Rotary Table Questions

[HBilly1022]

I'm a newbie and looking at getting a rotary table for my milling machine but not sure what to look for. From what I've read so far I don't want a 4 " table and should probably get a 6", since the 8" tables are very heavy. So the questions are:
1) Can all rotary tables have dividing heads added to them or this specific to each make / model. I don't want to spend the extra money for dividing heads right now and don't know if it is something I will use. So unless I can get a great deal on a combo set or I have to get get them together, I will likely just get the rotary table to start with. It would be nice if I could just add them later, if I find a need.
2) Does it matter how many slots are in the table?
3) Are there any specific features I should be looking for?

 

[hman]

First off, do you want a horizontal-only table or a horizontal-vertical?

If a 5" would suit your needs, Grizzly has a nice hor-vert combo set, T25937, that "has it all," including a 4-jaw chuck, tailstock, hold-downs, etc. $280, not yet available, but you can pre-order. Don't know anything about the quality, but as always, you generally get what you pay for.

I started with Grizzly's 6" horizontal, H2677, $260, then bought a dividing plate set later (G9295, $75).
/begin brag/
Matter of fact, Grizzly did NOT originally say that this set would fit my table. But it looked right (ID and screw pattern), so I bought it "on spec" and lucked out. I told them about it, and now the G9295 is listed as an accessory for the H2677.
/end of brag/

If you need a 6" hor/vert, you might want to look at G1049, $325, then later buy a set of plates (G1760, $150) and possibly a tailstock (G1763, $105). Of course, if you want to add a chuck, you'll need even more dough.

Hope this helps!

 

[jmanatee]

My opinion on a rotary table is you run out of space quickly so unless you are doing only very small parts a 6" table is only 28" square inches of table, Thats not a lot of room for clamps and hold downs.

Bigger then your biggest part is better


FYI
8" table is 50 square inches
10" table is 78.5 square inches
12" table is 113 square inches

 

[dlane]

This is what I did to gain more space on my 8"

Could add somthing similar to smaller table

 

[HBilly1022]

Hman; I think a hor/vert table would be more versatile so would probably get one of those. Is there any drawback to getting a dual position one? I looked at the 5" Grizzly RT and like all the stuff that it comes with, especially the 4 jaw chuck. Not sure if that would be big enough but since I don't have any specific uses for one and have never used one I'm in the dark about everything to do with this purchase. I also looked at the 6" H7525 for $350 and I like that but it does not come with a chuck. I have 2 chucks for my lathe and maybe I could make an adapter to use those on the RT. I've seen lots of threads where people have made larger adapter plates for their RT's and wonder if there is any drawback to that process. If not then maybe the 5" combo is the way to go.

The reason I'm looking, is that I made a small part for my milling table that required three slots cut at 120* spacing and without a rotary table it was difficult. I ended up using a protractor and marking the cut outs with that, then eyeballing the setup on the mill. Since there was no need for real accuracy the part turned out fine but that wouldn't be the case if it had to be right on.
I also considered making a new drawbolt for the mill and a vert RT with TS would be nice to cut the hex head. It seems that I am limited to cutting straight lines, no arcs, with the Mill unless I get a RT. It seems to me that it a necessity for a mill.

dlane; I like that table and wonder if there is some limit as to how big an add on table can be. From what I can see there could be a conflict problem with the handwheel if the table got too big. But is there anything else to consider, like off center / unbalanced loads?

 

[dlane]

There is clearance for the hand wheel and plate on this vertex 8" HV RT not sure about others.
The pin in center is to zero the table on the mill , it is centered into a mt3 socket that fits into the center of the RT, the plate also centers on the mt3 and is bolted to 4 table t slots
Have no prob with off center / unbalanced

 

[HBilly1022]

Decision made. I was in the city today to get supplies for the upcoming family get together and stopped at the tool store to check on RT prices, info. They had a couple of 4" tables, a 6" and an 8" on display. That was all their inventory. The marked price for the 8" was $467, the 6" was $400 and the 4" was $300. The lady that looks after that section of the store couldn't tell me anything about RT's because she has no experience with them. She has given me deals on some of the stuff I bought there recently so I asked her what she could do on the RT prices. Turns out the store is not going to carry them any more and has them on clearance, just not marked that way. The 8" and the 6" were both the same price $300. So the 8" is now sitting in my shop. It's a heavy thing but didn't seem to be much heavier than the 6". It was sure nice to see the 2 side by side and for that price I couldn't say no. Now I have another tool to learn how to use. Just need to get some time.

 

[hman]

Fantastic that you were able to do a side-by-side comparison. And you got a fantastic price!!! Is it horizontal/vertical ... and what kind of goodies did it include?

 

[HBilly1022]

Here are some pics of it sitting on the mill table. Looks kind of big. Is this too big for this machine? I noticed that the keyway tabs don't line up with my table, which makes me wonder if this was meant for a larger mill. I could always take it back and exchange it for the 6" but not sure if that was the same or not.

No goodies with this clearance RT. As a matter of fact there wasn't even any owners manual. I had them open the box for the 6" RT and copy the manual that was in there. It covered all the models from 6" to 12". I didn't mention this earlier but this is $CAD. Converted the price was $230 US.

 

[stupoty]

I've got a 10" on my rf25 , it's very heavy but seems to be fine on it.

You could toe clamp it down for vertical use perhaps.

How does the oil cap deal with being sideways? Does it just let you know theirs tooo much oil in their ?

Stuart