Some interesting Machinist info links

I have been going down the rabbit hole on learning more about machining so I can start doing projects with my milling machine and metal lathe in my home workshop / personal mini-Makerspace and I though some of these links might be of interest to some of the members here on Talk.

mrpete222 has many very educational machinist videos

I came across mrpete222’s videos while looking into making some change gears for my 1947 Montgomery Ward Powr-Kraft 84TLC-2130 10" x 24" metal lathe. It was made by Logan and is basically a model 815 / 820.

I have also been looking into DRO options for adding to the metal lathe and my Grizzly G0761 milling machine. After looking at a bunch of the cheap imported DRO options and being rather unimpressed by the features and ease of use I came across TouchDRO that runs on an Android tablet and connects to a interface board over bluetooth that is connected to the scales and RPM tachometer. This solution is what I am about to start ordering hardware for to implement in my shop. The main difference being that I do not want a tablet with a LiPo battery that might swell up and become a problem. Instead I am planning on using a Raspberry Pi 4 and there is some configuration that needs to be done to be able to run Android apps and connect to the Play store but I think this will be a better long term solution. Will be using some 10" touchscreens mounted on an arm where they are easy to see and use but remain out of the way. One of the cool things in TouchDRO is you can set a list of points where you can easily go to the different locations and it also supports machine and tool profiles so you can use the same tablet with several machines by selecting which one to connect to. I plan to have dedicated setups on each machine.

TouchDRO Installation and General Setup

TouchDRO vs Standard DRO

TouchDRO Install on a Logan 200 Lathe

TouchDRO Website
https://www.touchdro.com/

Developer Website

Hopefully the new v3 release will be out in the next few months. From what I have seen the current version is probably on-par or better than most cheap hardware DRO solutions. Both the previous links have a store where you can buy some of the needed hardware and more information on what is supported and how to put a TouchDRO solution together for yourself.

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Great to hear from you Shawn. I too have a mini-makerspace at home with a Grizzly lathe (G0752) and a full size knee mill (Wells-Index 847). I put cheap (~$250) glass scales and DRO head from Aliexpress on my mill and they’ve worked fine so far. I too considered touchDRO before I finally went with the glass scale route. My decision was primarily based on the refresh rate of the igaging scales as the head moved. It can definitely be very frustrating and hard to hit your mark when the value is lagging behind the movement.
Having said that, it appears that touchDRO has options for using different types of scales (non-capacative) that would eliminate that issue. The DRO Adapter for Glass and Magnetic Scales V2 seems like the choice for me. I guess I overlooked that in my initial investigation when I knew much less about scales since it seems like the offering has existed for a while. I do very much like the visual representation of a hole pattern and the location of the tool itself in relation to them. I may need to consider retrofitting to my mill.
Also, as it appears shipping to the US has been halted, how are you going to get the unit or will you just wait?

I was still in research mode and getting ready to place my orders in another paycheck or two. Was not aware of the shipping issues and will have to look into that. I plan on ordering the stuff to do both my lathe and mill at the same time.

When my workshop is a little more organized and presentable I will share some photos of my setup and layout. Currently I am in the process of deciding where all of my tools will go in the 10 industrial tool cabinets across the 60 drawers. Until I get everything organized in drawers my workshop is a bit of a disaster since everything is piled everywhere in boxes and on the workbenches as I sort through it all and get organized.

I am getting myself setup to start reproducing unobtainable and hard to find parts for 1930’s-1970’s pinball and electro-mechanical arcade games as well as do some product development and prototyping work on some products I hope to bring to market at some point.

I also plan on building a powder coating oven, fold up bench-top paint/powder coating spray booth, small vacuum forming machine and a plastic injection molding machine at some point for some of the planned projects I want to do.

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I dont think you are alone there… I would venture to guess most of our workshops are not in a “Prime” showing off stage… Myself included. I’m in the midst of many things in my shop/garage too. I’m in the process of putting in a 100 amp sub-panel. My Bridgeport is still on rollers, somehow my shop/garage keeps catching all the stuff to make “out of sight out of mind” for the rest of the house & overflow from my van.

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Another bunch of really good machinist info is from the This Old Tony channel on YouTube. Lots of topics covered. Spent several hours last night just watching some of his videos.

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Ive been watching him since about June 2017, the Chainsaw Go Cart. I always love his videos. My wife even enjoys watching him with me.

Old machining gears video with pretty good information

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