[pete from TN]

Not sure how one way of counting is more accurate than another? Just different strokes from what I see.... Both are easily way more accurate than I can be with this Chinese mill so in that light it seems pretty gray to me... peace

Pete

Oh yeah and what the hell does this all have to do with my Digital height gauge query!! ?

[photomankc]

Not sure how it stacks up really but I picked up a I-Gauging height gauge and have used that for setting the heights on my TTS tools. I made a little fixture for measuring from some scrap on my lathe. I'm not sure it's really 0.0005 accurate but my results thus far on Z seem to suggest it's accurate enough. It was pretty cheap.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Pete,

If you're looking for something to use for tool setting, have you considered buying, or making, one of these?

Pro Touch Off Gage

Regards,
Ray L.

[pete from TN]

Yeah I saw that and it sure looks nice. I even considered making one of the touch tools as depicted on the old IH site from a dial indicator. What I have wound up with is basically what Tormach shows in this video....


[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VoVL6aCX4"]YouTube - Tormach Tool Change[/nomedia]


I got one of these in my order...

http://www.tormach.com/images/produc...anical_lrg.jpg



They show using a nice Dial indicator setup in a tts holder and going down to a specific spot in the travel. This should allow for a safer and quicker as well as more accurate Z setting than my current lower the solid shank tool number one to fit a piece of paper or a toolshank underneath it. The Z repeatability should be improved I hope. The thing I need is a decent quality Height gauge for the offline setting and I just have not found one I like that is a good price. I want a digital one so I can set zero at the top of my tool and then take my offsets for my other tools from there. Right now I am using my TTS test tool and putting it in the setting tool and carefully measuring it in my digital calipers. It works but it is far from ideal and the longer drills I cannot reach because the caliper is only so long. I have also done as Hoss suggests and measure it in the mill. That works too but if you manage to break an endmill or something and have to setup a new one you gotta move stuff all around on the machine and that cannot be good for accuracy....

I am hoping to get this TTS setup completed here and have their repeatability and ease of use all setup the way they do it and I should be golden. Especially if this high tension power drawbar I am working on actually works.... peace

Pete