- Joined
- Mar 2, 2018
- Messages
- 232
I haven't been on here, or in my shop in ages. I finally got started on that clock project I started planning two years ago. I finally got out my rotary table, and zeroed it in. I am in the process of making a small lantern pinion, and I need to drill 8 tiny holes in a circle. I got my X axis locked hard on 0, and I cranked the Y axis out half of the 0.258" bolt circle I'm supposed to drill, using the new DRO I installed two years ago, and locked it in. I made a hardened point to mark where my holes are going to go, and I'm doing a dry run to make sure I know what I'm doing before I start spinning up a drill.
It is at this point that I am getting frustrated by the crappy index pin handle thing on my rotary table. It uses exactly the same plates, sector arms, and other parts as my Chinese BS0 knockoff dividing head. The main difference is that the handle on the dividing head is made such that you can pull it out, give it a quarter turn, and it locks with the pin retracted.
First question: I'm pretty sure the original index pin handle thing did not have this feature. I think I bought a new aftermarket handle somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember where. Little Machine Shop? Grizzly? Shars?
The first thing I tried was simply using the handle from my dividing head that does have this handy locking feature. That's when I discovered that rotary table handles are longer. The pin that locks into the dividing plate will not reach far enough, so I am stuck using the rotary table handle.
If somebody makes a locking type handle, or if somebody has plans for making one, that's the way I would prefer to go. I've come up empty trying to find the part anywhere. I already tried buying the handle from a Grizzly rotary table, but it ended up being identical to the one I already had. So much for that. I've had a look at LMS and Shars, and I'm not finding what I'm looking for at all. Either it doesn't exist, or I'm using the wrong search terms.
While I'm on here anyway, this is how I centered the chuck to the rotary table:
I turned a centering pin about 0.001" oversize. I had to draw the parts together, but I didn't have to press them. I think it will be possible to get everything taken back apart if the occasion warrants it.
And this is how I centered the rotary table to the spindle:
I turned a bushing with a hole reamed to 0.500" and chamfered a piece of drill rod to match. I futzed with the X Y cranks until I could push the rod through the bushing. It's a very good fit that once again I can't put together by hand, but doesn't require excessive pressure. I'm very happy with the job I did on this one. Once I got the fit perfectly satisfactory, I cranked my gibs down, and Bob's your uncle. I didn't indicate the rotary table, and now I'm curious how close it really is. I'm not going to obsess over it, because I have built wooden clocks that are severely wonky, and they still ran.
No way I'm getting anywhere into that league of wonky with this setup. It's not off by much. Also, the critical thing in terms of functionality is to have the, uh, doodads whose name I already forgot running in a circle around the axle. Instead of drilling the center hole on the lathe, I'm drilling on the mill, using the same exact setup. I guess we're going to find out how good my DRO actually is too. In theory, I take it back to 0.0000" and I am right back where I started. In theory.
Anyway, in the meantime, having to hold this stupid crank handle index pin thing out by hand is already driving me thoroughly insane, and I want to give it the same kind of handle my dividing head has. Sorry if I'm rambling, or being redundant. I've been alone in the woods, mentally, for the last two years, and I'm finally recovering a little bit from some pretty severely major depression. Please bear with my effusive chattiness.
It is at this point that I am getting frustrated by the crappy index pin handle thing on my rotary table. It uses exactly the same plates, sector arms, and other parts as my Chinese BS0 knockoff dividing head. The main difference is that the handle on the dividing head is made such that you can pull it out, give it a quarter turn, and it locks with the pin retracted.
First question: I'm pretty sure the original index pin handle thing did not have this feature. I think I bought a new aftermarket handle somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember where. Little Machine Shop? Grizzly? Shars?
The first thing I tried was simply using the handle from my dividing head that does have this handy locking feature. That's when I discovered that rotary table handles are longer. The pin that locks into the dividing plate will not reach far enough, so I am stuck using the rotary table handle.
If somebody makes a locking type handle, or if somebody has plans for making one, that's the way I would prefer to go. I've come up empty trying to find the part anywhere. I already tried buying the handle from a Grizzly rotary table, but it ended up being identical to the one I already had. So much for that. I've had a look at LMS and Shars, and I'm not finding what I'm looking for at all. Either it doesn't exist, or I'm using the wrong search terms.
While I'm on here anyway, this is how I centered the chuck to the rotary table:
I turned a centering pin about 0.001" oversize. I had to draw the parts together, but I didn't have to press them. I think it will be possible to get everything taken back apart if the occasion warrants it.
And this is how I centered the rotary table to the spindle:
I turned a bushing with a hole reamed to 0.500" and chamfered a piece of drill rod to match. I futzed with the X Y cranks until I could push the rod through the bushing. It's a very good fit that once again I can't put together by hand, but doesn't require excessive pressure. I'm very happy with the job I did on this one. Once I got the fit perfectly satisfactory, I cranked my gibs down, and Bob's your uncle. I didn't indicate the rotary table, and now I'm curious how close it really is. I'm not going to obsess over it, because I have built wooden clocks that are severely wonky, and they still ran.
No way I'm getting anywhere into that league of wonky with this setup. It's not off by much. Also, the critical thing in terms of functionality is to have the, uh, doodads whose name I already forgot running in a circle around the axle. Instead of drilling the center hole on the lathe, I'm drilling on the mill, using the same exact setup. I guess we're going to find out how good my DRO actually is too. In theory, I take it back to 0.0000" and I am right back where I started. In theory.
Anyway, in the meantime, having to hold this stupid crank handle index pin thing out by hand is already driving me thoroughly insane, and I want to give it the same kind of handle my dividing head has. Sorry if I'm rambling, or being redundant. I've been alone in the woods, mentally, for the last two years, and I'm finally recovering a little bit from some pretty severely major depression. Please bear with my effusive chattiness.
