Trav-a-dial bracket for 10EE ?

[Desmato]

I am looking for the trav-a-dial bracket for the square dial 10EE. SWI, was zero help with even a part number.

Does anyone here have the part number on the casting so i can start my interwebs search ?

I found a picture of one that looks really close ... BR-87. Not sure if that is the correct one.

Todd

 

[Jdub63]

I found one on Ebay that is supposed to be the correct one... Looks like it attaches to the front/tail stock side of the apron. The bracket number on it is BR-17. It looks easy enough to make one. I haven't cleaned it up yet or installed.

 

[bsg]

I am looking for the trav-a-dial bracket for the square dial 10EE. SWI, was zero help with even a part number.

Does anyone here have the part number on the casting so i can start my interwebs search ?

I found a picture of one that looks really close ... BR-87. Not sure if that is the correct one.

Todd

I have two different brackets on my machines, can get some pictures in the next couple of days.........

Kevin

 

[AlfaGTA]

Think the “factory” brackets are for the most part poor!! Have a cheap and “erector set” look.
Have made several that actually looked and functioned as industrial machine parts.
In short, I would make (and have) my own.
Cheers Ross

 

[bsg]

Ross, the early brackets were one piece, later ones were like the erector sets, similar to what you would find on vertical mill readout brackets.

Here's two different versions, the first is on a 1965 10ee and the second on a 1974 10ee.
Could not find any numbers on the first bracket, likely covered by the travel dial itself.

Kevin

 

[rcn11thacr]

Think the “factory” brackets are for the most part poor!! Have a cheap and “erector set” look.
Have made several that actually looked and functioned as industrial machine parts.
In short, I would make (and have) my own.
Cheers Ross

Call me whatever...I've never used a machine that had a travel dial, so i assume the dial gets it's information from the lead screw? How would/did you build your versions in the past? Do you by chance have anything in writing you would be willing to share? I now have a 1963 10ee in what i like to call the long wheel base version (30 incher), with no travel dial. So having one would certainly be nice and i don't mind building one.

 

[Cal Haines]

No, the Trav-a-Dial has a rubber roller that contacts the edge of the bed and drives the internal mechanism. If you're interested in how it works, Grant did a full rebuild of one:

Full tear down and Rebuild of a 10EE Round Dial

The knobs, sight glass bezels and dials are definately made of different alloys. The latter will not stay polished. I had my dials chrome plated and they look great. Here's what they looked like 12 years ago: The photo doesn't capture how shiny the bezel is. I intentionally didn't try to...

www.practicalmachinist.com

 

[Mr_CNC_guy]

The Trav-a-Dial does not have a rubber roller that engages the lathe bed. The wheel is hardened steel that is knurled on its diameter. It is supposed to knurl the lathe bed when first moved across the bed. The idea being that the knurled wheel would continue to fit into the knurled lathe bed and thereby act like a gear and rack.

This always struck me as wishful thinking. Might work on a lathe with a soft iron bed, but what about a hardened bed? What if a chip gets in there? In my opinion, a crappy DRO beats a Trav-a-Dial every day.

 

[AlfaGTA]

Here is an example of an alternative mount;
Bought a dial for this lathe (sorry not a EE) , Dong Yang Licensed copy of an Okuma...Fit and finish nice as any Monarch

Bracket was to bolt to the top of the carriage....looked like crap! Obscured the thread chasing dial, unacceptable

Solution: bracket that also carries the chasing dial all integrated like a real machine part. Made from steel.

No junk on the top[ of the carriage, no extra drilling and tapping, just a thought out mount.
Cheers Ross

 

[rcn11thacr]

Ross,

Thanks for the pictures and information. It appears that Cal & Mr CNC differ from what I’ve read on how these work. How does your travel dial engage and start the measuring process?

 

[dana gear]

All the travel meters on our old lathes have a hardened steel wheel that travels under slight pressure on the side of the bed rail. The pressure prevents the wheel from slipping in its travel.

