# Import EBay B & S #0 Indexing head.



## Tim9 (Jan 7, 2020)

Just want to comment how impressed I am with this import indexing head I just got from EBay retailer.
Brown Sharpe design copy of model 0 index head

I was expecting a decent set up because I read a few threads poo pooing the Indian imports. So far I really haven’t figured out where it’s made but it’s as nice as can be. A complete kit with all the accessories.... all the bells and whistles. Total cost 257.00 with FedEx shipping from New Jersey. It arrived within 4 days.
   I was also expecting sand and grit. I’m telling there’s nothing there. This puppy is clean. 
The only issue I had was that there was excessive end play in the worm crank handle. It worried me at first but after reading the instructions I found the procedure to adjust backlash of worm gear. Piece of cake. I’m telling you this is nice as the best Taiwan tools I’ve seen. I’m so happy I didn’t pay twice as much for a used Phase II off of eBay. Would have spent more and received less in my opinion.
    I’ll post some pics tomorrow.


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD (Jan 7, 2020)

Great!

Looking forward to seeing some pics.


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## Tim9 (Jan 7, 2020)

Here we go. 
	

		
			
		

		
	







And made a wooden box for it. I find wood tends to cut down on condensation/sweating.
Still need to make the top for the box. FWIW it came with dead center MT2 and spindle is threaded 1-1/2 -8 tpi . Came with reversing jaws for Sanoi Chuck. Drive dog. And three plates for most every dividing option.


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD (Jan 7, 2020)

Damn! That does look to be a bargain. Hope it serves you well. Thanks for the pics.


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## pontiac428 (Jan 7, 2020)

I tore mine apart upon arrival as well.  I deburred the corners a bit and put a German bearing on the spindle, but it didn't need much more than a wipe down to be useful.  It does the job, and starting with a complete set of pattern plates beats the alternatives.  I would still like to have a nice Cinci or K&T dividing head one day, but this import DH will do just fine until then.  If you're considering one, this is a good start.


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## benmychree (Jan 7, 2020)

In my view, the B&S (actual genuine) is the best of all, I have owned Cincinnati also, but B&S has the one most valuable feature of all, the graduated sector arms on the dividing plates, the graduation of them is noted in the dividing tables in their book, "practical Treatise on Milling and Milling machines", when setting up for a specific number of divisions, the # hole plate is listed and a column headed "graduation"; when the arms are set to that "graduation" number, the number of holes to be used on the plate is automatically counted and set = no mistakes in counting holes and resulting spoiled parts.  None of the B&S knock offs incorporate the feature.


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## Tim9 (Jan 7, 2020)

benmychree said:


> In my view, the B&S (actual genuine) is the best of all, I have owned Cincinnati also, but B&S has the one most valuable feature of all, the graduated sector arms on the dividing plates, the graduation of them is noted in the dividing tables in their book, "practical Treatise on Milling and Milling machines", when setting up for a specific number of divisions, the # hole plate is listed and a column headed "graduation"; when the arms are set to that "graduation" number, the number of holes to be used on the plate is automatically counted and set = no mistakes in counting holes and resulting spoiled parts.  None of the B&S knock offs incorporate the feature.


Is this what you’re talking about ?
Graduated arms ?


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## benmychree (Jan 7, 2020)

Tim9 said:


> Is this what you’re talking about ?
> Graduated arms ?


Yes, that is what I was referring to.  I might also say that other dividing heads have features that best B&S in some ways, including Cincinnati's high number plates (compared to smaller dia. plates on other makes) Is that there is normally only one plate, drilled on both sides, that allows many more circles to be used, including some that can index some prime numbers that B&S can only accomplish using differential indexing.  Other heads using different ratios besides 40:1 have advantages as well for some work, especially in spiral cutting work.


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## Janderso (Jan 7, 2020)

Tim9,
It's really great to hear we can buy a decent indexing head for such a low price.
I am not smart enough to use a dividing head, but I plan on taking night classes at the local Community College when I retire. (2.5 years)
Dividing Head 101. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 PM.  Tongue in cheek.
I think this tool separates the machinists from the hobby machinists, IMHO.


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## benmychree (Jan 7, 2020)

Janderso said:


> Tim9,
> It's really great to hear we can buy a decent indexing head for such a low price.
> I am not smart enough to use a dividing head, but I plan on taking night classes at the local Community College when I retire. (2.5 years)
> Dividing Head 101. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 PM.  Tongue in cheek.
> I think this tool separates the machinists from the hobby machinists, IMHO.


