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Thread: DRO for Radial Arm Saw/Chop Saw

  1. #16
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    I don't think those prices are that bad. Someone took the time to draw it, order it, create the LLC / etc, acquire all the parts, paint it, assemble it.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Leland, NC
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrew whicker View Post
    I don't think those prices are that bad. Someone took the time to draw it, order it, create the LLC / etc, acquire all the parts, paint it, assemble it.
    I was looking for ideas on mounting a DRO to a radial arm saw, not a discussion of whether XYZ company charges too much for a product.

    It was recommended as a solution to what I am doing when in fact I stated clearly I had already purchased the DRO I wanted to use and was interested in different ideas for mounting it. Evidently I did not make that clear enough.

    I am quite capable of machining up anything I need, I have the tools, experience and time. So the decision was already made to use the DRO I referenced, all that remained was suggestions on how to mount it.

    XYZ company can charge whatever they want, and I can think that it is too much to pay. Simple as that.

  3. #18
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    Nov 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Potter View Post
    Ted,

    When you get it done, I would appreciate your showing it. I am in the same situation, and could use some inspiration.
    I certainly will Rick. It probably won't be long, I received the notice it shipped today. Also, I found a really old cast U aluminum piece I have had for (no kidding) 45 years. So I got the chunk I wanted cut out of it and squared up the surfaces on the mini mill. Tomorrow I am going to cut the slot to clear the clamping block. There is nothing magical about the stop itself, only a few hundred thousand have been built like it. Only this one is out of aluminum instead of wood. Then I will make the block that slides in the T Track and holds the bracket for the sensor. After that I have to do some measuring and thinking about how I want to maybe give it some protection. Right now a piece of angle aluminum I have in the shop seems to be calling my name.

    BTW, I bought the mini mill a little over a year ago. It makes a great drill press but it really shines when it comes to stuff like this. My local scrap yard has a huge building where the public can walk in and buy scrap or new stock.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Since you originally asked about ideas.....My RAS setup has a simple melamine fence going to the left about 4', with a tape on top of it. There is a t-slot milled in the fence face, rather than the top like most (no t-track). A simple 2" wide oak plate with an appropriate hole for a 5/16 T-bolt, and plastic wing nut is the stop.

    There is a simple piece of 1/4" masonite tacked and glued to the top of the oak stop. The oak is trimmed to slightly less that the height of the fence, so that the masonite rides on the top where the tape measure is. This eliminates sawdust accumulation. The whole piece is trimmed square with the masonite slider piece so it is direct measure from the slider to the tape.

    I also have a carefully trimmed 10" piece of scrap to use to space out for small pieces I do not want to try to hold. A dowel with a crutch tip is my holder.

    I also covered the table which is two layers of MDF, with 1/4" waxed masonite with a replaceable masonite insert about 5" wide for a blade insert. It is screwed down out of the blade travel (never moves from 90 degrees), and painted red. This is to remind me where my fingers should never be.

    The RAS itself rests on a benchtop With the table and fence about 5" above the bench.. which leaves room for offcuts etc. Since I only need three points for stability, the table of the extension fence is only about 6" deep.

    Probably not much there to interest you, but I have not seen a setup like it.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Buck Lake, Alberta
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    The setup on my Uni-Point is pretty simple. Like Rick I would all so be interested in seeing what the OP ends up with. A DRO would be handy for repeatability.
    E908FA78-7867-4B05-966A-AAD17E18C35D.jpg

  6. #21
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    Nov 2013
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    Leland, NC
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    Thanks Rick, Mike.

    Here is a shot of my current setup on the RAS:

    IMG_20190612_082445.jpg

    The DRO and scale for it need to go behind the fence. Right now I am making a new flip stop to run in the t track so that I can mount the reader to the back of the stop. The new one is being made out of aluminum and looks like:

    Capture.JPG

    The bright green body is from a single piece of cast aluminum tooling that was U shaped. It is now in the L shape shown above. I am going to mill the opening for the blue in it this morning. Then I will carefully size the blue block to be a nice fit. On the back side of the blue block is where I will mount the bracket for the DRO reader head and then start figuring out how I want to mount the actual scale.

    I use a tall fence on the RAS because I have some fixtures that I like to clamp to it.

    The dust collection you see in the pic needs to be modified just a tad in the future. A bit lower, maybe an inch at most. I got the design for that DC from Frank Howarth, not sure where he got it from. It is the best thing since sliced bread. Very little dust escapes. Things like that are why I asked for some ideas on here, every now and then someone has come up with something really great.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Leland, NC
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    Things are moving right along. I got the new flip stop block built (it needed a new one so I could attach the sensor from the DRO unit). Came out pretty decent if I do say so myself. Gotta love that mini mill with the DRO's!

    Tomorrow I am going to mount it to the rear of the fence with some small blocks. Nothing fancy, just the bare minimum to make it functional.

    Still hoping someone who has done this chimes in with a "If you do THIS it will be so much better" suggestion for the mounting. Other than that, I will take a look at it and start thinking about how I can make sure nothing winds up on top of that scale. Obviously whatever it is needs to be behind the scale so the sensor can move back and forth and the flip stop can flip.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
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    Sounds great.

    As always you will get it working fine, but wish you had done a few things differently. Then you will be making the Mk II edition....bigger better and more refined.

    That's when I will be ready to swoop down and relieve you of the burden of the original model .
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

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