Rotary Table -- What Do I Need To Know?

[Jeremy_BP]

Hi all,
As a present to myself I decided to get a 6" H/V Phase II rotary table. It's in the mail, and my ears are tuned to the frequency of the UPS truck. But that's beside the point.

What do I need to know (or get/make)? I've used a rotary table once in my life, and it wasn't even my setup, so I'm not very familiar with maintaining or using one.

Also, feel free to share any tips you may have on setting it up, clever setups, or anything that might make a job easier down the line.

Thanks!

 

[mklotz]

I quickly found that my 6" didn't provide enough table area to accommodate the workpiece and clamps. I made an 8" sacrificial aluminum table for it. Four rows of 1/4-20 threaded holes provide a means of securing clamps. And when, just recently, I unwittingly ran an endmill into it, I only needed to use a very small subset of my more colorful words.

The table will have a central hole of some sort - either cylindrical or one of the more popular tapers. Make a plug to fit this hole. Bore and ream this hole to a convenient size (I used 1/4") about 3/4 of its length. Drill and thread the remainder. This threaded section will be used with a long bolt to extract the plug from the top side of the table. The reamed hole will be used for various made-to-fit centering plugs that you will use to center some feature of your workpiece on the table.

Download and learn to use my ROTARY program which will allow you to use your table in lieu of a dividing head to make any number of divisions.

 

[Jeremy_BP]

Thanks Marv. I guess now I have to try turning a morse taper.
I also may give a tooling plate like the one ShopShoe made a go. (http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=16077.0)

I've read a bit about needing to fill the gearbox with oil -- do I need to do that? And if so, what type of oil should I use?

 

[mklotz]

I guess now I have to try turning a morse taper.

It's a good exercise but, as an alternative, pick up some old MT drills at a swap meet. Hacksaw the drill portion off. The MT stubs are almost always soft. Machine to fit your RT.

 

[kvom]

It's likely you'll need/want to make some t-nuts that fit the rotab's slots. I had to for my 8".

A small chuck that mounts to the rotab is useful for holding round parts.

 

[Jeremy_BP]

Marv -- Good idea. I'll see if there's any in the junk box at the hackerspace.

kvom -- I suppose I should find out what size the T-Nuts are. It also happens that my 4-jaw chuck has bolt holes through the faceof it so I can bolt it on to the rotab directly. Convenient.

 

[rhankey]

I got an 8" Phase II rotary table 6 or so months ago, with matching 3 jaw chuck, mounting plate and tail stock. It all works fine, though it sure lacks the fit, finish, refinement and silky smooth feel of my 50-60 year old American made mill and lathe to which I've grown very fond of.

My rotary table arrived with a broken main crank handle, which is made from very brittle plastic. My seller sent me a replacement promptly via Phase II support, and I learned through the process that is a common problem. Be very careful setting the table down, as the handle extends below the bottom of the table and the weight of the table will easily break the handle. The handle is really easy to replace.

Between the table, and the back plate, they did include a set of T-nuts and hex bolts. However, I seem to recall receiving only 3 of four T-nuts, and one of the T-nuts hadn't been squished sufficiently to fit the RT slot (machining might be a bit of an over statement). At least one of the hex bolts was too long. Phase II support was very good I found, and they sent me another set of T-nuts and bolts.

Do not attempt to machine any of their T-nuts or keys to fit your needs. If they don't fit, toss them. I destroyed a milling bit trying to machine the keys that attach to the bottom of the RT to fit my milling table while I discovered how horrible Chinese steel is to work with.

The RT has a MT3 taper. When centering your milling head over the table, I've found I get most accuracy if I centre to the MT taper rather than the lip directly above the MT. The lip directly above the MT is out a thou or so to the centre of the table.

I put some way oil in the table which is probably the only oiling I'll give the unit in its life. Unlike the mill or lathe which I feel a pride and obligation to treat with the greatest of care, there won't be any lost sleep if I drill into the table by mistake - unless it destroys another milling bit. I’m hoping I’ll find a good deal on a dividing head some time.

If you figure out what the lever closest to the main crank handle does, and how to work it, let me know. The Chinglish instructions and exploded diagram don't help. It seems to suggest it might release the crank handle from driving the table, but I haven’t been able to get it to release.

I hope you enjoy yours. Mine has been getting a lot of use over recent months and has been working just fine.

Robin

 

[Jeremy_BP]

Robin -- I'll certainly let you know how mine works out. There seems to be a bit of variation in products like these; hopefully I get a good one. Thanks for the heads-up on the crank handle also. I think I'll be building a storage box for it and I'll take that into account.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Mine had a scratchy feel to it. I took it apart and cleaned all the gunk from the insides, lubricated and re-assembled. Much better.

 

[Blogwitch]

Jeremy,

What do I need to know

A lifetime of experience, because you learn to do new things with a rotary table almost every time you come to do a new job that requires it's use.

But don't worry, a few well chosen words on here and I am sure that someone has done it before, and will explain how to get around things.

As already suggested, a sacrificial top plate and mounting a chuck are about the two major ones, everything else will come along as you need it. Don't forget, you will need a few clamps to hold things down, they usually need to be a lot smaller than your normal table clamps.

Go to here

http://rdgtools.co.uk/

And search for SWAN NECK FACE PLATE CLAMPS. That will show you what I am on about.
I use the very small ones, but you could just as easy make them up yourself. For the price, I'm just too lazy to do it.


John

 

[Jeremy_BP]

Well, the table is all set to arrive today. Fortunately, I'll be at school, so the UPS man is safe. ;D

Trout -- I'll probably dismantle it in the process of cleaning. We'll find out if there's any gunk.

Bogs -- A lifetime of experience, just like anything else, I guess. I have some small clamps I made a while ago, I'll give them a shot.
I just finished a job so I should have plenty of time to play with it and get to know it.