MIll-Drill alignment questions

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kaferhaus
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:30 am
Location: Mobile, Alabama

MIll-Drill alignment questions

Post by kaferhaus »

Okay, this thing is driving me nuts.... once you move the head, it comes out of alignment with the table as there's no keyway or anything to keep it from rotating once you move it up or down..

Any tips on a quick way to re-align it to the table??
heavy_groover
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Re: MIll-Drill alignment questions

Post by heavy_groover »

kaferhaus wrote:Okay, this thing is driving me nuts.... once you move the head, it comes out of alignment with the table as there's no keyway or anything to keep it from rotating once you move it up or down..

Any tips on a quick way to re-align it to the table??
This is one of the shortfalls of mills with round columns.

A coaxial dial indicator will show you when you get centered over an existing hole or round feature, but when you have a machine with a round column, it's best to plan your tooling changes so you won't need to move the head.

For alternative methods of re-establishing an accurate position, you use whatever other measuring instruments you have to get as close to the desired position as possible.
Sometimes improvised methods will get ya close enuff.
It often depends on whether you have other features on the part that you can measure from (a hole with a pin placed in it to measure from, for example, a precisely measured bar just touching your endmill flute will get ya close for one direction.

I've heard of guys that have mounted laser pointers attached to the head, and looking at the dot on a distant object, but the accuracy is going to be widely variable.

The shortest advise is don't move the head (unless you absolutely have to).

HG
LynnD1
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Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 4:07 pm

Head re-alignment

Post by LynnD1 »

Hi,

I found this to be a royal pain in the @$*)($%.

My solution after a number of trial and errors was to go to Walmart and by a laser level - it turned out to be the cheapest one I could find with a magnetic mount and a verical beam - about $10 bucks I think.

I then mounted it on top of the tailstock

I aligned it by using a 5/8" shaft that I had turned to a point and a machinist square placed on top of the compound slide. After aligning the laser to the point mouted in the chuck I aligned the laser vertically to the square. I then epoxied this to the tailstock.

I have been using this for some time now and it has worked for accurate enough for step drilling multiple times using a rotary table.

Its not perfect but it comes a whole lot closer than I used to be able to get.

Hope this helps.

Lynn
Jose Rivera
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Re: Head re-alignment

Post by Jose Rivera »

LynnD1 wrote:Hi,

I found this to be a royal pain in the @$*)($%.

My solution after a number of trial and errors was to go to Walmart and by a laser level - it turned out to be the cheapest one I could find with a magnetic mount and a verical beam - about $10 bucks I think.

I then mounted it on top of the tailstock

I aligned it by using a 5/8" shaft that I had turned to a point and a machinist square placed on top of the compound slide. After aligning the laser to the point mouted in the chuck I aligned the laser vertically to the square. I then epoxied this to the tailstock.

I have been using this for some time now and it has worked for accurate enough for step drilling multiple times using a rotary table.

Its not perfect but it comes a whole lot closer than I used to be able to get.

Hope this helps.

Lynn
Do you have some pictures of your set-up ?

I have a Maximat V10 that one can rotate the head with the column and also tilt the head or both.

I am affraid of moving it because I know how hard it is to bring the head specially back to zero.

Some pictures can help me and others understand better what is it that you're doing with that laser.
geraldvowles
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Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada

Scope vs. laser alignment

Post by geraldvowles »

Would a rifle scope be more accurate than a laser? Better mounting means, better optics, clear cross hair image vs. fuzzy dot on a finer target. Just a thought. - Gerry
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Hyper
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Re: Scope vs. laser alignment

Post by Hyper »

geraldvowles wrote:Would a rifle scope be more accurate than a laser? Better mounting means, better optics, clear cross hair image vs. fuzzy dot on a finer target. Just a thought. - Gerry
If the scope could focus on something that is relatively close to it, that sounds like a good idea.
magic9r
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Location: Sheffield, England

Post by magic9r »

Use a tinted filter over the laser to reduce intensity, you'll find a nice compromise between brightness & definition if you try a few different tints.
You can also buy a variable density filter made from two polarising filters one of which can be rotated relaative to the other.
I'm probably showing my age here but two of those cards that used to be on Polaroid sunglasses when you bought them would do the trick,
Regrds,
Nick
JerryL
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Location: South East Ohio

Mill-Drill alignment questions

Post by JerryL »

If your trying to align what I think you are .....the other posts with a scope and or a laser sound great .
I think if you have a long arm with an indicator attachment and a good indicator that you could also sweep the work table top in a circle around the spindle . ???

If I'm all wet and misunderstood what you are trying to do ....sorry .

JerryL
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Harold_V
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Re: Mill-Drill alignment questions

Post by Harold_V »

JerryL wrote:If your trying to align what I think you are .....the other posts with a scope and or a laser sound great .
I think if you have a long arm with an indicator attachment and a good indicator that you could also sweep the work table top in a circle around the spindle . ??? If I'm all wet and misunderstood what you are trying to do ....sorry .

JerryL
That works for truing the column/head such that it's at a right angle to the table, but it does nothing for location. The complaint is lost orientation, or registration, between the spindle and a given location on the table as it relates to the screws and/or DRO.

One must start by locating a common datum point on both the X & Y axis once the head is moved. An edge finder, or dialing a hole located at the proper location will work.

The best solution is to not own a mill/drill with a round column. They are truly exasperating.

Harold
16WhiteColly
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Re: MIll-Drill alignment questions

Post by 16WhiteColly »

When I first set up my 9729, I put a center in the mill spindle and lined it up with the tailstock center, then I drilled and tapped an 8mm x 1.25 hole directly in the center of the front column and put a cap screw in it. If I ever need to rotate the mill head, which I have not in 16 years, I can go back to the same position on center.
40 year retired machinist.
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