I've always understood that it's impossible to cut glass linear scales to size because the glass is tempered and will shatter into a thousand pieces if you try. So- Let's give it a go.
I’m cutting mine with a bandsaw right now. Even if I break a little glass I will have enough extra to function for my needs. I think it will work good as I’ve seen others do it.
I cut mine off with the vertical wood band saw with a metal blade, in 1 minute. The glass was glued in so I didn't try to remove it. I used the ends as a template and used the bolt size drill to start the the hole about 1/32 deep then finished drilling 1/16th inch 1/4 in deep. The screws went in easily with a screw driver no need to tap the holes. The whole job should be no more than 15 minutes. about 1/4"glass chipped at the end where i cut, but I left about an inch extra so no problem. Hooked it up and works great. GOOD LUCK. PS needed to use the milling machine to cut a groove at the end cap to compensate for the glass being flush with the end of the aluminum body, rather than trying to whittle the glass down.
Well done Steve - Obviously braver than me. As far as I know, this had never been done when I made the video - now there's plenty who've had a go and mostly get away with it.
Ah, a different approach! I've seen a few other videos of people shortening these scales, they all left the glass in. 2 used a hand hacksaw, one a 4x6 bandsaw. The small bit of glass that then gets in the way of the end cap was just snapped with pliers. This method looks fine for scales of the length shown - I can see that if it was a 1m long scale, the glass would be very fragile. For the screws, are there already extruded holes, or did you need to drill & tap? What size? Thanks!
I made this video more than ten years ago, at the time there was no other videos out there and the general consensus was that glass scale would shatter if cut. Since this video, every man and his dog has made a similar video. The DRO on my milling machine is still working perfectly, I would be lost without it.
Thank you Dave - I'm planning to attempt the longer scale today, this time I'll try and cut the glass "in situ" just milling out a window in the housing big enough to get the Dremel in.
thetargetmaster :) As much as I dislike the Dremel I have ended up with a couple and they do get used from time to time and always prove invaluable, just wear eye protection especially with the slitting disks. I have a Versa Pod to shorten today and will use a Dremel to carefully grind back the top welds. What is the new Mill? /d
The smaller hobby mills can be surprisingly good, I run a Chester 20V at home with DiY DRO's and have turned out some nice jobs with it. Build yourself a power feed when you get a spare moment, a toothed belt (Motionco are worth a look) plus 24v wiper motor are a good starting point and I am sure you can add the add the speed control :) /d
As far as I can remember, the red bit is removed as it only hold things secure during shipping. I fitted the DRO 8 yeas ago and it's never missed a beat. A job well worth doing, I would be lost without it now.
@@Targetmaster1066 I think the red plastic bit also correctly sets the gap between the scale and the head - install it & bolt it all up, then remove the red bit.
@jimmyrustles8118 do you have a link to the fuel gauge you’ve got on this build? I’m about to change my tank/dash to the same as your bike and really like this gauge 👍🏼
got a little app nowadays called soundbooster , can boost the sound beyond the regulair volume on a laptop , could hear it fine though it sounded tinny
Hey Jason, I seen a comment you posted on AVE's channel about finding your Bridgeport for $800. I also live in Washington, and have been looking for a machine for quite some time. I have only been looking on CL or fleebay because I don't know where else to look. How did you go about finding the auctions? Thanks!
I wouldn't take a chance and cut it from the "zero" end - I connected it up to see which way the scale ran before I cut it. Good luck.. My DRO has been running faultlessly since I made the video.
Nachtrag zu meinem ersten Kommentar: der Glasstreifen hat 2 unterschiedliche Seiten, d.h. nach dem kürzen muss man ihn in er richtigen Ausrichtung wieder einsetzen. Ansonsten zeigt die Anzeige nichts an. Am besten markieren beim Zerlegen oder vor dem Einsetzen vorher ausprobieren. Optisch ist die richtige Seitenwahl nicht erkennbar. Dann unbedingt überlegen wie man den Glasstreifen wieder montiert, ich habe ihn an den Enden wieder eingeklebt, aber das ist nicht das Wahre. Thetargetmaster zeigt leider auch nicht wie er den Endanschlag wieder befestigt. Die original Gewindelöcher zur Befestigung der beiden Endkappen sind M2,5, entgegen guter alter chinesischer Billigpraxis sind es hier echte Gewinde im Aluminiumprofil, d.h. man muss entweder neue M2,5er Gewinde in die Stirnseite des langen Aluminiumprofils vorbohren und schneiden oder sich etwas anderes überlegen. An der Stelle hat das Profil sehr wenig Fleisch, nicht ganz trivial. Ich habe die Metallabschlüsse wieder eingeklebt, auch nicht das Wahre. In Summe unbrauchbares Video, er zeigt nicht wie er die wirklichen Probleme gelöst hat. Das Kürzen des Glasstabes ist mit einer Dremel oder Proxxon Diamant- oder Keramikscheibe völlig unproblematisch, ebenso das Demontieren und Kürzen des Aluminium Profils.
