8" Vertex Rotary Table

I just bought a 8" Vertex from Eisen thru ebay. It was slightly less money on ebay. Haven't used it much yet, but so far I'm pleased. Made in Taiwan, and very nice from my perspective. Very smooth, and very little backlash.
 
I'm always looking to save a buck if I have to buy Chinese. The various makes of machinery and accessories do not look unsimilar for a reason, so I will take the chance on buying a much more inexpensive version if there is a favorite but expensive version out there. So, when it came to buying a RoTab, the Vertex 8" price blew my socks off. I noticed Vevor looked a lot like Vertex and at the cost they wanted, I pulled the trigger - hell, I've made more expensive mistakes in my life.

The Vevor showed-up and was silky-smooth. The casting and finish looked was gorgeous (yes, I can equate a fine machine with a fine woman). I took it apart for the mandatory "It Came From China, So It Has To Have Crap Inside" inspection and clean-up. It was actually clean, but I sleep each night for the drill. Upon reassembly, the backlash was 2-3 thousandths and the vertical/horizontal mounting square per my Brown and Sharpe machinist squares. I bought this 6 months ago and it was $185, give or take a couple dollars. I used it on a project and it did everything I asked.

Oh, questions appear all the time - "What size Rotary Table for blah-blah sized milling table?" My tabletop milling machine is 7" x 27" and the 8" fits perfectly. Hope that helps someone else down the road when face with the same question...

Cheers,
John
 
Good morning, A friend of mine found a 10" rotary table on line that was a knockoff of a Vertex table with no branding. It looked just like a Vertex down to the wrinkle black finish, but it wasn't. I took a look at it and found the the locking levers were higher then the table even when locked. I milled the bottoms of the stands down so when the locks were not in use they cleared any work that was bigger than the table. You might want to take a look at that. Thanks, Charlie.
 
Seems like when buying all this tooling stuff, a reputable dealer/retailer is critical.... most reputable dealers don't sell knock offs... and if they do, they just say they are cloned and not branded. No creative wording to make you think you are getting something you are not.

I just got my 8" vertex and it's definitely the real deal down to the vertex labeled plastic wrapper and that special oil soaked paper.

I purchased mine from https://www.accuramachinetools.com/rotary-tables.html and when I personally discussed my order with them, added the tail stock support and dividing plates, they gave me a pretty good discount so I just included all the parts. They are "old school" over there, can't judge a book by it's cover.

Mine was a 4 slot, but my understanding from asking Ian at rotagriponline (a good vertex dealer) is that vertex no longer makes it as 4 slot and all the newer ones are 3 slot. Mine was manufactured 3-5 years ago so it was before they switched to 3 slots for the 8" size.

If anyone is on the 6" or 8" sized decision, for general purpose work, as much as I don't like the extra 1" of height on the 8" over the 6"... a 6" would be VERY small... hardly any room clamp things down. It is heavier for sure and it obviously has to fit on your table.
 
Huh!
I'm thinking Accura is also 'thetoolsupermarket' on ebay? Also in Beaver Falls.
www.ebay.com

ACCURA/VERTEX HV-6 6” horizontal/vertical rotary table 4 slot back in stock! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ACCURA/VERTEX HV-6 6” horizontal/vertical rotary table 4 slot back in stock! at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Out in Pittsburg. Definitely better shipping for me than Eisen in CA.

One thing about these tools. Even if they are all coming from the same factory (They may not be), there can be a wide range of quality standards coming off the line. It could easily be that two of the same knock off items are NOT the same quality. The better ones could be picked for the specific customer, the specific customer could simply be requiring QC to check items, and all the rejects could be sold to another customer.

Nothing new there. I remember my early plasma TV days at Pioneer. We sold panels to Panasonic. They used their own electronics which made a difference, but literally every panel off the line went though a battery of tests... The panels that did not pass were sold to Panasonic. Number of inactive pixels (we were NOT allowed to say dead!) was a big one.

Vertex is from Taiwan? If we all discover stuff from them is consistantly good, it's worth noting that Vertex is generally decent stuff. Many Chinese 'brands' dissapear quick for that reason. Easier to re-name your sales company. If a specific name has been around a while it gives you a better feeling. So far I've had decent luck with some Vevor stuff (being cheap Chinese)

And of course I totally agree that dealing with a brick and morter US dealer is definitely prefered for numerous reasons!
 
Mill Lee farm said:
I'm thinking Accura is also 'thetoolsupermarket' on ebay? Also in Beaver Falls.
Click to expand...
Yep, accura and the thetoolsupermarket seems to be their label, ebay store, etc. There's nothing behind Accura other than re-labeling stuff from what I can tell. I was suspicious at first, had them send me pics of the actual rotary table, box, packaging etc to ensure the real deal. Their pamphlet/brochure looks like it hasn't been updated in 35 years. I'm 90 minutes from them, but when I had the rotary table and accessories shipped, it was only $65, not worth my time or gas $.... arrived the next day. I'm not sure they sell much other than rotary tables though, at least in the Vertex, machine tooling stuff. I'd be curious to see their store.

Mill Lee farm said:
Vertex is from Taiwan? If we all discover stuff from them is consistantly good, it's worth noting that Vertex is generally decent stuff
Click to expand...
Based on input from others on this forum and many items purchased I have found Vertex to be a solid value brand. High and consistent quality for the price paid. From the right retailer, not that much more than Vevor or aliexpress, etc.

I believe they do manufacture for many other private labels and as you call out, same line/plant doesn't mean equal quality across the board, things are made to spec and price points. By enlarge, most everything "Vertex" branded is manufactured in Taiwan, but not everything so you have to ask and dig a little if that's important. I purchased their auto reverse taping head, a clone of the Tapmatic stuff, and they source that from China, I new that ahead of time.

Sourcing vertex direct branded stuff in the US is challenging because it seems no one here advertises it as vertex directly. I have not found one retailer with a good selection of their line. rotagriponline has been a great source for vertex stuff, based out of the UK, which may be a deterrent. Aside for an outdated web site shopping catalog, their prices are great, Ian is very helpful and up front with questions and we don't pay the 20% vat, but we do pay 20% USD to EURO conversion fee, plus $30-$40 customs fee, at least I have when they shipped via FedEx. Normally, my stuff arrives as fast or faster than if I shipped from West to East coast. I also purchased a PBA 6" 4 jaw chuck, about 1/2 the cost compared to more local sources.
 
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Eisen Machinery sold Vertex branded rotary tables. I bought one a couple of years ago. They still carry Vertex stuff.
 
I would like to add something to my earlier reply. I understand for the most part that any given factory will /does produce what are considered knockoffs of the very products they sell for the simple reason of being able to compete with India and China but at what cost to the buyer. I didn't get into it with my above reply, but along with the table locks not being the correct height there was excessive backlash at the worm gear handle. I am also aware of the lesser unbranded tools made from the very same factories. To each his own. Thanks, Charlie.
 
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