Dumb Rotary Table Question

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Harold
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:21 am
Location: Northern NJ
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Dumb Rotary Table Question

Post by Harold »

I have an Enco 6" Rotary table which was thrown in with my mill when I bought it used. I have never used it so far. What is the purpose of the 2MT hole in the middle, besides indicating it to center the table? Also, it seems that most work would be best mounted in a four jaw chuck and not by clamps which would cover part of the workpiece and prevent one from machining portions of it. If this is so, is there any mounting adapter to use my checks from the lathe ( 1-1/2" 8 thread ) on this table or should I make one on the lathe. Any ideas or is there somthing really obvious I am overlooking. I'm pretty good at that! Thanks
Measure it with a mic, mark it with chalk, cut it with an axe!
GeneT
Posts: 177
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:36 am
Location: Albany, Oregon

Re: Dumb Rotary Table Question

Post by GeneT »

Make a 2MT to 1-1/2"-8 plug and you'll be able to take items from your lathe to your rotary table without removing them from the chuck. You'll still want some clamps or whatnot to hold the chuck in place. I use a 4-jaw for convenience, but think I've ended up using clamps more, particularly for flat-ish pieces when the table is mounted vertically. YMMV,
GsT
Dave_T
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2003 10:27 pm

Re: Dumb Rotary Table Question

Post by Dave_T »

I use both a 3 jaw and 4 jaw chuck on a rotary table. The 3 jaw has a locating pin and the MT table bore has been plugged with a straight bore for this and other fixtures.
A rotaty table can be used to locate holes on much larger diameter bolt circles than you could normally do on a bridgeport.
MikeL
Posts: 37
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 9:44 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Dumb Rotary Table Question

Post by MikeL »

I have a 3 jaw and a 4 jaw for my rotary table. I use the 3 90+% of the time.

The 3 jaw has a mounting plate I made for it. The mounting plate is a simple round plate with a protrusion on one side that locates in the center hole on the rotary table, and the OD locates the chuck on the table. The chuck has the mounting holes drilled all the way through the chuck and counterbored on the face of the chuck for socket head cap screws. I drilled and tapped the table for screws. I can mount the chuck (true within 0.001") in 1 minute.

The 4 jaw mounts to the 4 t slots in the table. It probably takes 2-3 minutes to mount it.

Using the chuck on the rotary table makes it much easier to use, so lI use it more that I would if it didn't have that capability.
Mike L
Self taught machinist
I had a lousy teacher, but I was a good student
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