Rotary Table - Oops, Size Matters!

That 16" would look great on the K&T!!!

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My 8" RT is all I want to lift by hand, and I am not getting any younger or stronger...
Im with ya. Mine has a 6" chuck mounted to it also so it really is dead weight. Lift with the knees right? :rolleyes:
 
There was a 12" rt for sale on the Lynchburg Va. craigslist yesterday for $100. Looked good. Sold before i could get there.
 
I did a little bit of banking over the Christmas break. While there, they coerced me into opening a credit card on my mad-money "business" account, with $200 cash back on any first purchase over $500.

I'd been lusting after a rotary table for the Bridgeport in my home-shop, so I agreed to the new card.

When a suitable rotary table popped up on sale, I would snag it and get an additional $200 back, then immediately cut up the card!

Well, MC Direct Tools recently offered 30% off + free shipping on anything over $250 (with caveats). I selected the 8-inch Phase 2 horizontal/vertical table, but discovered the purchase wouldn't meet the $500 minimum for the $200 cash back. It came to something like $487 out the door, $287 after the $200 cash back!

I thought well, this is simple, I'll just get the 10-inch rotary table. I'd read on these pages, and on other forums, how heavy these tables can get, so I have no-one to blame but myself!

The free shipping didn't apply on the 10-incher due to the weight but they fiddled the price for me and got it down to within a hundred bucks of the 8 incher, all told including shipping and cash-back.

When it arrived, I was surprised at the size and heft.

I'm kinda thinking I shoulda stuck with the 8-incher and padded the order a little to get over the cash-back threshold. But I'll probably never want for a bigger rotary table! :)

I'll likely need to add a small crane to the back of the Bridgeport ram to help me hoist it on and off the table.
Hey! I have a 12" rotary and so I just built a table of 2x4's and plywood top with wheels on 2 legs. I just made a handle attached to the other 2, then I roll it up to my mill raise or lower the table till it is level with my home made table and then its no prob to slide it of the mill and I just roll it over to it's own spot. No back aches or red face even.
 
What you need is a little engine crane, and good news, they already exist. They are called patient lifts, and can be found on craigslist for varying prices. I got a chrome plated one for 100 bucks a couple of years ago. They lift 450 lbs, and the legs spread out as necessary to straddle a mill base. I have no problems lifting my 12" or 18" RT's, or super spacer, or vise, on/off the mill.
Here's one:
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/hab/6017999647.html

Chris
 
13" Troyke Table. Harbor Fright engine host or wait till kids are home
 
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