recommend a budget DRO?

[kustomkb]

Does anyone have any experience with a low cost dro such as dro meister or shooting star that they would recommend?
Thanks
-Kevin-

 

[firebird]

Hi

Have a quick look at my post 'DRO ON THE MILL' in the 'TOOLS' section to see if thats the sort of thing your after, if it is and you have any more questions just shout out.

Cheers

 

[Brass_Machine]

What kind of mill?

If it is a small bench mill (ala X1, X2, X3)... Why not build your own? You can scroll down HERE to my reply and sorta see the one i built for my X2. If it is a bigger mill like a BP... sorry cant help.

Eric

 

[kustomkb]

Sorry I wasn't clear. it is for a 14 x 40 lathe, I've thought about going that route with the read out box but am worried about coolant and chips getting in the way. the singapore ones have glass scales and claim good resolution but 600$ Shooting star is made about an hour away from me, maybe i'll go pop in.
Thanks for the tips!

 

[Charlie J]

I just finished installing my second Shooting Star DRO. I had put a three axis readout on my 1985 mill-drill about 4 years ago. Absolutely no problems, the unit has worked flawlessly!! I bought a new 6X26 mill in October and actually bought the DRO before the mill. The newer Shooting Star has a lot more features that I'm looking forward to using. I also have a 14X40 lathe that I intend to add the Shooting Star DRO to this year. The .0005" resolution is more than satisfactory for an HSM.

 

[Loose nut]

I've been using digital scales on my mill drill for many years and I haven't had any problems with them. The first thing I did after installing them was to run a wigglier up against a parallels mounted in the vise and after 5 runs I had 2 that showed a .0000 error and 3 that showed .0005 error, not very scientific but it proves they are good enough for an HSM, not pro's, who is going to be satisfied with a .001 accuracy. You can get a 3 axis read out for them (I got mine from CDCO, at the MAMES show, they seemed to have the best price at that time) that allows you to cover them so they are protected.

 

[deere_x475guy]

Kustom, I have had the Shooting Star DRO on my lathe for about 5 years. I had built a Schumatec DRO for my dovetail bench mill. I sold it along with that mill when I bought my Enco knee mill. I purchased a Meister DRO last year for the Enco mill and couldn't be happier with it. I plan on selling the Shooting Star this Spring and getting another Meister for the lathe. If you check my link in my sig and look through the pics you will see pics of each of the DRO's that I am talking about.

 

[Don Huseman]

The cheapest DRO I have found is form a company called CDCo847 2554820. I have used their dro and it works fine so far for about a year. The scales are about
$50 for 4" and $249 for 40" The readout is $175 for three axis. I think that is the best buy I have seen. I have an 8" scale on my surface grinder and it seems to work ok but it does use the batteries.
Don

 

[raym 11]

Five stars for shooting star!I bought a 2 axis for my 9x36 Southbend at a show in Visalia ca. a few years ago.
It is great for hsm +-.0005.

I purchased a grizily mill in 2004 and ordered a shooting star 3 axis. A fewmonths after I installed it I saw an advertisement regarding the new updated version. I called Shooting star and said whaaat! After a discussion and because I also had
one of their products on my lathe they allowed me to return the dro + 50$ and they returned the new model within one week!

Too bad more U.S. manufacturers don't do business this way. :'(
Ray