I must apologise if the video didn't give you all the answers you needed - The video, posted over four years ago, was really about actually cutting the glass scale, a job that, at the time was widely accepted as not being something that should be attempted. We now know it can be done with a little care as several subsequent videos have shown. The actual disassembly and re-fitting the endcaps is really just basic workshop practice.
Do you guys know about the cheap and cheerful Arduino based ""touchdro" app? Works very well and has a devout following of users mines ace. The app is free and it is all open source, or now, you can buy pcb's if you detest veroboard!
Das schwierigste zeigt er nicht, das Wiedereinsetzen des Glasmessstabes in die Aluminiumschiene. Sie war geklebt und es ist nicht ganz trivial sie wieder einzusetzen.
I'm really sorry about the audio quality - I will improve. :)
thetargetmaster I was going to say I can’t hear you at all.
I’m cutting mine with a bandsaw right now. Even if I break a little glass I will have enough extra to function for my needs. I think it will work good as I’ve seen others do it.
Thank you for recording this!! 🙂👍
Please I was able to help Alex. Sorry about the poor sound quality.
I cut mine off with the vertical wood band saw with a metal blade, in 1 minute.
The glass was glued in so I didn't try to remove it. I used the ends as a template and used the bolt size drill to start the the hole about 1/32 deep then finished drilling 1/16th inch 1/4 in deep. The screws went in easily with a screw driver no need to tap the holes. The whole job should be no more than 15 minutes. about 1/4"glass chipped at the end where i cut, but I left about an inch extra so no problem. Hooked it up and works great. GOOD LUCK. PS needed to use the milling machine to cut a groove at the end cap to compensate for the glass being flush with the end of the aluminum body, rather than trying to whittle the glass down.
Well done Steve - Obviously braver than me. As far as I know, this had never been done when I made the video - now there's plenty who've had a go and mostly get away with it.
Ah, a different approach! I've seen a few other videos of people shortening these scales, they all left the glass in. 2 used a hand hacksaw, one a 4x6 bandsaw. The small bit of glass that then gets in the way of the end cap was just snapped with pliers.
This method looks fine for scales of the length shown - I can see that if it was a 1m long scale, the glass would be very fragile.
For the screws, are there already extruded holes, or did you need to drill & tap? What size?
Thanks!
I made this video more than ten years ago, at the time there was no other videos out there and the general consensus was that glass scale would shatter if cut. Since this video, every man and his dog has made a similar video. The DRO on my milling machine is still working perfectly, I would be lost without it.
Great Job, I cannot imagine life without a DRO these days.
Thank you Dave - I'm planning to attempt the longer scale today, this time I'll try and cut the glass "in situ" just milling out a window in the housing big enough to get the Dremel in.
Ahh! - It's you Dave, I've just twigged :) I recognised the silver turntable.
thetargetmaster
:) As much as I dislike the Dremel I have ended up with a couple and they do get used from time to time and always prove invaluable, just wear eye protection especially with the slitting disks. I have a Versa Pod to shorten today and will use a Dremel to carefully grind back the top welds.
What is the new Mill?
/d
David B The new mill is an Amadeal 25 LV (Metric with R8 tooling), very pleased so far, for what is really a cheap "hobby"mill.
The smaller hobby mills can be surprisingly good, I run a Chester 20V at home with DiY DRO's and have turned out some nice jobs with it. Build yourself a power feed when you get a spare moment, a toothed belt (Motionco are worth a look) plus 24v wiper motor are a good starting point and I am sure you can add the add the speed control :)
/d
Thanks, I will give it a try.
If you're interested, you can confirm the type of glass by checking with polarized light.
does the red plastic piece have to be removed for the dro to work?
