Phase II rotary table Question

[Baithog]

I bid on a Phase II rotary table because the bids were really low, and to my surprise I won it. The model is 220-206.

I got it today. The worm doesn't seem to be engaging the table. I've played with all the levers and think I have their purposes figured out, but not how to re-engage the worm. What's the trick?

It would be nice to have a manual for it. There is a sight glass on one side, so it probably needs oil? I wasn't very successful on the manual front in the downloads area or an internet search. Can someone point me to one?

 

[Shadowdog500]

Does this help. It tells how to disengage and re-engage the worm. LMS sells phase II rotary tables and has basic instructions shown below.

Chris

http://littlemachineshop.com/instructions/RotaryTable.pdf

 

[Doubleeboy]

I agree with Chris, the gear is probably disengaged. It happened to me repeatedly when I got my first table, till I pestered the company and they explained where I went wrong.

BTW if you are not familiar with Phase 2 and most Chinese rotary tables they will leak every drop of oil out over time, take than in consideration before you park it on a shelf or stand.

michael

 

[Baithog]

Unfortunately not. This is not the same table, or the same construction. I tried LMS, Grizzly, and Phase II web sites. Phase II verifies my model number but gives me a 404 error when trying to access the manual.



The handle unlocks the black part of the drive (left side of picture). The black thingy(scientific term) rotates back and forth about 30 or 40 degrees and moves in and out of the body a little at the same time. Its position does not engage the worm. The hole to the right of the mounting slot had a plug in it. The worm can be seen with the plug removed. The worm seems to move a little up and down when the black knob is rotated, but does not contact the worm gear.

I am fairly certain that the black knob has something to do with engagement. It could be bent, frozen, broken. I don't want to force it without some idea what it is supposed to do. I could just start tearing into it to see how it works, but would rather have an exploded view at least so I don't destroy it. So I'll hope to get some response here, then Moday call Phase II and see if they can get me a manual. It was sold as a functionint tool, but I really don't want to have to return it. Eating the shipping on it would be painful.

 

[Shadowdog500]

In the photo there appears to be a set screw on the side of the table. Is that the black thingy?

 

[18w]

Larry, on my PhaseII 8" you loosen the vertically positioned lever shown in your picture. You also loosen another lever on the back face of the black vernier collar (your black thingy) you then turn the vernier collar on the black thingy clockwise until snug. This should disengage the worm. To engage just reverse the procedure.

Cheers
Darrell

 

[Video_man]

I have a similar PhaseII, although it's a vertical-horizontal model. The "black thingy" does indeed rotate about a half turn to engage or disengage the worm. It should work very smoothly if your table is in good shape, although sometimes a slight turn of the wheel (front part of the black thingy) is needed to engage the gear. However, it appears to be part of the PhaseII experience that the engagement, which is very finely fitted, is easily damaged if the table is dropped or the "black thingy" bangs into something. The manual specifically warns of this.

Unfortunately I banged my table, and it promptly locked up much as you describe. I managed to disassemble it --- there is a link in this forum to an old post of mine detailing exactly how to do this --- and found that a very small bump --- so small I was able to work it out with an extra fine jeweler's file and some 800 grit emery paper --- was enough to lock the rotating eccentric which effects the worm engagement.

If you are not able to easily and smoothly engage the worm, it is very possible that the eccentric is damaged in the manner I described. Search this forum for my name and phaseII and you will find a post with an exploded-parts diagram, and a later post with disassembly info. Sorry I don't have it at hand to attach to this post.

 

[Shadowdog500]

The thread is called "rotary table problem" started on 6-18-12 by video_man. I'm in my iPhone and found it with Google.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/7241-Rotary-table-problem?highlight=Rotary+table

 

[Shadowdog500]

I assume you tried this?!
Chris

Step 1


step 2

 

[Baithog]

Success!!

Thanks to everyone that took the time to help.

My table is model 220-206 #E0016. It is not listed by Phase II. Their current horizontal 6" is 220-006, so is most likely an early design. I will contact Phase II tomorrow and see if I can get a model specific manual.

Second prize goes to Video-man. My innards are not exactly the same as your 8, but your description of the dis-assembly procedure gives me confidence in achieving my final solution. Your admonition that the mechanism is fragile leads to believe that the shipping company and not the seller is the root of this problem. I imagine that box handlers were surprised by the weight of the package.

First prize to Chris. I was suspicious of the 'back this off' object', but assumed that it was accessed internally. It was obvious that it was not externally threaded. It had a hole in it that was threaded, but the hole was blind. I threaded a screw into the hole and pulled. The plug popped out. It rides in a groove in the eccentric and seems to be there to prevent the eccentric from turning 360, and possibly to prevent the eccentric from being pulled from the body. The plug was a dead end as its removal didn't fix anything. Knowing that the vernier was supposed to be up when the worm was engaged was the key. I assisted the eccentric with a strap wrench. It turned with only slightly more force than I had applied with oily hands. The worm is now engaged.

My assumption is that gorilla guy dropped the box a few times and created a bur problem like Video-man had. I can live with the bur for now. One of these days, when not being able to easily disengage the worm becomes an aggravation, I'll take it apart and clean up the damage. Until then, I will enjoy using my half-price rotary table.