"Jon Elson" wrote in message
...
Michael Koblic wrote:


I searched Enco and as far as I gather Indicol is a maker of dial-related
things. Many items came up. Do you have the specifics?

I was going to get the small magentic attachment Little Machine Shop
sells for about $5. I am sick of struggling with the contraption I have.
It has a C-shaped piece that wraps around the spindle nose and a screw
that secures it to the spindle. It has a 3-piece articulated arm that
holds the indicator. These generally only fit machines that have a
spindle nose very close to the same as a Bridgeport 1J or 2J head. You
need a spindle lock to keep the spindle from turning very much. If you
align the indicator feeler right, this slight rocking will have far less
than .001" effect on the reading. You can check that this is true by just
rocking the spindle by hand. If the reading doesn't change, then you have
the feeler pointed right at the vise jaw. Some vise jaws are not quite
straight, so you check both ends and ignore the middle reading.

Jon

Locking a BP spindle doesn't eliminate motion. You have the slop of the
plastic keys that will permit minimal spindle rotation, albeit very little.
Any is too much if you rely on the spindle to be locked dead. It is for that
reason I suggested that a setup is suspect if motion of any kind is a
problem. An indictor held at the right attitude in a drill chuck with the
spindle free will serve perfectly well. You just have to use good judgment
when making the setup. That incudes using an indicator that is sensitive.

Harold