Hello Tom, you made hard work of all this backlash. Providing that you always work in the same direction for the backlash, you can just use the dials, no trial cuts needed and no marker pen. You had edge found anti clockwise and set the dial, you had also milled the back edge anti clockwise .375 thou. When it came to doing the front edge, all you needed to do was with the tool retracted from the milled pocket; move the table .400 thou + clockwise past the centre, then wind the table back anti clockwise until the dial reads .375 thou. Run the cutter and plunge back to your original depth. Do the same in the X direction, job done. You then have no need to know how much the backlash is in each leadscrew. Hope this helps others. Obviously it still works in the other direction if you have edge found in the clockwise direction, then always work the dials in the same direction. Another of your interesting machining tips, well done.

Excellent; thank you. It's been 50 years since I last ran a mill in high school, and this was a good refresher. Also, greetings from the lower peninsula!

Hi Tom, I appreciate your involvement with all of us. DRO's are so much of a blessing, until recently I was using my lathe without one, I did get used to it, like a second nature. I find that operating a milling is more awkward without a DRO than the lathe was. That makes me appreciate that both my machines now have DRO's. VIVA Dineros, VIVA DRO's Thanks again, Pierre

Tom I can't tell you how useful that video was. I have been doing all that by trial and error. I can't wait to try this tomorrow. Thank you!

I am very happy I found your channel. I am saving for my first mill and have been interested in learning as much as I can. Thank you very much for taking the time and posting.

Another great video Tom! I enjoyed this one. DRO's aren't cheap and a lot of hobbiest can't afford one right off the bat so this will be a big help to us all thanks! Dennis

Great video. I watch them all and learn tons each time. Thanks.

Hi Tom Great lesson and this video makes me count my blessings that I bought a DRO for my mill.....I had forgot everything you just showed when using dials, also have trava-dials on both x&y on my lathe. Chuck

Tom, thank you so very much for taking the time to make, edit & upload this video. Fantastic job of explaining/carrying out this operation. NICE! Best Regards, Jon

I put off the DRO for the new mill until I get it moved to it's new location. So for now still using dials...I'm glad they are decently well marked and have little backlash. Great video Tom. It's easy to get confused for sure but a little logical thinking clears it up a bit. Colin

Strongest argument for DRO I've ever seen. :)

I am going to have to watch this one a couple of times Tom.. As a beginner I am still having to double check myself to make sure that I turn the dials in the right direction to do what I want to do... Especially when I am in a corner and don't have any wiggle room. Nice job... Thanks

Wow, that was stressful to watch! Good job Tom. I hope my DROs never die.

This is the type of video that is most useful for us layman's. Good measuring skills required.

I have the DRO on my mill, but you really can't beat the nice analog feedback you get from reading dials. Sometimes the rolling digits are less of a help, but that nice linear scale is.

Glad to see your Yooper Pride!! Ps...Love your videos. Im sure they are helping out apprentices and hobbiest everywhere! Keep up the great work!

Thanks Tom, New to this stuff, glad you are there.

hi after watching this I used the dials to do a 5 bolt circle with x and y as I don't have a rotary table, I was surprised how well it worked once u get ur head into it, also want to comment that I have used a few of you're tips and have been very helpful, one was cutting a 1 1/2 - 8 thread ,,turned out nice, thanx for the tips Terry

Thanks again Tom,the dials on my 8520 are great and I actually enjoy using them. Wasn't sure how to compensate for backlash like this though, great stuff and well presented as usual.

That was a great video it brought back a lot of memories. really enjoy your work, very professional and easy to understand. Thanks

Good job explaining something that's irritating to monkey with in the first place. This sure makes me want dro scales more now. Another thing is trying to remember which way to turn the dials. I ended up writing CW & CC with arrows right on my mill table after screwing up hours worth of work toward the end.

Hey Tom Great videos, I've learned a lot. Keep the awesome videos coming.

one trick i learned from a friend, is use an edgefinder to zero to the upper right corner of the vice,with backlash in proper direction, then u can line up parts with the right edge of vice, and it will be aligned at 0,0

Outstanding Job! Great Camera work, Great Explanation!!! and Machining -All with one hand!! I don't know how I missed this video? Glad I found it though- I think you said its been 40 yrs since you used dials you still did that pretty fast!That would have taken me 1/2 a day to try and figure out how to do that and get it right on my own lol Thanks for this and All your videos!

Thanks a great deal for this. This is a tremendous help. I was needing this for reaming a hole to a larger size with a boring fixture. My cuts kept ending off about ten off-center. Now that I understand what's going on, I think I could find the screw backlash by using an edge finder and a block of known size. I made the mistake of thinking that the backlash could be felt. Obviously not, since in the video what looked like .010 backlash turned out to be .037!

