Hi,
Jeff - As the author of MachStdMill, Thank you mentioning the software - positive word of mouth is nice to see. I don't mind small excerpts from the MSM manual (as long as credit is given for the source).
Nicolas - The height gauge in the pics is a Mitutoyo - it was a craigslist find a couple of years ago - a deal I couldn't pass up.
Some tips: Understanding Tool Length Offsets often starts with being careful about the wording used. The key letter in TLO is the "O" for Offset. The TLO value that goes in the tool table is an offset, which is usually NOT the same as the tool's physical length. That may sound a bit odd, but it's true.
The actual TLO value will depend on what technique you use to set Z0 for the part. If you'd like a good description of the topic, I humbly suggest the user manual for my MachStdMill software. The manual is a free download and there's a lot of info in the manual even if you are not using the MSM software. visit
www.CalypsoVentures.com to get the manual.
And hey, if while browsing the manual, you decide to try out the software, you won't be first to take that path
Dave