will correct any misinformation in the above.

It would be luck indeed if one turned up with the correct bracket, so I expect that I'll be making the bracket.

Is there any reason one could not make the inserts of say O1 steel, and harden them oneself?

I assume that these 1/4-28 screws are nothing special. As for the spherical 1/4 inch washers, one can buy such things from Gibralter and the like.

I've taken dial calipers apart to clean and repair them (including swarf removal). It was fiddly, but wasn't that hard.

The wheel looks like it came from a knurler.

If I score a unit, I'm sure I'll be needing the manual.

Thanks,

Joe Gwinn

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I'm not the one who needs it -- but -- email you how? You appear to post with an invalid e-mail address (as do I these days, FWIW, but instructions to get the real one are in my .sig. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

I recently switched to Agent and didn't realize it was using a dummy email address in my replies. Hopefully that's been fixed in this reply.