Thanks for the lesson Tom, good stuff as always.

one more Great video, I am also thankful for my DRO Please keep up the great work

Very informative,thank you

tom i can tell you why your cut size was off in one direction if you watch vary closely just after 15:35 u will see u turn the X axis a bit fast and your dial stuck a bit in your turn u will see it if u watch vary close. thanks and keep up the good work

Nice lesson Tom! Like the shirt too. Say ya to da UP, ey? I spent 5 years up there at MTU....

the camera was fine, Tom. a little bouncy, but by doing it handheld, we got to see all the important things very clearly.

Great video Tom. Ya had me confused for a bit but I figured it out. Time to turn the DRO back eh?

I was hoping you would measure how far the pocket is from the edge. Good video. I showed someone how to do the same thing on his mini mill and I think it turned him off from doing any machining. Also, have you ever heard that you get better accuracy if you don't let the cutter cut on the bottom and sides at the same time? It seems like I do better if I lift the cutter .001 before taking the finish cut on the walls. I have a mill/drill which might allow the endmill to run around if it touches the bottom.

Thanks Tom, I'm so glad I have a DRO on my mill, I could imagine my stuff ups without it. I suppose backlash on the lathe is not often a problem as we're mostly cutting in one direction?

Awesome

I like your hooper tee shirt. you from the UP? Sorry but I'm a troll and proud of it.. Also I just want to say I love the HP calculator you use. I doubt there are to many left that know how to us RPN.

Thanks for your efforts on all these videos, Tom. I'll be using your method here to determine the backlash on my mill. The backlash should be consistent throughout the length of the screw, right?

Hi Tom, would it not be easier just keep on going all around? I only have a toy drill/mill from Harbourfreight, I use in X-Y direction a couple of 2" travel dial indicator and keep going around. To feel where the back-lash begins and ends is very difficult otherwise. Rotating the dial back and front again, probably it's ok on your nice mill, unfortunately I am never sure of that, due to different friction between screw and nut at different points of the spindle which is not worn out evenly. Nevertheless you showed a few interesting things.Thanks. The Old Bob

Tom great video as always...was wondering what the fixture is for on the back of your vise??

the dial struggle is so real

hi I tend to use dial indicators..just gotta make sure they don't get bumped :(,,

Is it advised to take a measurement and measure the screw’s backlash for every cut. Or can you assume it is the same amount for each leadscrew once you find it. In other words, can it vary throughout a lead screws total length or is it always consistent

Super for me. I have a Vilh. Pedersen knee mill and no DRO. It is really a hassle to deal with dialing everything in. I assume that backlash is not an issue with DRO because one is working with the actual position of the table. Do you have a suggestion for a DRO? I've been looking, but not finding. Thanks for the informative guided tour.

Hi Tom, no readout does keep you on your toes, but it kinda like riding a bike... :o] O

Having ball screws vs the worm gear takes backlash from about .020 to .002

If you had to square up those corners, what would you do?

I suggest that all you guys that do not have a digital readout that you save up some money real quick!

I'm a little late to the party but I have a question: Is the backlash the same at all positions along the screw? By that I mean, if I measure 18 thou with the table all the way towards me, will I also get 18 thou with the table away from me? Also, other than thermal expansion of the screws and stuff, will the backlash be the same every time or should I remeasure every day/part/op I would try all this for myself but I don't have a mill or lathe (yet)... Thanks to whoever wants to help.

What brand mill is that? Really nice dials, my '48 BP (before satin chrome) has plain steel dials and no flats for the stationary line just on the round portion of the bearing bracket, and are sometimes hard to read.

Yooper? Are you in the UP Tom? I was a short time resident in Gwinn MI (80-89). Yah eh?

Shouldn’t you have taken .009 off of both sides to ensure the pocket is center? Since you were .005 short on the backside? So in theory you’d be .005 off center

But your backlash will not be present in the direction in which you used the edge finder, right? So so long as you cut in the direction in which you fed the edge finder your dials will be accurate. And as long as you reverse your screw and move it forward again you will get an exact measurement. Won't you?

when you say back lash you mean play in the handle right?

Your topic was "backlash compensation" and it was clear as mud. I understand what backlash is and how there is a need to compensate for it buy our explanation of HOW you did it was no explanation at all." I'm going to 165 ; no wait 175 ....." Why are you going there? Explain, explain, explain. I had difficulty determining what was your "X" and "y" axis and WHAT were you moving; the work or the end mill. Confusion'!!!!

2 words.... ball screws.