My Second Rotary Table,80 mm table.

[gus]

Hopefully my second attempt at building a Rotary Table will end up with RT that can table heavier milling cuts w/o vibrating/shaking.
Visited ASME air receiver fabricator that used to supply all the air receivers to the Singapore Ingersoll-Rand Small Air Assembly Plant.
The owner was very helpful, he gave me all the materials required to make RT.
Foto 1--------4'' x 4'' x 1'' tubular frame(fabricated with 1/4 x 1 m.s & single butt weld).
Foto 2--------4'' x 4'' x 3/8 t m.s.plate oxy cut.Had trouble milling of very hard cut surface.

 

[gus]

After a long break,decided to start on something not too complicated/tedious. Not a bad day with 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon.
Took a gamble, clamp 4 x 4 M.S. plate vertical in small mill vice to mill sides. Did have a hard time cutting the oxy cut sides. HSS cutters lost out to the very hard surface. Switch over to carbide and all sides milled .
Took a gamble to cut slots into the side and nearly scrapped 4 x 4 x 1 tubular frame. Had to rig up the Vertek,Taiwan Angle Iron bought in Hongkong last April. The slots were easliy cut with no vibration or misalignment.

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Gus,

I've just bought myself a "Vertex" 6" rotary table. How do you find yours ? This one is very very stiff. I should probably strip it down and clean all that thick horrible grease off.

 

[gus]

Hi Gus,

I've just bought myself a "Vertex" 6" rotary table. How do you find yours ? This one is very very stiff. I should probably strip it down and clean all that thick horrible grease off.

Hi Baron,
Vertex RT is a good buy. Far better than the M.I.China RTs.
The rust preventive/preservative must have hardened up and freezed RT.
The NTN taper roller bearing I bought for the DIY RT too was freezed but after soaking in solvent for a while ,cup and cone parted.Plan to make my DIY RT easy to turn.

I goofed again.Could fine the'' Work in Progress''.

 

[gus]

Trimming the top and bottom edges of the RT frame. Credit must be given to the forum member who came out with
the fixture to securely hold down job. Print calls for 3/8'' thick section but I took a gamble with 1/4''.
Fastening top cover to frame was not too difficult but ''nail biting''

 

[BaronJ]

Trimming the top and bottom edges of the RT frame. Credit must be given to the forum member who came out with
the fixture to securely hold down job. Print calls for 3/8'' thick section but I took a gamble with 1/4''.
Fastening top cover to frame was not too difficult but ''nail biting''

Hi Gus, From the photo it looks like you have it well sorted ! Just have to be a little more careful with drilling and tapping the holes for the screws.

If you have a look on "Harold Halls" web site, he details a number of nice clamps for work holding on mill tables. <http://www.homews.co.uk/LrgTableClamp18.jpg>
I have made some of these and find them quite effective.

Re the new "Vertex" I have decided to strip it down completely and clean all the gunge off of and out of it. There is what feels like a gritty bit when turning the handle... But other than that I'm very pleased with the construction and finish.

 

[gus]

Hi Baron,
Thanks for the good advice. You are right with only 1/4 thick instead of the print spec 3/8 thick,I got very worried.
However did a good marking out/line scribing/pin point centre popping/ stubby spotting drills, manage to a good job on the top plate and using same to transfer punch all tapping holes. Did another good job centre popping on cross hair.
Top plate holes and frame holes matched perfectly. But I goofed not using Vertek Angle to clamp frame while doing the slot holes which are used for clamping down to milling table. Messed up one slot badly but with aid of the angle iron bracket,the second slot was perfectly milled but the messed up slot was enlarged slightly and looked good.

Now cracking my head for the next phase-----precision boring the top plate hole to mount taper cone bearing.
Just found out my Boring Head won't do 1.970 hole.Just figured out add on to bore this diameter.

Had good day fishing.The skies dried up and the fish bite. Darling boss very happy with good catch of fresh fish to last for one week. See foto.Was nice n cool day .No sun n no drain just some breeze.

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Baron,
Now cracking my head for the next phase-----precision boring the top plate hole to mount taper cone bearing.
Just found out my Boring Head won't do 1.970 hole.Just figured out add on to bore this diameter.

When I've not had anything big enough to machine a hole the size I want, I press my fly cutter into service. Little taps with a pin hammer adjusts it nicely. Though I now have a proper MT3 60mm boring head I often use the fly cutter since its a half inch shank that fits in the drill chuck.

Had good day fishing.The skies dried up and the fish bite. Darling boss very happy with good catch of fresh fish to last for one week. See foto.Was nice n cool day .No sun n no drain just some breeze.

I bet you put that photo in just to make me envious :

 

[gus]

My mini lathe diameter capacity won't take the top plate to bore the 40mm O.D.hole for the cone taper roller bearing.
Had to drill series of hole,hand saw to remove plug and bore on the mill. DIY boring tool turned to be quite useful.
Rough bore to 37mm done with the mill with not too much problem ,Come tomorrow will use the DIY Boring Head to precision bore to
40mm to take bearing cup. The BH is limited to 36mm but I have a solution to go beyond 45mm. Q.E.D.
Hopefully will also skim top plate surface and remove the mill scale. This cut is necessary to get alignment and full contact of table and top plate so as to eliminate vibration when RT is in operation .

