Tailstock depth gage

[mklotz]

Luckily, the tailstock on my lathe has a flat top. I made an aluminum plate that clamps onto the spindle and added a commercial magnetic back to a dial indicator and, voila, a tailstock depth gage.

If I had a TS with a cylindrical top, as many of them are, I would think about a V-block with magnets glued into the Vs to attach to the cylindrical portion.