After someone posted about adding CNC capability to small mills, this is along the same line. You buy some cheap Chinese micrometers, buy this kit, and you have a 3-axis Digital Read Out for your mill and/or lathe.

Pretty cool and a great price. (I have no connection, it's just a neat product):
http://www.shumatech.com/products/index.html

 

Very nice, thanks for sharing. I saw the scales on eBay a while ago and wondered how I could make all three of them display on a single screen. Here's a link to one of those scales on eBay, incase somebody would like to buy one: http://cgi.ebay.com/6-150MM-DI...wItem. You could probably also buy some digital calipers from Harbor Freight and modify them. I can't imagine them being too different than those scales.

I've been contemplating the idea of buying a mill for my home workshop lately, something with a single phase motor and a decent sized table and axis travel. It's a good tool to have. These posts aren't preventing me from draining my bank account either.

 

To help you drain your account, here's a really nice mill to go with the DRO...
http://www.industrialhobbies.com/

 

That's a nice machine, but it's way out of my budget. I've been looking at this Wholesale Tools mill. http://www.wttool.com/p/3006-0005

 

If you're going to buy a small mill, at least get one that has a dove tail Z axis, and not a column.

 

Not too bad, I'll prly rock one when I get my chinese mill. A far cry from the Sony's we use on the bridgeports/etc that go for a few thousand new. The price of precision can be baffling sometimes.