# I just bought this huge rotary table ...but it needs fixin!



## xalky (Nov 9, 2013)

*I just bought this huge rotary table ...but it needs fixin! UPDATE-IT WORKS!*

I peruse craigs list for bargains and I came across this Rotary table. The ad said that it didn't work. I really couldn't tell how big it was in the photos and the guy could'nt give me a good answer over the phone. Alls I knew is that it was bigger than 12". So I went to take a look at it. Here it is.








 The table top is almost 19 3/4" across.
The table top is in really good shape, doesn't look like it was used much. Probably because nobody wanted to move it, it's gotta weigh 400lbs. I did get it to spin about 120 degrees and then it gets real stiff real, i didn't want to force it. I'm thinking it's either really gummed up inside or some teeth are stripped. I can spin the table top manually, without the hand wheel, and thats pretty free. All the parts seem to be there. The Brand name is WALTER, made in west germany.

This thing has got to be worth a pretty penny all fixed up. I paid $50 for it.

Has anybody ever repaired one of these? How would i start to take this apart?


Marcel


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## Maxx (Nov 9, 2013)

WOW! That sure looks like a hernia maker! 
Makes my 12" look like it came from a Cracker Jack box........


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## xalky (Nov 9, 2013)

IT WORKS :winner: MEEE!!!! I just figured out how it works. The large knurled collar turns about a 1/2 turn to engage and disengage the worm shaft, it's like a cam that must back the the shaft away from the gear. It's almost a good thing I didn't figure it out at the guys shop where i bought it. It works perfectly. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with it except for it could use a good clean and paint. Holy crap...I can't believe it.


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## DMS (Nov 9, 2013)

GREAT SCOTT! That's a huge table. Also, you probably paid less than scrap for it. I really hope you have a small crane for moving that around the shop.


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## kd4gij (Nov 9, 2013)

xalky said:


> IT WORKS :winner: MEEE!!!! I just figured out how it works. The large knurled collar turns about a 1/2 turn to engage and disengage the worm shaft, it's like a cam that must back the the shaft away from the gear. It's almost a good thing I didn't figure it out at the guys shop where i bought it. It works perfectly. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with it except for it could use a good clean and paint. Holy crap...I can't believe it.





   So are you going to rotate your mill with it.:roflmao:


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## xalky (Nov 9, 2013)

DMS said:


> GREAT SCOTT! That's a huge table. Also, you probably paid less than scrap for it. I really hope you have a small crane for moving that around the shop.


 I have an engine hoist. Thats how I got it out of my truck.



kd4gij said:


> So are you going to rotate your mill with it.:roflmao:


 Hey, thats a great idea.

Now that I know it works, I'm probably gonna clean it, strip it, tune it up, and paint it. Then I'm gonna try to trade it for something a little more useful to me. Theres a few used machine dealers in this area that might take it in trade for something. I tried to walk away from it, but I couldn't pass it up for $50. Here's the funnier part I really thought I was buying a project, so I offered the guy $40 dollars for it, then he came back at me with $47, and I almost walked away then, but it's like I just couldn't let that thing go. He was trying to sell it to a steampunk artist...I just wasn't gonna let some artist take it apart and weld angle iron to it. :huh: I let him have the extra 3 bucks,...he earned it helping me get it in my truck.)


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## Glmphoto (Nov 9, 2013)

Awsome table. Great deal too.   Hope to see more pics as you go.


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## DMS (Nov 9, 2013)

*kd4gij brings up a good point. I imagine if that doesn't work out (and your dining room table is stout enough) that it would make a very nice "lazy Susan". *


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## george wilson (Nov 10, 2013)

I was going to tell you exactly that: The worm was disengaged!!

And,an "artist" who would weld stuff to it is no artist. I myself am a "machinist artist" and would never deface machinery or nice accessories.Look in the 'Mods at work" section for my work.

I think you should try to sell the fixed table locally unless you have something large enough to accommodate it. I have super heavy tables myself I ought to sell as I'm too old to handle them. I hate the thought of crating them,though.


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## xalky (Nov 10, 2013)

george wilson said:


> I was going to tell you exactly that: The worm was disengaged!!


 It was actually at it's mid point, not fully engaged or disengaged. like the faces of the gears must have been right against each other. When I went to see it I could barely get it to turn and I couldn't free wheel the table either. It really felt like the worm was mashed up inside.



george wilson said:


> And,an "artist" who would weld stuff to it is no artist. I myself am a "machinist artist" and would never deface machinery or nice accessories.Look in the 'Mods at work" section for my work.
> 
> I think you should try to sell the fixed table locally unless you have something large enough to accommodate it. I have super heavy tables myself I ought to sell as I'm too old to handle them. I hate the thought of crating them,though.


I'm thinking, if i keep it, I"ll make a low stand  for it on wheels. I could bolt a steel plate to it and use it as a welding rotary table when it's not being used as a rotary table. Shop space is limited and every item needs to serve a purpose to earn thier keep around here.
 How much do you think it would be worth cleaned up, painted and mechanically sound? I'm debating on wether I should keep it or sell it.

Marcel


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## xalky (Nov 10, 2013)

I've decided I'm gonna keep it. 

Heres my solution to dealing with the weight and making it double as a rotary welding table. The 1000lb hydralic lift table cost me $187 with a 25% coupon at HF. I'm gonna bolt a nice piece of steel plate to the rotary table cut in a circle with my plasma cutter. and countersink some flush allen head screws to the plate with some t-nuts. I'm gonna bolt the rotary table down to the lift table. I'll be able to raise and lower it for comfortable welding positions. It fits almost perfectly on top of the lift table. I'll also be able to use it as a rotary table on my mill and transfer it on and off easily when i need it. I'll should be into the whole thing for under $250. I'm pretty psyched. :lmao:







Marcel


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## xalky (Nov 11, 2013)

Well, I can't seem to get this thing apart. I pulled the retaining plate off the bottom which seems to be the only thing holding the turntable on. I've tried lifting the turntable off with my engine hoist and prying it off with a couple of large screwdrivers and a combination of both. Theres a taper that goes thru the center that looks like it can be seperated from the turntable. Maybe this is a 2 piece setup, where the turntable can be seperated from the ring gear?? Does anybody know where I can find a manual for this? It's a walter RTL 500 K5.

