Rotary Table setup

[Mr Ron]

I have a rotary table that I rarely use because I always found setting it up on my mill a pain. This is the way I propose to do it in the future. Turn a piece of steel to fit snugly in the bore of the RT; drill one end for a shrink fit with a .750" drill rod about 6" long. To set up the RT, chuck the .750" rod in the R-8 collet; manipulate the X and Y until the large end of the rod slides smoothly into the center hole of the RT. This should be a lot quicker than rotating the RT 360° against a DI. What do you think? There are projects I could use a RT for and would like to start using it.

[ctwo]

That method will get you in the ball park and good for most operations. (I think you meant rotating the spindle and not the RT)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjezShYnoEU

[BadDog]

If you've confirmed the accuracy of the bore location coaxial to the table rotation, and the bore+tool are clean and of good finish, I would think that would be easily good enough for pretty much all of my uses. However, that would seem to depending on a variety of potentially stacking tolerance eating errors, so seems to me that the answer is really "it depends". But, if that bore IS good enough to do as you propose, then all you really need to do is sweep the bore with a DTI on an Indicol type setup on the spindle, which is what I do.

[Carm]

" Turn a piece of steel to fit snugly in the bore of the RT"

While you have the set-up for that diameter, turn some extra length, bore for a 6-32 or small pin and part off some bits.
If your work involves having to shift the work to another center use them like buttons to locate.

[SteveM]

To adapt something from Frank Ford (which he used to align a tailstock):

When you turn that piece, while you have it in the chuck, center drill it.

Part or saw off a piece from the center drilled end. Take both pieces and face them to clean up the cut.

Put the non-drilled piece in the rotab with the drilled piece on top.

Put a center in the spindle (if you don't have a spindle for which you can get a center, turn something with a 60 degree point on it and chuck it in a collet).

Bring the spindle down into the center drill hole.

The top part will shift depending on the relationship between the rotab center and the spindle center.

Move the table until you can't feel the offset between the two pieces.

Steve

[John Evans]

My RT has a 3 jaw chuck more or less permently mounted to it. Almost all of the jobs I used it for are changing the bolt patern on car hubs/rotors. I made a turned/reamed in one setup 1"X.501 bushing to go into the chuck jaws and use a 6" piece of.5 TG&P rod in the collet. Using that arangement I find it very easy to get within .002 or so which is more than good enought for pattern changes. And .002 or so is all that I can hope for in the good quality Horton chuck anyway.

[Rich_Carlstedt]

I do a fair amount of RT work.
I have many plugs for my RT's (3)
Some are tapered and some straight.

Instead of moving the table around, I lower the quill and collet
onto the RT which has a stub plug that matches the collet size.
Now just tighten the collet, and it will slide the RT over into position.
NOW clamp the RT to the table ...simple

Rich

[Mr Ron]

I do a fair amount of RT work.
I have many plugs for my RT's (3)
Some are tapered and some straight.

Instead of moving the table around, I lower the quill and collet
onto the RT which has a stub plug that matches the collet size.
Now just tighten the collet, and it will slide the RT over into position.
NOW clamp the RT to the table ...simple

Rich

I didn't think about that, but it sounds like a good plan.

[PeteH]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but don't some (most?) rotary tables have MT bores?

What do you do then ?

[warmstrong1955]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but don't some (most?) rotary tables have MT bores?

What do you do then ?

I have an old MT drill bit, with the flutes cut off. Chuck it up MT3 down, and stab the RT.
Close enough for most work. If not, I dial it in with a DTI.

Bill

[Mr Ron]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but don't some (most?) rotary tables have MT bores?

What do you do then ?

My RT has a straight bore for a threaded plug. The bore is 1.063" dia. My RT was made in Japan about 25 years ago.

[stevec]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but don't some (most?) rotary tables have MT bores?

What do you do then ?

Seems obvious to me that you put in the appropriate MT arbor and indicate the stub end, whether it be straight, Jacobs taper or even female taper (as in an MT sleeve).