Thinking about getting a Dividing headset (chuck for a mill) - any advice

The PM dividing head and the eBay units appear identical. They must all come off the same line.
 
I unpacked my BS-0 that was $271 delivered. I know very little but it seems reasonably nice.
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bretthl said:
That's awesome. If I may, what tool did you use to scribe the division lines? Reason I ask is I have a lathe that has divs on the tail stock arbor that were laser etched and after about a year they wore off.
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A shop made dial stamping fixture that I bought plans for. Works quite well
 

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ddickey said:
A shop made dial stamping fixture that I bought plans for. Works quite well
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So you are scribing a line using the mill's X axis and indexing with the dial stamping fixture? How does the dial stamping fixture differ from an indexer?
 
Winegrower said:
The PM dividing head and the eBay units appear identical. They must all come off the same line.
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Somebody posted a review one of the cheaper Ebay dividing heads a couple months ago. The only difference I could find from my PM one was a different (but still pretty generic) brand name on the chuck. I've noticed most of the sellers even seem to use the same stock photos. If you ask PM is upfront about these coming from China and possibly even being identical to some of the other dividing heads being sold.

Considering what vintage dividing heads missing parts are asking on ebay $319 is still a bargain even if it isn't the cheapest option. I'll take a risk on some cheap $25 end mills, but when I start looking at $200-300 items I'm more comfortable dealing with a vendor that I know will respond if I have an issue.
 
bretthl said:
So you are scribing a line using the mill's X axis and indexing with the dial stamping fixture? How does the dial stamping fixture differ from an indexer?
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I suppose you could, just be never tried it though.
 
I bought a BS-2 by Vertex (Taiwanese). I specifically wanted the ability to cut spirals. Hopefully the quality is as good as the Vertex rotary table I have. It should be here in a few days, and will report back about how it is. They also make the semi-universal dividing heads.
 
Please do post up your spiral milling exploits, @Morgan RedHawk

I was setting up to do so myself before I got side tracked into other stuff.
 
Well, the shipment is delayed, so it will be at least a few more days. I will post up some pics when it does decide to show up.
 
I haven't bailed on this thread. The thing still hasnt shipped yet. Beware if ordering from Amazon, you might be in for a wait.
 
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