Gunsmithing DRO suggestions

[Twisted300Win MAG]

Well I am finally taking the plunge and picking up a Bridgeport. I found a really well taken care of machine for a steal. I would like to add a DRO as soon as I can save up a few more dollars. My budget being limited I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. I've been looking at grizzly DRO pros and a few others. Basically I'm wondering what would be the most cost effective but reasonably accurate set up. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Donald

 

[eddieharren]

Newall Digital Readout DRO for 12" x 30" Travel Mills | eBay

I have this on my mill and another on one of my lathes. I like them very much. The scales are ball bearings and not glass like most of the others.

 

[jonaddis84]

Cdcotools.com has some for around $450, not packed with features, and good luck figuring out how to use what features it has based on the manual, but they are accurate and repeatable. I've tested it multiple times with dial indicators out to the tenths

Galaxy S3 on tapatalk

 

[CS223]

You'll find no better deal/value for the money than http://www.thedrostore.com/ I've purchased a lathe & mill package from this seller, they ship directly from Singapore via FedEx and make it in a week. They are complete with plenty of extra hardware, all you need is a 4mm & 5mm tap. Way better than what Grizzly offers.

 

[Red_SC]

DRO PROS Digital Readout beats Heidenhain Newall Acurite Sargon Fagor

No experience, but this company gets recommended frequently on the machinist forums. They have a couple lines in different price ranges.

 

[skeetlee]

grizzly!!!!

 

[chipsfan]

I have a Grizzly on the lathe and a dropros on my mill. They are the same easson (spelling) unit. The grizzly has slightly larger scales. The dropros was cheaper and they had way more sizes available.

 

[HAZORD]

I don't know anything about Grizzly DRO's, but they are the parent company for Bullets.com, which is a Hide supporter!

 

[671RTO9513]

A friend of mine came over a while back to have me put two sights in a slide. He is setting up his own Bridgeport, and is on a tight budget as well. I showed him how to do it with dials as I always seem to have something else to get for the shop other than a DRO, and I'm kinda old school anyway. (Don't get me wrong, they are nice to have, and a big time saver if you're on a mill day in and day out).

After seeing for himself how accurately work can be done without a DRO, he decided there is a bunch of other tooling that he needs way more urgently right now than one of them, so he is going to do without for a while and learn to be a real machinist.

After all, there were a hell of a lot of perfectly good things made before electronics came along.

 

[Twisted300Win MAG]

Well I've been working on a mill at my uncle's shop. They only use it for their maintenance department. They have little to nothing in tooling. So over the last year i'v been putting a pretty good selection of tooling. I've done plenty of good work without a DRO but its more of a want kinda thing. Thanks all for the suggestions.
Donald

 

[chipsfan]

Well I've been working on a mill at my uncle's shop. They only use it for their maintenance department. They have little to nothing in tooling. So over the last year i'v been putting a pretty good selection of tooling. I've done plenty of good work without a DRO but its more of a want kinda thing. Thanks all for the suggestions.
Donald

I think a DRO and power draw bar make a mill. They speed up operations tremulously. The power draw bar is fantastic because tool changes are effortless and the DRO makes layout and alignment a piece of cake. They also have line bore, center find and bolt pattern features that make some projects a breeze.

 

[hero's machine]

I bought this one for my mill for about $450.00 I can not complain.

 

[flatland1]

I bought Newall C80s for both my lathe & mill just as soon as I'd accumulated enough tooling to use both machines. Newalls are expensive, but their scales are so much more durable than others that I feel they're worth it. My 2nd lathe came equipped with a Sino DRO, and the cross feed scale took a dump about 2yrs after I got the machine. Soon as I can swing it, that lathe will be sporting a Newall too. At least the owner's manual is written by folks who speak English as a first language, unlike the Sino manual, which is - near as I can tell - written in chinglish.