Dial indicator holder guts

Author: Dave
Date: 03.22.25 - 12:04am

So, i never knew how these nice dial indicator clamps worked. Tighten one knob and the whole thing locks up solid.

Turns out its super simple, rods mate with some bevels, as it tightens the rods get pushed out and jam everything up at both ends. Nice.

The ball on the top mount was obviously steel. The dial indicator mount was aluminum. Wasnt sure which way the threads extended. Turns out the ball was tapped. Had to heat it up to get it apart.

The ball is retained in the collar with a snap ring. Really tight in there no room to get a tool in. Had to drill a small hole through the collar so I could push the snap ring out. It went flying. I knew it would but it bounced off the table and I thought it was lost and gone forever. Got super lucky I found it with a magnet.

So the whole point of this endeavor, I use a $60 jewelers clamp for soldering. Its good, but not as solid as a dial indicator base. Sooo. I want to marry the two. Turned out perfect.