They are really not all that complicated, at least at the level of the "0"


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## pontiac428 (Jan 7, 2020)

Dividing head 101: Kurt Moltrecht covers dividing elegantly in the chapter by the same name.  It's worth a bedside read to get up to speed on what turns out to be a fairly simple process.  The original B&S manual is good too.  With the bamboo market version of the B&S #0 comes a lot of versatility (chuck, face plate, dogs, MT2) and the ability to pattern features across a staggering number of intervals.  Having the tool in your arsenal is not (just) a possession or a toy, but a capability.


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## Superburban (Jan 7, 2020)

Except that mine did not come with a chuck, it looks just like the one I bought from Enco about 6 years ago. I also paid much more.


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## MontanaLon (Jan 7, 2020)

You guys are a terrible influence. You should be ashamed of yourselves. My wife does not approve.

Yes, I must have one.


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## benmychree (Jan 7, 2020)

I remember in high school machine shop class when we were taught how to calculate simple indexing on the dividing head, I was no math whiz, but caught on and aced it; I had a 3 period "Vocational" class, it was the only time in my school career when I made the honor roll, with 3 "A" grades!
Jeff, there is nothing complicated about the dividing head, most all of what you need is in Machinery's Handbook, or most any other machinist's handbook, about the only problem is counting the holes in the plates when setting the sector arms.


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## benmychree (Jan 7, 2020)

MontanaLon said:


> You guys are a terrible influence. You should be ashamed of yourselves. My wife does not approve.
> 
> Yes, I must have one.


Wives never do (approve)  I was lucky in my shop, in that it was our income, and decisions regarding equipment and tools were not a matter for discussion.


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## Superburban (Jan 7, 2020)

Mine has no problem spending $40 for a purse that she will only use for a month or two.


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## middle.road (Jan 7, 2020)

benmychree said:


> Wives never do (approve)  I was lucky in my shop, in that it was our income, and decisions regarding equipment and tools were not a matter for discussion.





Superburban said:


> Mine has no problem spending $40 for a purse that she will only use for a month or two.



I must have the one that the mold was busted on afterwards - thankfully.
She only likes mini backpack style 'purses' and she runs them until they fall apart, and she always gets them on the cheap.
She's also not into shoes. She has one brand that she really likes and waits for them to popup on the 'bay.
As for jewelry - she's low maintenance in that critical department also.
Whenever there's a major tool purchase we talk it over and decide.
The Birmingham 1440 was _her _fault though. I went to the auction to go after the Bridgeport but it was clapped out.
When the lathe came up she asked why I wasn't going after that. And then proceeded to jab me in the ribs with her finger during the bidding.


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## Superburban (Jan 7, 2020)

middle.road said:


> When the lathe came up she asked why I wasn't going after that. And then proceeded to jab me in the ribs with her finger during the bidding.


Mine does that when I see something on e-bay, or CL. Then she thinks its free reign to buy herself something of equal or more value.


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## MontanaLon (Jan 16, 2020)

I am confused. I have been looking at this, trying to resist the urge to buy and today when I looked it up I found it from another ebay seller for $219 with free shipping. But, the UPC shown is different. So then I started looking around by UPC and found a place in Canada selling it for $130.94ca with free shipping or $98.78us. 

What has me confused is the different UPC's listed on each one. I know that manufacturers will make the same thing for different resellers and even mark with different branding for each. Each is assigned a unique UPC. But the huge difference in price has me worried. The photos are the same with the exception of the branding on the chuck. 

What do you think?

Original link https://www.ebay.com/itm/232805947256?ul_noapp=true

Cheaper link

OMG soo cheap


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## wildcatfan (Jan 16, 2020)

Hard to tell from the picture but is the box made from pressure treated wood?

If so do you anticipate any corrosion issues caused by the chemicals in the wood?


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## dago (Jan 17, 2020)

MontanaLon said:


> I am confused. I have been looking at this, trying to resist the urge to buy and today when I looked it up I found it from another ebay seller for $219 with free shipping. But, the UPC shown is different. So then I started looking around by UPC and found a place in Canada selling it for $130.94ca with free shipping or $98.78us.
> 
> What has me confused is the different UPC's listed on each one. I know that manufacturers will make the same thing for different resellers and even mark with different branding for each. Each is assigned a unique UPC. But the huge difference in price has me worried. The photos are the same with the exception of the branding on the chuck.
> 
> What do you think?




I took a look at this last site, seems like the prices are way cheaper then everyone else. Is it a legit site ? I m tented to order from them but a little scared even if it seems that we can pay with paypal. 

Did someone did ordered from them?

