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Sometimes I'm an idiot

A while back I made a homemade tram for my mill, drill press etc. Day before yesterday I had a crash that knocked the mill tower out of alignment. (Forgot to take some secondary clearances into account when deep pocketing) As I was adjusting everything back into place I noticed my cheap HF dial indicator was getting all sloppy, so I ordered a new Starrett one. I figured I use it often enough now to justify paying for a decent one. This morning as I was pulling the dial indicator off my tram bracket I noticed the screws on the back of the indicator, and thought, "Gee, I wonder if those are loose." They were.

Sigh.

A gentle tightening and now its as good as it ever was. Its still an HF dial, but now there is no mechanical slop in the case and it snaps back to the same exact spot on the dial every time.

Reply to
Bob La Londe
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On a positive note. I'll have a decent quality dial indicator in a couple days.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I locktite the screws on the back of those indicators. They have got loose on me once or twice.

John

Reply to
john

I'm sure more than a few here have been there. More than once. I sure have...

Years ago, working with my first CNC mill at a previous job, and hardly being comfortable and familiar with it, I'd finished one job and set up for the next, including moving the ram back to it's original location.

Now, I'm milling one side wall out of the center of some 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/8 aluminum with a 3/8 roughing end mill. Right off the bat, the damned thing starts losing Y location, and I have to rezero. This happens repeatedly. Phone call to Wells Index resolve nothing, everyone is scratching their head. Boss flies tech out, when he arrives they are in the office talking while I get the machine ready to demonstrate the problem. And then it hits me... I forgot to tighten the ram clamp bolts. I'm not sure I had ever moved a mill ram before, something or someone distracted me in the middle of it, and I just forgot.

In feeble defense, I am a self taught machinist and this place was where I learned a lot. Some of it the hard way...

Jon Lifelong student School of Hard Knocks

Reply to
Jon Anderson

I can sympathise with that, my neighbour popped in the other day while I was setting up a job and distracted me. I forgot to clamp the quill on the BP and tighten the drawbar. 2.5" face mill slipped slightly at one point and the cut didn't cut as deep as I expected when I reached the indicated depth on the knee dial. I'll have to make a mental note to check those if I'm interrupted again. I find the quill lock easy to forget on occasions at the best of times.

Reply to
David Billington

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