rev counter for lathe

[mick70Participant @mick70]

thinking of getting speed controlled motor for my clarke cl430.

can anyone recommend a digital counter kit so i know what speeds im doing?

thanks.

[mick70Participant @mick70]

[GoCreateParticipant @gocreate]

I bought one of these but haven't installed it yet so can't say how reliable it is.

Nigel

[mick70Participant @mick70]

cheers for that price worth a try.

[HowiParticipant @howi]

I used one of these modules on my SX2P mill, works a treat, cheap as chips, get a box from maplin to put it in.

Took about a week to come from China.

[john carruthersParticipant @johncarruthers46255]

A lot of people are using bicycle speed/tacho computers with a mgnetic pick up. Wilco did one for £5.

[mark61Participant @mark61]

I have installed two of these digital tachometers, one on the lathe and another on the mill, but I chose blue displays as being partially colour blind I could only read the original red/orange displays in the dark.

I initially used 9v batteries for the power supply but their lifespan could be measured in hours so I now use the little self contained 12v transformers that come with routers and other electrical gadgets.

Hope this helps.

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by tractionengine42 on 22/10/2015 08:13:06:

I bought one of these but haven't installed it yet so can't say how reliable it is.

I too got one of those, early this year. As long as you can find a place to stick the magnet (not especially difficult in most cases) it works just fine – and the price is right.

I mounted the display in a small Hammond box and used a 12V wall-wart to power mine too – connected by the usual coaxial low-voltage power connector.

Edited By Bandersnatch on 22/10/2015 22:05:30

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I got a couple of Machtachs for my lathe and mill. Can't compete on price obviously but as well as rpm, it can display surface speed, either metric or imperial. That's often what you are really trying to control anyway but it switches between rpm and surface speed easily.

I got the self-assembly kits and posted some pics on here somewhere about 18 months ago but the search feature seems to believe otherwise.

Murray

[The Merry MillerParticipant @themerrymiller]

Bandersnatch,

I have sent you a P.M.

Len.P.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

The mind boggles as to how this can be made, packaged and posted for the price and everyone in the chain still makes a worthwhile profit!

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

There are some tachometers around that are used on model aircraft and things like that. They are optical so a black stripe or similar could be used as a sensor rather than having to attach bit's a pieces to rotating parts of the lathe. They can be found by searching tachometer in toys and games on ebay.

I have one somewhere but haven't tried it on a lathe, yet.

John

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[john fletcher 1Participant @johnfletcher1]

There was a good article in MEW some time ago, it counted the 60 teeth on a Myford lathe,can't remember when but Neil will know. For my bench top mill, I made a disc with 60 slots using printed circuit material, and used a slot optical coupler to do the counting. Very good, but those little kits from HK take some beating, how do they do it ? John

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Muzzer on 23/10/2015 09:03:42:

I got a couple of Machtachs for my lathe and mill.

I got the self-assembly kits and posted some pics on here somewhere about 18 months ago but the search feature seems to believe otherwise.

.

Here you go, Murray

**LINK**

MichaelG.

.

Edit: Found using this search, which is easy via the box on the homepage.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 30/10/2015 15:28:03

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

If you want to build your own tachometer this one may suit your needs. Just position the hall sensor near a suitable gear wheel on the spindle. (Has to be a steel or cast iron gear.) and set it for the number of teeth on the gear.

Les.

[Alex CollinsParticipant @alexcollins55045]

Another site with some fun things to make:
**LINK**

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

I use one of these now **LINK** They come with a strip of Scotchbrite tape that you stick a bit of on whatever you want to measure. I don't need a continuous read out of the lathe or mill but it is useful every now and then to be able to know what the speed is if using e.g. carbon steel cutters. Very useful for measuring rpm on the i.c. engines.

Works a treat and appears to be accurate. Can't fault the price!

Rod

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by john fletcher 1 on 30/10/2015 15:16:50:

There was a good article in MEW some time ago, it counted the 60 teeth on a Myford lathe,can't remember when but Neil will know. For my bench top mill, I made a disc with 60 slots using printed circuit material, and used a slot optical coupler to do the counting. Very good, but those little kits from HK take some beating, how do they do it ? John

That sounds like the one that used an ABS brake-sensor for a car.

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