Mounting a scale to 10EE cross slide

Hi Guys. I have a new to me 1957 10EE that came with a Sony DRO. The previous owner mounted the carriage scale but not the cross slide scale. I am not sure the best way to mount a scale to the cross slide. Also there is a short threaded rod/bolt that is captured and slides in a channel on the side of the cross slide right where I would think is best to mount the scale. What is this threaded piece for? Also any advice or photos of the best way to mount a scale on the cross slide of a 10EE.


Thanks

I mounted mine here, but it was a slim scale. Also just to the right you'll see a hole I drilled & tapped for a stop bolt to prevent the tailstock crashing into the scale.

My 10EE is set up like Peter's. Mine has a heavy aluminum plate screwed to the top of the slide and extending out over the scale to act as a stop for the tailstock. Works fine, although there is the tradeoff of lost tailstock reach.

Thanks for the photos Peter. Using an indicator to make sure every thing is aligned is a great idea. I have not even gotten to the point of thinking about alignment yet.

Does anyone know what the sliding threaded piece that rides in the channel on the side of cross slide is for? I will have to remove it to mount the scale.

I don't know. My '67 Modular does not have that channel.

Superbowl said:

Does anyone know what the sliding threaded piece that rides in the channel on the side of cross slide is for? I will have to remove it to mount the scale.

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That slot is used for two things that I am aware of, maybe others witll know of additional uses. It was used to mount a stop for the dial indicator attachment that mounts on the saddle. It was also used to mount the ramp for the constant surface speed attachment. Your lathe does not have either attachment currently, but it looks like you may have some threaded holes on the top of the saddle, to the right of the front of the cross slide where the dial indicator was mounted. Hard to tell from your photo.

One thing to consider when mounting a cross slide DRO scale is whether you plan to use a follower rest, and whether or not the scale is in the way.

Perhaps you can shorten the scale you have; there have been some threads about doing that. I don't know if that is an option with the scale you have. There are scales available that are much shorter that still are long enough to handle the 6.5" of travel. Here is a picture of the scale on my lathe to illustrate:

Recently finished installing mine; here are the stops I made to avoid touching the reader or scale. Travel lost is only .650 if I remember right.

[/url]Untitled by crh2765, on Flickr[/IMG]

Superbowl said:

Thanks for the photos Peter. Using an indicator to make sure every thing is aligned is a great idea. I have not even gotten to the point of thinking about alignment yet.

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Most welcome. I installed the four set screws because the casting is rough and not quite vertical. After hanging the read head and bracket I turned in each screw so it just touched and moved the dial a tenth or two, then nipped up the clamp screws. After that I removed the read head from the bracket and used the four screws to jack the bracket into alignment. When it was all done I removed each screw in turn and threadlocked them.

Thanks Rimcanyon. Did you use tee bolts in that slot to mount your scale or drill separate holes?

The scale is attached to a single stand-off at the front. The stand-off is threaded ¼-20. The second stand-off is to hold the chip shield for the scale.

My lathe’s cross slide did not have the slot. I drilled ¼-20 holes, but needed to avoid both gib screws, the spring-loaded pin that holds the rear chip shield in place and the body of the reader head which is mounted to the saddle, so the slot would not have worked anyway.

Thanks for the info. I think my slot will allow me to mount the scale with no drilling of new holes. I will drill to mount the safety bumpers like you did however.