Homemade DRO for milling machine

[engineer steve]

I hope I can give people inspiration or ideas by showing how I made a cheap DRO.

[DIYer]

Thanks engineer steve! We've added your Mill DRO to our Digital Readouts category,
as well as to your builder page: engineer steve's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Mill DRO by engineer steve

tags: mill, DRO

[meyer77]

I just got a digital caliper last month that looks exactly like yours. The lettering on it is different but otherwise it's the same even the box.
The problem I noticed right off was the inside and out side readings were not the same, in other words if I was boring a 1" hole to fit a 1" bar the inside and outside were off.
I paid about $20 US and the seller refunded me half. i don't know what I will use it for as I have a DRO for my mill (a cheap set x,y,z were around $130.00 US)
A few years back I had another inexpensive digital caliper who's display would count up under florescent light!
Nice build on the mill, one question have you had any problems with your chuck coming loose when milling?\
I had problems years ago when before I got my mill I was using my drill press for milling and the chuck would fall out when side milling!

[engineer steve]

Thanks for your comment, about the cheap caliper: I will make sure to check the accuracy frequently. I am aware of the side milling issue but my drill press doesn't have a taper anyway, the chuck is a press fitt on the spindle/axle. As I have acces to a lathe sometimes I am currently making a whole new spindle setup with a new quill, tapers and a drawbar to avoid the side milling issue.