As far as I can remember, the red bit is removed as it only hold things secure during shipping. I fitted the DRO 8 yeas ago and it's never missed a beat. A job well worth doing, I would be lost without it now.
@@Targetmaster1066 I think the red plastic bit also correctly sets the gap between the scale and the head - install it & bolt it all up, then remove the red bit.
@jimmyrustles8118 do you have a link to the fuel gauge you’ve got on this build? I’m about to change my tank/dash to the same as your bike and really like this gauge 👍🏼
This is a job I need to do, but I cant here the soundtrack!
got a little app nowadays called soundbooster , can boost the sound beyond the regulair volume on a laptop , could hear it fine though it sounded tinny
You never showed the refit / ?
Sorry about that - It all went together well and still working perfectly - I couldn't do without it now.
i.imgur.com/fe0jhPvl.png
Hey Jason, I seen a comment you posted on AVE's channel about finding your Bridgeport for $800. I also live in Washington, and have been looking for a machine for quite some time. I have only been looking on CL or fleebay because I don't know where else to look. How did you go about finding the auctions? Thanks!
Nice work. But they are not tempered. Score and snap would have worked too.
Does it matter which end you cut off?
I wouldn't take a chance and cut it from the "zero" end - I connected it up to see which way the scale ran before I cut it. Good luck.. My DRO has been running faultlessly since I made the video.
Thanks for the video but get yourself a good/cheap lapel/Lavalier microphone. They start at about $50 for a medium quality one. keep the vids coming.
Thanks for the feedback Richard - I'm slowly learning :) (More of a mechanic than a film producer)
What blade and liquid did you use to cut the glass?
The fluid is just water - the cutting disc was a cheap diamond dust one from ebay.
Nachtrag zu meinem ersten Kommentar: der Glasstreifen hat 2 unterschiedliche Seiten, d.h. nach dem kürzen muss man ihn in er richtigen Ausrichtung wieder einsetzen. Ansonsten zeigt die Anzeige nichts an. Am besten markieren beim Zerlegen oder vor dem Einsetzen vorher ausprobieren. Optisch ist die richtige Seitenwahl nicht erkennbar. Dann unbedingt überlegen wie man den Glasstreifen wieder montiert, ich habe ihn an den Enden wieder eingeklebt, aber das ist nicht das Wahre. Thetargetmaster zeigt leider auch nicht wie er den Endanschlag wieder befestigt. Die original Gewindelöcher zur Befestigung der beiden Endkappen sind M2,5, entgegen guter alter chinesischer Billigpraxis sind es hier echte Gewinde im Aluminiumprofil, d.h. man muss entweder neue M2,5er Gewinde in die Stirnseite des langen Aluminiumprofils vorbohren und schneiden oder sich etwas anderes überlegen. An der Stelle hat das Profil sehr wenig Fleisch, nicht ganz trivial. Ich habe die Metallabschlüsse wieder eingeklebt, auch nicht das Wahre. In Summe unbrauchbares Video, er zeigt nicht wie er die wirklichen Probleme gelöst hat. Das Kürzen des Glasstabes ist mit einer Dremel oder Proxxon Diamant- oder Keramikscheibe völlig unproblematisch, ebenso das Demontieren und Kürzen des Aluminium Profils.
I must apologise if the video didn't give you all the answers you needed - The video, posted over four years ago, was really about actually cutting the glass scale, a job that, at the time was widely accepted as not being something that should be attempted. We now know it can be done with a little care as several subsequent videos have shown. The actual disassembly and re-fitting the endcaps is really just basic workshop practice.
Do you guys know about the cheap and cheerful Arduino based ""touchdro" app? Works very well and has a devout following of users mines ace. The app is free and it is all open source, or now, you can buy pcb's if you detest veroboard!
Das schwierigste zeigt er nicht, das Wiedereinsetzen des Glasmessstabes in die Aluminiumschiene. Sie war geklebt und es ist nicht ganz trivial sie wieder einzusetzen.
good video, very helpful. the audio could use some improvement, but overall appreciated.
Thanks for the feedback, it's always appreciated. I've been trying to improve the quality of my videos - I'm still working on it :)
I don't believe that the glass was tempered. Alternatively, not tempered very well. :)
You may be right - I cut the other scale without removing the glass. They both work perfectly.
Please make new sound.