 

[AlfaGTA]

A bit more detail on how the actual measurement is done.
Dana gear is correct. The read head contains a steel wheel that rides (and rolls) along (usually) the side of the selected axis way.
Further, the wheel’s surface has a texture (very fine lines running across the wheel).
Also the surface of the wheel is slightly curved. This shape makes the wheel contact patch very narrow, plus it allows for calibration of the travel.
By tilting the read head and thus the wheel relative to the contact surface the contact circumference of the wheel can de changed, and the result is a greater or lesser travel reading.
The read head is under spring tension to assure that you get repeatable readings. The pressure coupled with the wheel texture seem to be effective at eliminating wheel slip.

The read head is provided with a wiper/seal and it needs to be changed regularly to keep swarf and dirt from getting in the clockwork of the read head.
The read head can become inaccurate is it gets dirty. If the hearing gets contaminated and stops turning, the contact wheel can get smell flat spots on the contact surface which can destroy the units accuracy.
I have used TD’s for years on lathe Z axis. Have found them to be accurate and reliable

Cheers Ross

 

[Cal Haines]

The Trav-a-Dial does not have a rubber roller that engages the lathe bed. The wheel is hardened steel that is knurled on its diameter. It is supposed to knurl the lathe bed when first moved across the bed. The idea being that the knurled wheel would continue to fit into the knurled lathe bed and thereby act like a gear and rack.
...

Here's a photo of the guts of Grant's Trav-v-Dial. The travel wheel (friction wheel) is in the bottom row, to the right. It appears to have a metal hub with a grayish "tire" that's been pressed onto the hub:

Here's a closeup of the friction wheel:

It's definitely not knurled and appears to be smooth. I thought Grant said something about the tire, but I can't find it. Grant is busy working. Maybe when he gets a few minutes he can comment.

 

[daryl bane]

Long story, but I bought a Trav-a -dial/ mount and completely restored it. Unfortunately, it turned out that the hardened convex wheel had worn enough, so that you could not calibrate it. Also unfortunately, this part (new) is not easily found..so junk in my opinion.

 

[Desmato]

BSG, that 1st one is the one i was looking at/for. I think it's the BR-87 i saw online but without the actual # can't be for sure. I seems to recall the # is on the side of the top where it ists on the saddle. Maybe it's on the back side ?

I thought on making one, but the desire to perforate and tap holes in my ssaddle swayed me in the direction of not doing so. I could use the same top mounting holes and such,... likely the route I'll ha e to take if i wish to use it.

As for DRO,.. same dilemma of drilling and tapping into the lathe and my unease, though the benefits would be great !

Anyone using the "touchDRO" setup ? Aside from fingers on a touchscreen, i really like the versatility and futureproof of that product.

Todd

 

[daryl bane]

I had never used a DRO on a lathe until recently and now I really like it. I had decided to go "old school" when doing my EE and did not drill/tap for a DRO. I now regret that decision, not that my EE is lacking in anyway, but it would/should have been a no-brainer.

 

[Mr_CNC_guy]

If you don't want to drill holes in your lathe to mount your DRO you might try gluing mounting blocks. There is very little force on the DRO components, so something like JB Weld should work OK.

 

[Desmato]

If you don't want to drill holes in your lathe to mount your DRO you might try gluing mounting blocks. There is very little force on the DRO components, so something like JB Weld should work OK.

Considering all the modern adhesives. That's a great idea !
I have 2 B.P.s, 3 lathes, a Haas VF-1 and an old Cincom CNC "Swiss". I want to add DROs to all the old stuff but never cared for the drill/tap into older, sought after machines.

 

[rimcanyon]

Daryl, I originally had a Trav a Dial on my 10EE, mounted using the end-most bolts that attach the saddle to the apron. But I also wanted a radius readout so I upgraded to a Newall DRO. The DRO install was quite simple: two holes on the saddle for the radius read head, two on the cross slide for the scale, two on the back of the saddle for the Z axis read head and two on the bed for the Z scale. The first six holes were done on the mill, and the two in the bed were done free hand. So I don't think it would have mattered whether the lathe was restored before or after installing the DRO. I also installed the display unit, but I used a mount I fabricated that attached using the existing holes for the round plate that covers the reversing switch on the back of the headstock.

 

[daryl bane]

I was probably overreacting a bit. Old School techniques work just fine for the work that I do, but I really like the Newall on my Hwacheon.