Help identifying this rotary table?

AlfromNH

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
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I got this with my Bridgeport. Like everything else it can use a good cleaning and lube. Can anyone tell me what make it is? No mfr label, part number or serial number, the sheet metal cover on the bottom is stamped “made in India”. It seems mechanically good, but was full of grease that had hardened into wax consistency. It has ball oilers so I’m not sure why it had grease at all.

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No responses, so I guess this is the “mystery meat” of rotary tables. My impression with it taken apart is it’s a Harbor Freight quality, but this is the first rt I’ve owned or taken apart. The made in India not china is interesting to me…
 
Back in the 80's, a lot of the lower cost tools came from India. I bought an Indian drill press vice back then, oh the scorn I received from my friends. Well, I still have the vice and it still works just fine.
You probably will never find out who made that table as that's all the marking most of those tools ever had.
 
So I think I see the Cen-Tech logo on this label. I couldn’t find anything online about a Cen-Tech rotary table tho.
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But I discovered another issue. The end of the shaft is bent, about .030 runout.
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and the handle is not original, leaving about an inch of the shaft exposed.
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so it seems like I should be able to cut about an inch off the shaft and turn it down to a taper to match the handle. But how do I determine the taper of this handle?

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I cant help with the table.
But to match the taper mount the handle in the lathe in a 4 jaw and get it dialed in perfect.
The with the lathe not running adjust the compound so that running your best dial indicator back and forth on the far side of the tapper does not move the needle. You now have the compound set to cut that angle.
 
So you’re telling me it’s time to buy a 4 jaw chuck? ;)
 
You can use the 3 jaw and shim the handle true.
Or you can get the taper close and rebore the handle to your taper and then turn the shaft to the same.
 
So you’re telling me it’s time to buy a 4 jaw chuck? ;)

You will need a 4 jaw chuck one day, and it is far easier to do the job with a 4 jaw.... Some guys have a 4J and never buy a 3J chuck.

My best guess is that it is a clone of an older Bridgeport design. Most of the cheap ones need to be touched up to get the best out of them. If your machining isn't all that picky, you might never need to overhaul it.

----- but before you go too wild --- why not just machine a spacer that will cover up the extended shaft? It won't hurt and you can get on with machining....
 
You can use the 3 jaw and shim the handle true.
Or you can get the taper close and rebore the handle to your taper and then turn the shaft to the same.
I like the idea of boring the handle to match the new taper on the shaft. I’ve never bored a taper, so that will be a chance to learn something new.
----- but before you go too wild --- why not just machine a spacer that will cover up the extended shaft? It won't hurt and you can get on with machining....

true enough. But the bend on the end of the bar is enough that the handle turns all wonky. While it still works, that will bug me enough that I don’t want to live with it.

Bottom line: I’m a newbie and it will likely be a long time before I outgrow this table.
 
You can also try to straighten the shaft.
 
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