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The follower rest is really simple, and it simply attaches to the
carriage via an existing tapped hole (metric, unfortunately).
I used 1/4-20 threaded brass rod, with a wing nut to facilitate
adjusting and locking. The ends are rounded and polished, to reduce
friction.
The slide-rod on my x-axis indicator serves two purposes, first to move
the indicator and secondly to engage the switch that is used to stop
the power feed motor when used. The repeat accuracy is easily within
.001, and there are none of the problems associated with backlash in
the lead screw since it provides absolute positioning. The 2 inch dial
indicator is available from a number of places, I got mine from HF. I
will post detailed pix of the power drive soon. It really provides a
smooth finish by the nature of very slow feed, plus the drive gears are
not even used (I have them removed and only install for threading).
Makes for quieter running. I can include a schematic for the
start-stop circuit if any one is interested. It's simple enough, all
that is needed is a normally open and normally closed switch, and a
Radio Shack DPDT 110V relay.
There will be 3 postings with an attachment each, two of the follower
rest and one for the x-axis indicator.
Following soon will be the dovetail tool holder - it is pretty involved
and was challenging (for me) to make, but well worth the effort. It
handles 1/4 ; 5/16 ; and 3/8 inch tooling, and is easy to set the tool
height. Since there are so many parts to it, I might just send lots of
pix to Ty (if that's OK,Ty )and let everyone know when they can see
them. I will include some dimensions and enhancement ideas as well.
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