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Laser center finder

I wouldn’t recommend one for fine work, perhaps .007 total position assuming conc. with spindle. This is due to the width of beam even when relatively close to the work piece. I don’t use it to come off an edge to a given linear however it works great for picking up an unknown point.
 
I've got one. I use it for aligning circuit boards to be tab routed, which is +-.005 type work at most. It works well and really fast there picking up internal features on a flat board.

My biggest complaint is that the shank is aluminum. I hold mine in a drill chuck and its getting little lines all over the shank. That can't be good for accuracy down the road.
 
JACOT,

I'm just a hobby machinist and may not work up to your level of precision, but my $.02.

I Love Mine!

I use it for all it's designed purposes, center hole shooter {I'm not quite sure why Perk complains about the size of the beam. That bad boy is almost microscopic! I have to turn out the lights and sometimes use a magnifying glass or magnifying hood just to see it!} edge finder, it EXCELLS at finding an unknown point! I have "shot" my scribed lines and then drilled and it's dead balls on! I use mine in a collet, one just for it, spent the $$ for a real good collet, I never take it out of that collet. So I agree with Comatose, I wish the case were steel not Aluminum.

I take it to the other "amatures" shops to assist in aligning their machines, especially after a total restoration, to align the Lathe Head and Tailstock. Also to set back up on the one lathe of mine that I don't have a taper attachment for and have to offset the tailstock.

I align {Tram} my mill also, I turn on the mill at the lowest speed, I can get quite slow as my mills are DC, Tram till the "Egg Shape" goes away on the "Target" they will send you with the Laser. I get as close with it as I do my Indicol and DTI

I would simply say that I have spent $70 USD in worse ways. Two Thumbs Up!!!

Take Care, Ken
 
I've never used one, having already had an optical center finder that cost about twice as much as the laser rig. IMHO, it's worth the extra cost. It gives a person a magnified razor sharp view of scribe lines or center punch dimples.

In my opinion, the optical centering tool is the next best thing to using toolmaker buttons.

Orrin
 
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Hardened steel body that will not get marked by chuch jaws.

No battery required.

If you go this route, be sure to get the PT28314 Collet Adapter, which eliminates the need to switch collets.

3774.jpg
 
That's a Starrett part number. It fits the 827A Series edgefinder (Single End, .375" body diameter, the bottom one in the photo). Does not fit the 827B (Double End, .500" diameter).
 
Does anyone know if Mitutoyo makes an adapter for their .500" edge finders?
AFAIK, only Starrett makes the collet adapter. I keep meaning to make one to fit my .500" finder, as it gets used twice as much as the smaller, single end model. Starrett says, "The progressive steps are 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" and 1". Step depths vary from .100" to .200"." Shouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to make


http://catalog.starrett.com/catalog/catalog/groupf.asp?groupid=741
 
For rough work I bump the walls with a dowel pin held in a collet or touch off with the cutter. I use a wiggler for most accurate work. I tram and dial indicate for highest accuracy. Hell, if I have a good part edge to compare with a machine reference I can eyeball and hold parallelism to 0.005".

The laser goodie has a beam of finite width. You have to treat its width something like a kerf. So long as you're good at guessing the kerf width (is the beam round?) you can work to accuracy roughly equal to that obtained by layout.

I wouldn't have one at the price they offer nor would I use one except experimentally. I have in my trove of personal skills the means of acquiring parts featuers and aligning them to machine axes that are not only quick and convenient but far more accurate than the laser gizmo that seems to be attracting the naifs of the home shop.

One thing you newer guys need to engrave in your brains: there may be shortcuts but many of them lead to dead ends. You need to learn to use a 4 jaw for routine work, tram in a spindle, dial in work with a dial indicator, and other basic ops using no more than the simple machinist's equipment already in your tool boxes. There's no short cuts for these basic skills.

The expensive gadgets sold to make basic operations "easier" in the end make it harder, less accurate, and more frustrating. They're snake oil applied to the trade. It's the home shop equivalent of Enzyte penile enhancment pills.

I can see uses for the laser gizmo its makers don't plug: long distance alignments/offsets to part features for one. Light doesn't perceptibly bend in Earth gravity - at least in short distances.

If you want a good edge finding gadget that takes a battery look at the one that lights an LED when it makes contact with conductive work. They're as accurate as claimed.
 
If you want a good edge finding gadget that takes a battery look at the one that lights an LED when it makes contact with conductive work. They're as accurate as claimed.
I had one of the LED edge finders. I liked usung it, until I came acroos a part that had oil on it. The LED couldn't make a good contact with the part, and I over traveled the table bending the end of the edge finder. Not a large bend but enough to throw it out of whack. I should have wiped and cleaned the part before trying to locate the edge (regardless of what type of edge finder I was using).
 
as Forrest says, a gadget would be the led edm-type edge finders. Drawbacks, as kilroyjones states, and bigger problem is lighted edge finder not being perpendicular with machine travel.

You guys ever use diamond edge finders?

Usually used in jig borers.

You use the old trusty Interapid or Compac (if youre big time, a Mahr)
(sorry- not the last turd)
 
That thing would be useful on a CNC lathe to set up jaws, but then again I think someone makes one for that purpose. Put it in a collet chuck or some kind of mag holder and see were your at. Always wanted one on a CMM with a camera, so you could turn it on and see were you were looking at at high magnification. Would have to be on center with camera reticle. Just a convenience thing.
 








 
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