I'm afraid to damage it. 

If I can't get this thing apart, I'm just gonna drain and flush the gearbox and clean the outside and call it a day.


UPDATE: I was able to pull the worm shaft out and take a good peak inside with a flash light. All the bearings and the o-rings on the worm shaft appear to be in excellent shape. I could also see the ring gear clearly and it's in good shape too.  I was able to adjust the worm gear engagement collar stops and now the collar doesn't stick like it used too, which was the main problem with the table, it was just a major effort to turn the engagement collar. It was a simple matter of adjusting the setscrew to the collar stop. I'm pretty sure that this was an indexing table with a 5 second accuracy ( thats what it says on the plate) but I dont have any of the indexing plates for it, so I'm just not gonna worry about it and leave it be.  I'm gonna change the gearbox oil, clean the outside and run it. DONE!!!

Marcel


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## kd4gij (Nov 11, 2013)

I aaam not familleure with that brand but on my Troyke the brake needs to be removed to get the table out.


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## xalky (Nov 11, 2013)

kd4gij said:


> I aaam not familleure with that brand but on my Troyke the brake needs to be removed to get the table out.


Thanks for pointing that out. My behemoth has 2 brakes and now that you say it, i just checked, and they are removable from the bottom. It's not like i can just flip this mother over to have a look, it weighs 400lbs! I got it open enough that I'm satisfied that the innards are just fine.( see post above) No need to dismantle the whole thing, it was actually nice and clean inside and the oil looked pretty fresh if not new. I think the guy that had it before me tried to get it working and put new oil in it, but the oil was too thin IMO. I just bought some gear oil to put in it. That's what I'm doing right now.


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## hman (Nov 12, 2013)

xalky said:


> I've decided I'm gonna keep it.
> 
> Heres my solution to dealing with the weight and making it double as a rotary welding table. The 1000lb hydralic lift table cost me $187 with a 25% coupon at HF. I'm gonna bolt a nice piece of steel plate to the rotary table cut in a circle with my plasma cutter. and countersink some flush allen head screws to the plate with some t-nuts. I'm gonna bolt the rotary table down to the lift table. I'll be able to raise and lower it for comfortable welding positions. It fits almost perfectly on top of the lift table.



Hmmmm:thinking: ... maybe add some kind of variable speed motor drive if you want to use it as a rotary welding table?  

I recall seeing a motor driven rotary many years ago.  It was used by a machinist in the Chem Department machine shop at U of Texas to TIG weld SS high vacuum flanges to pipe sections.  Looked very slick!


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## Rbeckett (Nov 12, 2013)

Marcel,
Looks like you found a honey hole too.  Congrats on the great score.  If there was any way to keep and use it I wouldn't even consider selling it.  Hope you have lots of fun with this acquisition too!!!!

Bob


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## xalky (Nov 12, 2013)

hman said:


> Hmmmm:thinking: ... maybe add some kind of variable speed motor drive if you want to use it as a rotary welding table?
> 
> I recall seeing a motor driven rotary many years ago.  It was used by a machinist in the Chem Department machine shop at U of Texas to TIG weld SS high vacuum flanges to pipe sections.  Looked very slick!


 Thats the idea. I'm not ready to spend $$ on this but I will keep my eyes open for a DC motor from a tread mill or something to make it happen. It will be real easy to implement.



Rbeckett said:


> Marcel,
> Looks like you found a honey hole too.  Congrats on the great score.  If there was any way to keep and use it I wouldn't even consider selling it.  Hope you have lots of fun with this acquisition too!!!!
> 
> Bob


 Yeah, I'm gonna keep it. Now I have 2 rotary tables. A 6" horizontal vertical with tailstock and indexing, and this monster 19.5" rotary. I think I'm all set in the rotary table dept..

I just filled her back up with oil last night and I'm gonna clean it up and stone the table to get any nicks out of it even though the table is in really good shape.

Marcel


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## f350ca (Nov 12, 2013)

Thats quite a find Marcel
If you want to add a power feed to it you'll probably need to find a gear head motor to get slow enough rotation. I've cobbled up one a few times to run my tiny one (by your standards).
I'd have to measure the speed of this motor but I'd guess 1 or 200 rpm max. Its a dc motor so I can adjust the speed as you mentioned.



I'f it can be cranked by hand you don't need a very big motor, 

I had to cut the OD on this 24 inch sheave to clear the face of the belt and didn't want to pull the gap in the lathe.




Greg


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## xalky (Nov 12, 2013)

Yeah, it turns pretty easy now that I've cleaned it up, oiled it and adjusted it. It's harder to turn than a 12" would be but it's very smooth. I get 3 degrees with one rotation of the handle. This table is really nice it has minute graduations on the handle and it has a vernier for seconds. The tag says that it's accurate to 5 seconds. Pretty impressive.

A DC gear motor would seem to be the solution. Any ideas as to where i might look to pull one out of a piece of junk?


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## f350ca (Nov 12, 2013)

The one I was using on the rotary table came out of blue print machines we scrapped at work, also use one through a gearbox for welding. That one is 110 volt dc easy to control with a variac and diode. A friend gave me 2 - 12volt ones from a golf bag caddy, look the same but lower voltage. Even a windshield wiper motor would work.


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