Had to remeve some link from the quote had a warning of spam in my reply ??

Thanks


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## 3strucking (Jan 20, 2020)

I am torn between this style and the super rotary indexer. I really want a 8" as I have a full size mill but That's a great price. Will the BS style do something that the super rotary indexer cant?


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## Aaron_W (Jan 21, 2020)

This looks identical to the one I got from PM. except the brand name on my chuck is Yiyuan instead of Sanoi. Not quite as cheap $319, but still pretty cheap for what you are getting. I came close to ordering from one of the ebay sellers but decided to spend a little more at PM so I have someone to go back to if I have issues. Cheap for what it is, but it is still $300-ish.

I was pretty impressed, no sand, metal shavings or rubber cement like grease. Packed well and even all the fittings and screws were tight.


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## KBeitz (Jan 30, 2020)

Sure beats what I got... 30 years ago I wanted one so bad that I made one. 
Turned out pretty good. Good enough that I never needed to buy one.
The gear box is 50 to 1.  I share my dividing plates with my mill end sharpener.


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## Tim9 (Feb 6, 2020)

wildcatfan said:


> Hard to tell from the picture but is the box made from pressure treated wood?
> 
> If so do you anticipate any corrosion issues caused by the chemicals in the wood?


Yes, it’s made out of the Kiln dried pressure treated after treating pine. KDAT aka Yellow Wood. It’s not like the crap sold at Big Box stores. In my area it’s usually a lumber yard product. I really like # 1 grade KDAT. Cost more but really nice lumber imo. Used it to build my garage door frames. Just framed up a 4x8 marine grade plywood about a year ago. And it’s been holding up very well.
  I also used it for renovation of commercial store front and door front Frame about 5 years ago. Stuff holds out very well and I haven’t noticed any issues with chemical attack but you are right. I probably should paint it. I’ll probably paint inside and out once I build a top for it. FWIW, I built that box from some scraps of KDAT I had laying around the shop.


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## MontanaLon (Feb 7, 2020)

Mine arrived today, I got after it with the lysol first and will move on to degreasing next.

When the box arrived on the porch I was saddened to see it was in pretty rough shape and torn open but everything was there and no damage to anything. Whatever they dipped it in for rust preventative sure does smell bad.

And I saw in the manual they make a BS-2 as well which can do spiral fluting. It is quite a bit more but it sure would be cool to spend 40 hours making a drill bit I could pick up at Ace hardware for $10.


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## wildcatfan (Feb 13, 2020)

Very nice looking doors, i really like the design, sort of a Craftsman influence, but i have to ask why three hinges on the right hand door and two on the left.


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## Tim9 (Feb 14, 2020)

Wild cat.., thanks for the compliment and to add; that’s  a very good question that I recently asked myself after I posted the pic. Bottom line is that when I was building the shed all of my heavy tools (milling machine, press , welders  and lathes) were at my old house. So I made 5 of them but never finished the last hinge. And my goodness it’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since I moved. 
Out of pure embarrassment, I hunted down the pieces for that last hinge and finally got restarted on building / assembling that last hinge. Still need to tap a hole and weld the barrel hinge to the strap.  Once I finish it, I’ll get it installed and finish painting the door trim and shed. That’s the other thing I forgot to mention. It’s just been primed with tinted primer. Still need to topcoat everything. I get easily sidetracked. 
  But in my defense I much rather work with machine tools than lumber and paint. So that contributes to my procrastination.


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## brino (Feb 14, 2020)

MontanaLon said:


> What has me confused is the different UPC's listed on each one. I know that manufacturers will make the same thing for different resellers and even mark with different branding for each. Each is assigned a unique UPC. But the huge difference in price has me worried. The photos are the same with the exception of the branding on the chuck.
> 
> What do you think?



The cheapest link did NOT show extra dividing plates in the pictures, and I didn't see it mentioned in the text either.....
-brino


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## MontanaLon (Feb 14, 2020)

brino said:


> The cheapest link did NOT show extra dividing plates in the pictures, and I didn't see it mentioned in the text either.....
> -brino


I ended up going with the middle road option. I couldn't find any reviews or anything on the cheap website and in looking at their FAQ's saw that they don't make any promise it will be in stock and there was no contact information to call and ask. I am happy with what I got from the higher priced option and have already put it to use.Works like a charm. Although it does give me a greater appreciation for 4th axis capable CNC, that would be a time saver if I were doing more than one off projects.

First project was a large dial conversion for the compound on the lathe. I need to pick up a stamp set to number it but it looks pretty good so far.


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