Newbie Question- Mounting Chuck To Rotary Table

WoodenFlutes

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I'm new to rotary tables. I haven't actually seen one in person. What I need is a 6" rotary table to be used in the vertical position, with a 6-jaw chuck. In the 6" size, many of the rotary tables have 4 t-slots. The front mount 6-jaw chucks will have either 3 or 6 mounting holes. Is it possible to mount one of these on a 4 slot table? Or do I need to focus on the few RTs that have 3 or 6 t-slots?

Jay
 
can you mount chuck to an aluminum plate, mount plate to the RT and have the aluminum plate threaded for the chuck bolt holes.
 
I would make a back plate for the chuck that fits the table and then bolt the chuck on after the plate is on the table
 
I bought a chuck and adapter plate for my 10" table from these guys . I wasn't expecting much at such a low price ...when I got it, I center indicated my rotary table, stacked their chuck and plate on it and chucked in a round shaft collar .. . To my surprise, the runout was still almost negligible .
I had to repeat a few times not believing it . I bought it based on a recommendation from this site . Keep in mind, when you put one of these on your table, you're gonna lose ALOT of Z travel and then u cant get tooling into the quill. If you have a DRO , or a way to return to zero, you can crank the table left or right to insert tooling into the spindle, then return to zero.
I couldn't fit my drill chuck any way i tried , so I ended up having to use collets with drills to drill holes and that gave me back about 3" of Z .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-adapter-3...le-included-/172105838219?hash=item28124eae8b
 
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It may help us if you tell us what you are going to use it for and why you need a 6" RT. Sometimes there are other ideas and options that might work better for you.

Edit: Also, why the 6 jaw chuck, and what size? Is it because you already have one?
 
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This can be a little tricky. As said above it's just a matter of bolting a back plate to the RT, then bolt the chuck to that............But, you need the buy a chuck that has through bolts from the front. If the chuck mounting bolt holes are in the back, there is no way to get to them.

Having said that, it is possible to attach a back mount chuck to the RT. You make the adapter plate a little larger than the chuck, and drill & tap bolt holes just outside of the chuck. Then you can make some clamps to clamp the chuck to the adapter plate.

You could also make a two piece adapter that bolts together, just a bit larger than the chuck for bolt clearance. Machine register surfaces on the adapter for alignment.
 
I might already have my answer. Sounds like I would have to machine an adapter plate to fit between, which I was hoping to avoid. So... it seems like the better option would be to look at rotary tables that have 3/6 slots and mount a chuck with front mounting bolts. That leaves me looking at Yuasa and South Bend rotary tables, with a Gator 6-jaw chuck. Any thoughts on these makes?

I'm machining blackwood and rosewood to make wooden Irish flutes. I'll be using a small RT in the vertical position with a tailstock. A 4-inch table would work, but I've got room on the milling machine for a 6-inch, and Tormach has a 6-inch tailstock that will accept a mt1 bullnose live center. I'll be machining while turning the RT to mill out wooden blocks for keys. From what I've read, seems the RT is the right tool for the job, verses dividing heads, indexers, etc. And the 6-jaw chuck might be obvious at this point, to reduce pressure on the thin wood.

-Jay
 
Did you see the link I posted above? Those guys sell the whole outfit with the Chuck already mounted on a plate to the rotary table and you're done. It was pretty cheap and the quality was good. Unless you're looking for The Learning Experience, then that's totally understandable
 
I'm new to rotary tables. I haven't actually seen one in person. What I need is a 6" rotary table to be used in the vertical position, with a 6-jaw chuck. In the 6" size, many of the rotary tables have 4 t-slots. The front mount 6-jaw chucks will have either 3 or 6 mounting holes. Is it possible to mount one of these on a 4 slot table? Or do I need to focus on the few RTs that have 3 or 6 t-slots?

Jay

Jay,

I am not an expert on rotary tables, please correct me if I am wrong. Since you want to use a 6" chuck, I think you will need at least an 8" Rotary Table. Here is a page from Little Machine Shop for a 6" Phase II Rotary Table. Specifications say it can take a 5" chuck

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1787&category=1034788869

If a 6" RT is the largest that will comfortably fit on your mill then you may need to look for a 4 or 5 inch chuck.
You may be able to get a 6" table to fit a 6" chuck if you can find a way to have the chuck use the MT#2 hole in the center of the RT
 
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