 

[BaronJ]

My mini lathe diameter capacity won't take the top plate to bore the 40mm O.D.hole for the cone taper roller bearing.
Had to drill series of hole,hand saw to remove plug and bore on the mill. DIY boring tool turned to be quite useful.
Rough bore to 37mm done with the mill with not too much problem ,Come tomorrow will use the DIY Boring Head to precision bore to
40mm to take bearing cup. The BH is limited to 36mm but I have a solution to go beyond 45mm. Q.E.D.
Hopefully will also skim top plate surface and remove the mill scale. This cut is necessary to get alignment and full contact of table and top plate so as to eliminate vibration when RT is in operation .

Hi Gus,
Cracking on nicely there. How are you going to secure the top plate when you skim it. Or are you going to use countersink head screws and skim over the top. Thinking about it that might be a good idea then you will get the top and bottom parallel to each other.

Not had chance to strip the Vertex RT yet ! I've been playing about doing drawings for a mill tramming tool I've started building. See post:
<http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f13/mill-tramming-tool-22563>

PS. Re the fish... that's my favorite food ! And guessing yours too.

 

[gus]

Took out LMS or was it the Eurotrade boring tool and put in DIY mini flycutter to bore top plate to accept the NTN 4T-32203R Taper Cone Bearing.Was nail-biting.All required was one last half division of dial to fit but some minor fitting required to fit bearing cup.. With top plate/frame assembly still clamped on to mill table,skimmed of mill scale. Use Orbital Sander to polish up top plate. The rest of the material is due in a day or two.So might as well do some surface finish on the sides to look good.

 

[gus]

Hi Gus,
Cracking on nicely there. How are you going to secure the top plate when you skim it. Or are you going to use countersink head screws and skim over the top. Thinking about it that might be a good idea then you will get the top and bottom parallel to each other.

Not had chance to strip the Vertex RT yet ! I've been playing about doing drawings for a mill tramming tool I've started building. See post:
<http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f13/mill-tramming-tool-22563>

PS. Re the fish... that's my favorite food ! And guessing yours too.

Hi Baron,

Fresh fish taste best. We have 1001 way to cook fresh fish.

If you ever drop Singapore,will take you fishing in my small boat(28') in the Straits of Singapore.
No worry. Very calm. At the end of the day,hopefully we hooked a fish or two for HongKong Steam Fish. Fried Rice and Vegetable plus Tiger Beer.
No worry.We won't get lost with GPS and ChartPlotter and Auto Pilot.

Been retired since 2001. Fish every weekend with fishing buddies.

See foto of my good friend with his "Hole in one" hit. He is still crowing. 2 kg Javelin Fish. Fish hit his bait seconds after casting and just as he was about to put rod butt into rod holder.Was a 'Hit & Run" . Gave him a good fight.th_wavth_wav

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Gus,

Starting to look nice ! It hadn't occurred to me that you might counter bore those holes. Still there is plenty of meat in the top plate to do that. I don't know that I would have put a polish on the surface though.

When you make the table top will you let it ride on that surface or will you rely on the bearing to keep the table square ?

That fish is a beauty. Made my mouth water at the thought of it cooked to perfection, laid on a platter, ready for the table. I can only imagine what it would be like sinking my teeth into a chunk... Mmmm.

Thank you for your invite ! Given the chance I might take you up on that offer. I know you went Hong Kong recently, my missus has been looking at holiday brochures and that is one of the places that she fancies. The other is Thailand, her brother lives there. The troubles going on in Bangkok put me off a little. What do think about HK ?

 

[gus]

Hi Gus,

Starting to look nice ! It hadn't occurred to me that you might counter bore those holes. Still there is plenty of meat in the top plate to do that. I don't know that I would have put a polish on the surface though.

When you make the table top will you let it ride on that surface or will you rely on the bearing to keep the table square ?

That fish is a beauty. Made my mouth water at the thought of it cooked to perfection, laid on a platter, ready for the table. I can only imagine what it would be like sinking my teeth into a chunk... Mmmm.

Thank you for your invite ! Given the chance I might take you up on that offer. I know you went Hong Kong recently, my missus has been looking at holiday brochures and that is one of the places that she fancies. The other is Thailand, her brother lives there. The troubles going on in Bangkok put me off a little. What do think about HK ?

Hi Baron,

Thailand worries me too. I am heading for Burma Banks in Feb 2014 for Tuna Fishing but will land in Phuket(faraway from B'kok and bus all the way to Burma Border.On board the 70 footer fishing boat ,we have good cooks/food,aircon bunk and good fishing for 5 days.

