4 inch manual rotary table

M

Mark_f

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I have been working on this project for quite a while , but keep stopping to make another tool I need. A friend sent me plans he drew up for a small 4 inch manual rotary table he made for his Burke milling machine. I decided to make one for myself. It is fairly simple. I turned a piece of round steel to 4 inches diameter and .875" thick. I then turned a recess to hold some bearings that are on order from McMaster Carr. the recess also holds the rotating part of the table, which I will start on next.

4 in rotary table 2.jpg After machining the round to 4 inches diameter, machining the bearing recess, and machining a clamping groove around the bottom, it was time to scribe the degree markings. This is the setup for making the lines. A boring bar with a pointed tool bit, my home made degree wheel mounted on the rear of the spindle, and a way stop to limit the line length.

4 in rotary table.jpg here I have done the ten degree marks. Next I will do the 5 degree marks , and then the 1 degree marks.

stamping fixture.jpg After marking all the degree marks, I had to stop and make a fixture to hold my number stamps so I could stamp the degree numbers with some sort of accuracy. So this is what I made for that purpose.

stamping fixture 3.jpg This view shows how it works. There is a thread about this fixture in "what you did in the shop today"

4 inch rotary table 1.jpg These three photos show the degree marks and the stamped numbers.
4 inch rotary table 2.jpg Stamping the numbers was a learning process. Not all are perfect, but they came out pretty good. now that I know how to do it the next ones I do will be much better.
4 inch rotary table base.jpg This is the finished base. As soon as the bearings arrive, I will make the rotating part. I still have to make some small clamps to hold it to the table. I will make those while waiting for the bearings.


Keep watching,

Mark Frazier

4 inch rotary table 1.jpg 4 inch rotary table 2.jpg 4 inch rotary table base.jpg stamping fixture.jpg stamping fixture 3.jpg 4 in rotary table 2.jpg 4 in rotary table.jpg
 
Whenever I see a post started by you I always open it. This one is no exception. Keep em coming.

Tom S
 
Thats excellent work Mark! Did you take a light skim over the stamping when it was all done? Are you planning on filling the marks with some colour?

Cheers Phil
 
12bolts said:
Thats excellent work Mark! Did you take a light skim over the stamping when it was all done? Are you planning on filling the marks with some colour?

Cheers Phil
Click to expand...

Actually ,no. I used a second cut smooth file to smooth the surface while turning a medium rpm. This cuts the raised metal without reducing the diameter and gives an excellent finish. The marks show up pretty well, but I will probably put some black lacquer in them.

I do a lot of finish work by hand with a file. I use a lot of files, different types, shapes and grades. I love my second cut files. They give an excellent finish. If you know how to use files, they can work wonders for you.
 
Incredible work! Thanks for sharing, you give me something to aspire to.:thumbzup3:
 
mark_f said:
Actually ,no. I used a second cut smooth file to smooth the surface while turning a medium rpm. This cuts the raised metal without reducing the diameter and gives an excellent finish. The marks show up pretty well, but I will probably put some black lacquer in them.

I do a lot of finish work by hand with a file. I use a lot of files, different types, shapes and grades. I love my second cut files. They give an excellent finish. If you know how to use files, they can work wonders for you.
Click to expand...

A man after my own heart. I love files and think they are the most underrated machinists tool out there. Whenever I go to garage sales or liquidators and see some nice condition vintage files, I always buy them up. The new stuff just isn't as good. The best I have found that is new is Bahco but buying new gets very spendy.

Great work and nice looking project.

Paul.
 
samthedog said:
A man after my own heart. I love files and think they are the most underrated machinists tool out there. Whenever I go to garage sales or liquidators and see some nice condition vintage files, I always buy them up. The new stuff just isn't as good. The best I have found that is new is Bahco but buying new gets very spendy.

Great work and nice looking project.

Paul.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can do wonders with a file. I buy a lot of new files because it is hard to find a good used one around here. Everyone thinks they are hammers or that there is no maintenance to a file. You have to constantly clean them and use them properly and they will last for years. I treat my files just like any other precision tool and they serve me well.
 
iron man said:
Nice work I did the samething and got the hell beat out of me for stamping in the chuck which is not a problem as long as your not using a 5 pound hammer.
Click to expand...

Yea, it won't hurt nothing. I used a 4 oz. hammer. I would do it all the time but for what little us guys do , it is ok.
 
That stamping tool is the bees knees!

Thread bookmarked for future use!

:)
 
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