# Rotary Milling Table



## cfellows (Jan 8, 2010)

This is a video of a small rotary table I built for my milling machine. It's based on a design that appeared in Model Engineer's Workshop a number of years ago. My version is somewhat different and smaller. Very useful for smaller projects.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am5774rnjtU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am5774rnjtU[/ame]

Chuck


----------



## lugnut (Jan 8, 2010)

Great looking tool you've made. I have a manual 7" table that I bought on Ebay and I think I will use some of your ideas to inhance mine. Thanks for the video.
Mel


----------



## itowbig (Jan 8, 2010)

me likes could we talk u out of some drawings for this .  nice for the small mills like i have and u can pu it in a vice even better .  nice video too i enjoyed watching this thank u for showing us this.


----------



## ksouers (Jan 8, 2010)

Chuck,
That's a nice table. I've been thinking of something of that nature for a rounding fixture. I've seen a couple designs that I might "borrow" from. I like the holes around the base on yours.

Is there any significance to the hole counts on the table and base? Some sort of vernier relationship?

Very nice presentation, as well. Thank you.


----------



## cfellows (Jan 8, 2010)

itowbig  said:
			
		

> me likes could we talk u out of some drawings for this . nice for the small mills like i have and u can pu it in a vice even better . nice video too i enjoyed watching this thank u for showing us this.



Yeah, I could probably throw some drawings together. There's not a lot to it and none of the dimensions are really critical.



			
				ksouers  said:
			
		

> Chuck,
> That's a nice table. I've been thinking of something of that nature for a rounding fixture. I've seen a couple designs that I might "borrow" from. I like the holes around the base on yours.
> 
> Is there any significance to the hole counts on the table and base? Some sort of vernier relationship?
> ...



I'm not sure if it gives me vernier capability, but 12 gives me 3, 6, & 12 division and 16 gives me 8 & 16 divisions which I wouldn't get with 12 alone.

Chuck


----------



## gmac (Jan 8, 2010)

Chuck
Nice piece of work. Me want......!!
A few photo's would suffice rather than a drawing set if you have the time.
Cheers
Garry


----------



## bearcar1 (Jan 8, 2010)

Very nice piece of work you have there Chuck. I like it as well. Is there anything securing the table top to the lower platen or is it just a slip fit on a pin as well? 

BC1
Jim


----------



## cfellows (Jan 8, 2010)

Here's a couple of pictures which should answer some of the questions.

First the Front. The rotary table is 5" diameter and 13/16" thick. Those dimensions are probably based solely on material I had available. There are 12 equally spaced, 3/8" diameter holes around the edge. I chamfered the edges pretty heavily so I wouldn't have trouble inserting the handle. The center hole is 1/4" diameter and 1 1/2" deep. It was reamed to be a very close fit for 1/4" drillrod. There are three concentric rings of 1/4 - 20 threaded holes in the surface. The first ring contains 6 holes on a radius of 13/16", the second ring is 8 holes on a radius of 1 1/2", and the third ring is 12 holes on a radius of 2 1/4". There is no particular science to the number or placement of these holes other than what seemed right at the time. In retrospect, the outer ring of holes never get's used. I would recommend moving the second ring in to about 1 1/4" and the outer ring at about 1 3/4" or thereabouts.

The 16 holes on the top of the bottom disk are 3/8" diameter and are on a radius of 2 3/4"







The second picture is the back. This bottom disk is 6 3/8" diameter and 3/4" thick. The center recess is 3/8" deep and 2 1/2" diameter. The clamping collar is 1 3/4" diameter with a center hole of 3/4". The rotary table is fastened to the bottom disk with a steel pin that is 3/4" diameter with a 7/8" diameter head that is recessed into the surface of the rotary table. The head is visible on top, but just barely. I don't recall if I pressed this pin in or if it's just a close fit. 






As you can see, I bolted the table assembly to the (somewhat oversized) rectangular bar with 3/8" socket head cap screws through two of the 16 holes in the bottom disk. That rectangular bar was way overkill, and I'm planning to replace it with something much thinner, maybe 1.5" x 1/2" screwed on from the bottom. Then I can plug and redrill the two holes on top and have a full compliment of 16 holes instead of 16 minus 2!

Drawings to follow...

Chuck


----------



## Deanofid (Jan 9, 2010)

Really looks like a handy table for rounding, radial slots, and a bunch of other things if I think about it for more than a minute! Nice job, and a well done video, too.

Thanks!

Dean


----------



## m_kilde (Jan 9, 2010)

Hi Chuck

Thank you for the show !

An apparatus like this, is surely going to my "future project" list.


----------



## zeeprogrammer (Jan 9, 2010)

Very neat table Chuck. I especially like the fact that it can be put in the vise.
Once I get good enough to have those kinds of fits (handle and top to bottom)...I'll be a real happy guy.


----------



## mklotz (Jan 9, 2010)

> I'm not sure if it gives me vernier capability, but 12 gives me 3, 6, & 12 division and 16 gives me 8 & 16 divisions which I wouldn't get with 12 alone.



Folks building Chuck's table might want to consider the fact that a combination of 8 and 9 holes will allow for 72 divisions - every 5 degrees of a circle.

1/8 - 1/9 = 1/72


----------



## cfellows (Jan 9, 2010)

mklotz  said:
			
		

> Folks building Chuck's table might want to consider the fact that a combination of 8 and 9 holes will allow for 72 divisions - every 5 degrees of a circle.
> 
> 1/8 - 1/9 = 1/72



There are numerous combinations of holes that might optimize the number of possible divisions. However, my intended use for this rotary table was not primarily as a dividing head. I was more interested in a device that would facilitate cutting a stopped radius. My original purpose was for cutting flywheels with 6 spokes. So, I decided on 12 holes which would give me more positioning flexibility than 6 holes.

The circular row of holes in the bottom disk are more for position and stop settings and are rarely used for any kind of indexing, although they could be. Further to Marv's point, you should think about your intended use for a table like this in determining the number of holes to put in each plate.

Chuck


----------



## gmac (Jan 9, 2010)

Chuck
Thanks for posting the photo's and additional details.
Cheers
Garry


----------



## deere_x475guy (Jan 9, 2010)

Chuck, very nicely executed part. I like it.


----------



## cfellows (Jan 9, 2010)

Just a couple more pictures. This is the back of the rotary table and the clamping collar removed from the bottom disk. You can see that the back of the rotary table is recessed slightly so only the outer 3/4" or so contacts the bottom disk. You'll also notice that the 1/4" center hold is bored all the way through the center pin. The pin, by the way, is pressed into the rotary table. 






I took a skim cut across the face of the rotary table to remove (most of) the previous abuses. Looks a lot better now.






Chuck


----------



## workshopman (Aug 17, 2012)

Not trying to outdo you Chuck with your offer of drawings. Two ideas are always better than non.  Whilst mine also avoids the use of a conventional worm/wormwheel drive, yours is much simpler so will please many. For a variation on a theme then, viewers may also like to look at the Projects in Metal website where my latest project is described.

You mention Model Engineers' Workshop,I think the one you are refering may be the one in the very first issue. 

Harold


----------

