Tram

Ok... I've looked at some of the nice dual indicator trams for sale, but I had a hard time buying one that I will only use once in a while. Besides none of them come with a shaft small enough for the routers I use as spindles (1/4"). Instead I made a bar with a cut off bolt / pin threaded into one end to go in the collet, and I threaded a hole on the other to bolt on a dial indicator. It works, by swinging the spindle back and forth 180 degrees while making adjustments. Its awkward and slow, but it works and cheap since I already had a dial indicator (couple of them now).

Still when I swap or rebuild spindles It takes a while to get everything adjusted and shimmed just right again. (My second mount I made adjustable so its faster, but still slow.) I was thinking about this, and suddenly it came to me. I have two good dial indicators. I can make a simple dual indicator tram the same way as my cheap single indicator tram bar. I don't need to get both indicators set at exactly the same height. I just need to get them within 1/4 to 1/2 a revolution or so, and then set the pointer to zero on both at the same point on the table. I'm not measuring distance. I'm measuring relative distance. It will make tramming spindles a lot faster, and I still don't need a dedicated tool for it. The bar, pin, etc. None of it needs to be made to any high degree of precision.

DOH! I should have thought of that a long time ago.

Reply to
Bob La Londe
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Suggest use a single indicator and tram in a circle, moving the xy table at each 90 degree quadrant so as to always take your reading with the indicator probe at the same point on the table...otherwise you're only tramming the table surface and NOT bringing the head into perpendicularity with the slides' plane of travel

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

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