Robin,

When indicating a vise or a part, I use the cross travel to make contact
with the point and then continue moving to get a non-zero reading and work
relative to that. I don't bother to move the dial, though it might be
smart to "permanently" offset it so that I'm working at zero vs. 15.


15 is excessive. A preload of a couple of thou should more than suffice.

15 is _convenient_



Many people make tooling plates for their rotary tables so they can cut into
the table (only slightly) if required to mill a complicated profile. If you
make a tooling plate, you can place a dowel hole in the center and then use
a dowel pin to center the rotary table to the spindle. The part too, if you
can accomodate a dowel pin hole in it.

Got it. Thanks for your reply!

Bill