 

[gus]

Top plate was skimmed of but my old mini lathe w/o power table feed gave me some not so even finish.Had to use orbital sander to remove end mill marks.Checked the table height and found slighly uneven heights. Will skim again to rectify.
Best to have table rest on top plate and bearing for stability required for heavier cuts. This is lesson learned from last
RT built hastily two years ago. This new RT looks promising and looks good for mill profiling of con-rod small/big ends
which have been evading me.
Bought M.I.India 80mm three jaw chuck for this RT.

 

[BaronJ]

Top plate was skimmed of but my old mini lathe w/o power table feed gave me some not so even finish.Had to use orbital sander to remove end mill marks.Checked the table height and found slighly uneven heights. Will skim again to rectify.

I would use a fly cutter for that width. Just make sure that the mill is well trammed otherwise the centre will be slightly hollow across the top.

I have a home made one that was constructed from a 5" diameter cast iron disc, its about 7/8" thick. Bored out to take a 18mm thread on a 20mm spindle. I machined a short slot ( 3/8" wide in my case ) at a slight angle about 12 degrees or so in the bottom. Drilled in the side 7mm diameter to take an 8mm grub screw with a short length of brass rod bearing on the side of the tool steel bit. You will need to drill the 7mm hole in steps and finish with a long series drill, otherwise you won't have enough depth. I used a hole through the spindle for a Tommy bar so I could tighten it and used locktite to prevent it coming loose.

The hardest bit was sharpening the tool bit. It took me ages to get the profile right for the cast iron plate that I needed it for. Cast iron is a swine to machine if you don't get under the crust first time. It just knocks the edge off the tool in seconds.

Best to have table rest on top plate and bearing for stability required for heavier cuts. This is lesson learned from last RT built hastily two years ago. This new RT looks promising and looks good for mill profiling of con-rod small/big ends which have been evading me.

Bought M.I.India 80mm three jaw chuck for this RT.

Looking forward to your progress.

Fine on the fishing trip. I'm a little envious.

 

[gus]

The bandsaw has become a must have. W/o which Gus would be wheezing away manual hack sawing the 2'' steel bar for the mounting hub shaft. Took seven minutes to cut.Manual sawing would take at least 30 plus minutes with panting brakes excluded.

Was nail biting, the taper cone bearing must have push fit on to the mounting hub shaft.
The vernier calipers nearly failed me .Revert to outside 0--1'' Micrometer. Got the push fit after a bit of honing.The Sakai Mini Lathe did a great job machining the shaft O.D. spot on.
For the first time I use left hand and right hand cutters and have the entire shaft done in one setting. Removing job for secondary cuts would loose concentricity and Rotary Table will not run true.
See fotos. Not fishing tomorrow as tide tides/height.current not favourable.Will work on table.

Now debating whether to buy worm gear and worm wheel or cut as per Youtube methods.

 

[gus]

Worm Wheel and Worm


Just made my mind to buy above.Doubtful my DIY version will be as good.

 

[BaronJ]

The bandsaw has become a must have. W/o which Gus would be wheezing away manual hack sawing the 2'' steel bar for the mounting hub shaft. Took seven minutes to cut.Manual sawing would take at least 30 plus minutes with panting brakes excluded.

Now debating whether to buy worm gear and worm wheel or cut as per Youtube methods.

Woohoo ! That is one great chunk of bar. I agree a bandsaw is a must. I haven't got one yet. Not really any room at the moment.

As far as buying or making a worm and wheel is concerned, I would be tempted to have a go at making one. At least if it doesn't work out then is the time to consider buying.

Anyway see my next post...

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Gus,

If you recall in a previous post I mentioned that I had bought a Vertex Rotary Table. I also mentioned that it was very stiff to turn the handle and that it was covered with that thick preserving grease.

Well I took the RT apart. First I cleaned off as much of the gunk as I could then started to dis-assemble it. No problems getting the table off the base. Just four M4 screws, take off the clamp ring, take off the two locking clamps and the top complete with drive ring gear just lifts out.

No ball bearings in there at all !

Next I started to dis-assemble the worm and release mechanism. Hand wheel off. Just an M6 allen cap screw and washer. The hand wheel drives the shaft via a nasty little key. Really just a bit of scrap hammered into a slot milled into the shaft. Had to use a pair of big side cutters to prise it out.

Then there is a threaded collar secured to the shaft by two M2 grub screws. These have been ground down to 4mm long so that they don't protrude above the surface of the collar. The threads underneath are flattened of course.

Anyway a bit of careful persuasion it unscrewed. This collar is intended to take any end play out of the worm shaft. Then another collar held by two grub screws. Behind that is a retaining ring for the offset so that the worm can be disengaged from the gear wheel.

This is where the fun starts. The offset sleeve pulls out quite easily along with the worm. However the worm shaft is almost impossible to move. So a few whacks with a rubber hammer and managed to get it part way out. I ended up warming it with a blowlamp and a few more taps, out it came.

I'll let you guess...

Yes the worm shaft is bent. I put it between centres and it bobs up and down 5 thou.

Photos below.