DRO's are the fancy -looking ones worth it?

[magicniner]

Unfortunately the graphical readout did not add the extra functionality I had hoped for in that it may be able to work with a permanently skewed X axis as in not been able to put the vice on straight.

When you say the axis is skewed do you mean that the slots are out of alignment with the axis of travel or is the X-axis travel not at 90 degrees to the Y-axis?

- Nick

[SparkyLabs]

What I mean is that the vice is not bolted down correctly to the X axis of travel. The machine itself seems pretty sound not that I'm an expert at getting advice straight is a pain in the arse. So I was hoping that there will be a basic setup function that would allow me to tell it that "this" is my X axis allowing me to be lazy about the vice placement. There is a function that allows me to put something on the bed at an angle and tell the machine what the angle is so that I can machine an angle in a straight line and I think it would therefore give X and Y coordinates for the part even though it is tilted and not in line with the machines X and Y axis.

[magicniner]

Tramming your vice is where it's at -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_l2dhpIOLY

You can also make and fit a strip, or blocks, in a shallow machined slot on the underside of your vice, the strips are sized to be a comfortable fit in your table slots, the slot under the vice is machined by clamping and tramming a straight square bar on your mill table, clamping the (upside down) vice to the bar then cutting the slot in the vice underside and fixing the bar/blocks.

- Nick