Rotary table advice.

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gadget_lover

gadget_lover

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Near Silicon Valley (too near)
Hi folks,

I keep thinking that a rotary table would be a good addition to my shop, especially when I'm messing with things like flattening the end of a bore (think tailcaps) or working with gears.

I've thought of mounting my 3 inch chuck on a bearing and making a turntable to mount it to the mill's table, but that's pretty hokey.

I see HF (Harbor Freight) has 4 rotary tables that come up when you search. I'm thinking the 4 inch one would be OK for my micro mill. At $99 I'm not expecting a super precision, but I'd like to know if it lacks features that I'll miss having later.

They also sell a 3 inch for only $79. It appears to have the same features as the 4 inch. Is there a reason that I should consider that instead?

The micro mill only has 8.5 inches of travel, so a taller table will eat into that capacity.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Daniel
 
Daniel,
In your size range, I don't know what is available but I bought a 6" rotary table that only mounts horizontally and I kick my self in the butt for not going for one that will mount both horizontal and vertical! I since picked up an indexed collet holder so I can fake it some but still..........
 
I have been looking into them too for a while. I think eventually I'll either get a 4" from HF or littlemachineshop. The only reason for me to get the 4" is so I can mount my 4" 4 jaw chuck if I need it.
 
I still haven't mounted my rotary to the mill. Every time I've ordered the T nuts from LMS, I get the wrong ones.

I've gotten wrong nuts now three times. I am now the proud owner of two of the clamp kits which are the larger 8mm (IIRC) and not the size for the mini-mill. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif
 
You can make passable T-nuts by milling flats partway down a suitable nut. Of course, you can also make them from square stock and tap them as needed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for the info. I saw one rotary table that mentioned a MT2 taper. Where does an MT2 taper come into play?


Daniel
 
The table probably has a center bore to accept the MT2. That could be helpful if you wanted to use a chuck that has a MT2 shaft for holding your work. The fun is in centering your work to the table. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
The table probably has a center bore to accept the MT2. That could be helpful if you wanted to use a chuck that has a MT2 shaft for holding your work. The fun is in centering your work to the table. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Blank MT2 drill chuck shanks are affordable. You can use a cylindrical MT2 sleeve to chuck them in the lathe and remachine the end to serve as a "centering device" for repeated set-ups. I have one with a 1/4" dowel pin pressed in which comes in very handy. A shallow 1/4" hole in a workpiece and instant centering.

Larry
 
[ QUOTE ]
dat2zip said:
Every time I've ordered the T nuts from LMS, I get the wrong ones.

I've gotten wrong nuts now three times.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ahaa......I thought I was the only one........

You can also make some cheap "T" bolts by flattening the sides of a carraige bolt head.
 
My brother has a rotary table for his mill (full size manual unit). It is VERY heavy, and due to the precision setup, takes a heck of a long time to crank it around (almost wears you out to make a 360)
 
As Don says,buy a table that mounts both ways if you can. I made my table from a kit and it works fine and was "fun" to build.You get a cast iron casting and machine it up (not a beginners kit but not hard).
If you have gone for a flat mount table,that's great because you now have the excuse to buy/make a right angle plate to mount it upright too.
This is a great addition to any 'shop as it can be used every where (on the faceplate on a lathe,marking out,on the drill press,rotary table,assembly/set up support,and I also find it serves as a door stop!).
HTH,Phil. :-)
 
The table arrived today! It was only marginaly greasy/oily and cleaned up quickly. It deos mount horizontally or vertically. It looks nicely finished and rotates freely.

I'll have to make a locator that I can chuck in the mill to find the center of the table. It has what appears to be a 8 mm threaded hole in the center. No taper for mounting any kind of chuck or collet.

I can easily find any degree as well as any 1/10 of a degree. I haven't checked the accuracy in any way. Visually, it appears flat and well machined. If I start working in 1/10 of a degree I will know that I'm WAY out of my league.

Daniel
 
The center bore of the HF 4 inch table has a threaded hole. It's somewhere between 7 and 8 MM diameter. I can't get a thread guage in there to figure out the pitch of the threads. I don't have any 7.5 mm bolts to try in it.

I'd like to mount my cheap 2 inch 3 jaw chuck using the threaded hole if it's accuarately placed.

Any ideas?
 
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