HS-1 Dial Indicator Recommendations

[GaussianRule]

Hi everyone,

Second post here ~ absolutely new to CNCing but have some outside help coming in that we're trying to get all of the right tools ahead of time. We bought a used 1998 HS-1 and need a dial indicator... there seem to be hundreds of choices and we realize that they are not particular to any type of CNC machine.

But I'm curious for recommendations from guys out there with this age machine and what you use to do the offsets and prep work. What would you recommend?

We are going to use this machine to produce our own parts and won't be switching out programs very often at all. So to a large degree we hope to have a setup run for weeks if possible.

Thanks!

[KenFoulks]

Almost any indicator will work. If your part has .005 tolerances, get a .001 indicator. There is a trade-off=
Lower Increments (.0001) = more precise, expensive, harder to use.
Higher increments (.001) = Cheap and easy to use, cannot be used for tighter tolerances.

My preference = .001 Dial indicator and a .0001 dial test indicator

[dougtyler]

Working with a horizontal spindle is alot different than working with a Vertical spindle, as far as indicating is concerned. You want to make sure that whatever is holding the indicator is rigid enough, not to be affected by gravity.

[KenFoulks]

Originally Posted by dougtyler Working with a horizontal spindle is alot different than working with a Vertical spindle, as far as indicating is concerned. You want to make sure that whatever is holding the indicator is rigid enough, not to be affected by gravity.

Absolutely agree

[Ydna]

A good quality magnetic base can make any dial indicator pretty versatile. Handy in the manual side of the shop too..