Dividing heads reviews & opinions?

A

Argonavis

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Hello,

I've been thinking of picking up a dividing head in the fullness of time, and would be extremely grateful for any reviews that members might have of their units, or opinions regarding desired features, things to look out for, good brands, etc. I'm particularly fond of the older home-grown brands, but that bias is not founded on any personal experience with these gizmos.

What brands are worthy of consideration? Cinncinnati, Van Norman, B&S, Hardinge, etc? What variety of gear ratios are out there beyond the common 40:1 ratio, and what are their virtues? What size dividing heads make sense for a mid-size knee mill? How interchangeable are the plates for various different brands which might make them easier to find for sale? What questions should I be asking?

Thanks for the time!

Hannes.
 
I have a Hardinge dividing head, and really like it - super heavy and substantial, and with a 4:1 ratio, there's little or no counting turns. I'm lousy at counting turns, so that's a big plus for me.

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The older American dividing heads are stout, acceptably accurate, and generally workhorse units.

In the used American iron you'll likely see brands like Carroll, L-W, B&S, Ellis, K-T, Cincinnati, and VN.
Personally I'd stay away from the oldest examples of any of them.
I'd also discount those heads primarily meant to be powered from the table feed gearbox.
Obviously those dividing heads sold with extra plates, a tailstock and other accessories are worth more. How much more is debatable.

The universal type seem to me more versatile. At the possible expense of a tiny bit of accuracy.

I don't know about plate interchangeability and also would like to know.

If you want finer accuracy the optical dividing heads offered by Leitz Wetzlar, Zeiss, and possibly others offer up to 2 arc second accuracy. And a scale which never wears out.
In true Teutonic fashion you get superb engineering superbly constructed but often with Holy Cow complexity!
Very very cool devices and the engineering and accuracy appeal to me whether I can utilize that accuracy or not.

If you watch long enough you can grab a very good deal on normally expensive dividing heads of all makes.
Today I took delivery of a very nice Leitz courtesy of one of those very good deals.
Be patient and you'll see bargains pop up.

Good luck in your search.
 
8000 members and two dividing heads amongst us?

There must be more dividing head owners out there than the two who've responded.
 
Hi
Well I don't have a dividing head per say but I do have a vertical/horizontal rotary table that has dividing plates and a 5" 4 jaw independent Chuck. I know it is china made but it is on par of a Phase II table. The worm screw has double bearings and the screw is submerged in an oil bath. It is a 90:1 and is very smooth. I has MT2 center which fits all my lathe tail stock tooling. and it is a very good size for my Bench top mill. With the 4 jaw you can get the run out really down to sub .001. I'm very happy with it. I find it more useful than a dividing head by far.
Happy Machining, and Fare Thee Well
CH

2016.JPG 2017.JPG 2018.JPG
 
I have used an old b&s a few times at school. Worked awesome, smooth and easy to use. I'll be going the roto table with plates route as I cant afford both. Just to much height on the dividing heads to use like a roto table.
 
chuckorlando said:
I have used an old b&s a few times at school. Worked awesome, smooth and easy to use. I'll be going the roto table with plates route as I cant afford both. Just to much height on the dividing heads to use like a roto table.
Click to expand...

That is true and of particular concern if Z axis capacity is limited.

But, a universal dividing head makes it very easy to set up angles.

As I said earlier, if a guy is patient and persistent in his searching he can find a great RT AND a great DH for the price of a new Chinese RT.
I got arguably one of the finest dividing heads ever made, the Leitz, for under $500 including freight (~$250) from CA to MN.
I think I paid less than $150 shipped for the 10" Japanese made Kamakura RT I have too.
$650 out of pocket and I'll never need another RT or DH as long as I live.
 
I watch ebay and craigslist no less then 3 times a day just for a RT or DH. I buy deals best I can so if a DH came about with all I wanted for a price I have in my pocket right then, I'll take it. All it took for me was 8 flutes in a handle and I was sold. Then I seen Bill's handles with the graduations and it put dividing of one form or another at the top of my list.

At the end of the day I want and will have both. All it takes is money
 
Thank you all for your comments!

In reference to Ken's comment regarding the length of the thread, is it that dividing heads are not a very popular accessory for hobby machinists? In that case it might suggest that they'd be easier to find in "non-hobbyist" circles.

@Senna, you also said that you'd stay away from the oldest examples of the US units -- why? Is it just that they've seen the most wear & tear, or do newer units have different features? Are there any tells to help separate the older from the newer models?

With regard to the universal & semi-universal models -- I've seen some which pivot down from the horizontal perhaps 20 degrees and up about 80, thus making it impossible to mimic a rotab. Is there a common range of motion for the arc that the universals can traverse? It would seem to me to be enormously useful to be able to set the spindle into the vertical position.

@COMachinist, thank you for the images! How are the dividing plates used/mounted with your rotab? I've never seen dividing plates used with a rotab.

Would anyone have any guidance about what constitutes a "good" or a "reasonable" deal in a dividing head? Or are there too many factors to make any useful generalizations?

Hannes.
 
I have an old Ellis dividing head that I picked up for less than $200 on ebay. It came with 3 plates, and a tailstock. It is a 40:1 ratio head. It can swivel from 15 degrees below horizontal to 100 degrees above horizontal. It has a 6-1/2" swing and weighs about 60 lbs.

The downside to the older heads like this one is they typically use no-longer-common tapers in the spindle. Mine is a B&S #9, and tooling for this is by no means as easy or inexpensive to get as a Morse taper.

I picked up a faceplate that threads onto the 1-3/4 - 8 spindle nose, and adapted it so that my 6" 3-jaw and 8" 4-jaw lathe chucks will fit.

I also picked up an old DA500 Collet chuck with a bunch of collets-that one had a B&S #10 shank, but I turned it down to fit the B&S #9.

I also modified the old Ellis to work under CNC control-I will say that I don't use it every day, but when I do, it sure is handy!
 
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