Speechless. Maybe we should have a thread on ccâs machinery.
It doesn't count as procrastination if you got something else done, right?
I struggled with how to make this thing all day, once I figured out what needed to go where it just finished itself. As a bonus, next time I need to change the oil in my car I can use it as a jackstand. The hangy-down bit at the bottom will be trimmed off flush so it looks nice and clean. It will be mounted on a thing that's ordered but not here yet.
The upper bracket slides together with the handle on the back, the captured spring pushes it down to clamp.
Pull up on the handle and the upper bracket lifts...
+1, Wow!! Not sure I understand much but like where itâs goin.
It's called TouchDRO. The tablet is just a display and controls, and the scales are read by an Arduino which sends the data to the tablet via a Bluetooth module. No, really. I know how that probably sounds, but it's for real.
Yeah, but whatâs a DRO? 
It's a thing that lets you remove those annoying dials from the lathe handwheels and toss them in the spare parts box where they belong.
Well, no wonder⌠I donât know how to use a lathe handwheel either. :-/ But, I think I know what youâre talking about⌠sorta. 
LOL Oh, you were serious? It's Digital Read Out. It measures the actual position of the machine parts directly, instead of indirectly with graduated dials on the handles. There is always some backlash in the screws and other parts and a DRO ignores all that and lets you, for instance, go to one precise spot with your tool, move out of the way to do something else, then by going back to the same number on the screen as before you end up back at the exact same spot with your cutting tool.
You can also do other stuff, like set the display to show either true diameter, or tool position. On a lathe, feeding the tool in 0.001" will actually reduce the diameter of the part by 0.002", since it also gets smaller over on the opposite side that's away from the cutter. Using it for a diameter reading means it shows you the actual size of the part, instead of some abstract position in space of where the tool bit is which isn't always useful.
A DRO on a milling machine can do stuff like calculate hole locations in X (left/right) and Y (towards you/away from you), and tell you exactly where to put each hole to end up with a specific pattern around the edge of a round part. You just input the diameter and number of holes and it gives you the coordinates. You go to the X/Y on the screen for hole #1, drill, then ask for where hole #2 goes and it tells you.
Okay, now I get it! Well, then, thatâs pretty awesome!
Understatement of the year?
Test parts just to see if I can do it...
Female ID started as the same as the F6's tube, cut for 20TPI. Male part was cut to whatever size fit the hole. No cleanup/prettying/deburring done yet, that's just how they came off the lathe. Yeah, this is the first set of mated parts I've ever made.
Man! Man! Man! Jealousy⌠I wonder how my mother would feel about me adding a lathe to my workstation? First I would have to remove her bed from the room though, so⌠Maybe not
http://www.grizzly.com/products/7-x-12-Mini-Metal-Lathe/G8688
It's a lot smaller than you'd think. 75lbs assembled, much less than that if you take off all the easily removable bits. Less than 28" long. No it doesn't have hardened ways, yes it's missing a lot of functionality that's standard on bigger machines (power cross feed, automatic carriage stop, quick change gearbox...), but it's cheap enough you can abuse it without losing too much sleep, and if you break it or wear it out all the parts are available.
This is the thing I was waiting on to mount the DRO tablet display.
'Overkill'? I've heard that word before, not really sure what it means...
:LOVE:
No joke, I'm convinced this arm is strong enough to hold a mid-size laptop with no drama.
@comfychair. Is the tool post in your pictures the one that comes with the grizzly lathe or is it a retrofit?
It's a Tormach 0XA, from LittleMachineShop.
Excellent. I must have one.
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Iâve also got the Tormach 0xA on my mini-lathe. Iâve been very happy with it.
And it makes a much bigger mess than youâd think for such a small thing. Definitely not a âmomâs bedroomâ type of item. 
⌠man, automatic carriage stop? Thatâs something to dream of.
Building it has a better chance of working than just dreaming of it.
Works in both directions! The rod is 1/8" TIG filler wire, passes thru the carriage just behind the apron.
It's also going to be dual-mode, switchable between shutting off the motor (for low-speed, threading to a shoulder) and tripping a pull solenoid that disengages the half-nuts but leaves the motor running (high-speed, for turning).