Thread: Meca PD- 250 Indexing Table & Zeatz U-130 Universal Dividing Head

While working on rebuilding the Jones & Shipman drill press, I soon realized that I had the opportunity to learn some more machining skills, namely cutting gears. As I did not own a Rotary Table or a Dividing head I looked for what was available. Rather than buy a Chinese or Taiwan sourced product I decided to buy some older better quality gear for around the same dollar value. The Rotary table and Dividing head were purchased from a retired engineer who had closed his business down years ago and had the two machines in storage. They were originally purchased in 1973. When I first a photo of the condition of the Rotary table I thought that it had had a hard life as the paint work was mostly missing, this turned out to be not the case. The original owner said that it was in great shape when he packed it away, but when he opened it the paint had fallen off inside of the case. Both machines are in very good shape mechanically. I had a close inspection of the paint/ filler on the table and feel that the filler had shrunk at a faster rate than the paint causing it to crack the paint. The filler was quite thick in places as the raw castings are very uneven. So a strip down and rework was in order for the table. The Dividing head is as purchased and came with a four inch precision chuck that has done some work but still is very smooth in its operation, it has both sets of jaws. Both machines came with their original instruction books. The Rotary Table weighs in at 70 kg and the Dividing Head less the chuck 74 kg so they are robust units.
The photos give a rundown of the strip and repaint,I may have to make a second post as I am unsure how many pictures can be posted.
Bob

Very nice. Are they both the same centre height? (One tailstock does both?)

Michael

Hi Bob,
Came up great. Is that 3 jaw some sort of grip tru?

Stuart

Hefty bit of kit there ! Nice paint job. Myford green I wonder

Very nice Bob. Now you'll need to cut some gears for the D/H so you can do differential indexing!

Stu, are you referring to the bolt holes near the pinions on the chuck? My 8" PB has those, they have bolts in them that hold? in place. Nothing if i remember rightly..... But you have just made me think of something else they could be doing.....

Ew

Hi Bob,

You've got an excellent rotary table MECA have a very good reputation, and nice to see the matching tailstock !

I'm planning a lifting gizmo for handling these sort of items... no way I could lift 70kg these days..

That indexing head looks good too... nice addition to the workshop capabilities.


Ray

Thanks all for the reply's.
Michael-No such luck on the heights. The RT is 175mm and the DH 130mm. I brought a H&F one for the DH.

Stuart- I have not had a chance to work out the chuck as yet, I assumed that the allen bolts allowed some adjustment on each jaw. I have to make a couple of keys to locate it on my mill, the ones that came with it are too narrow for my mills slots and then I can set it up and have a bit of a play with it.

Baron J- I have never seen a Myford lathe in the flesh,the colour is called Resendagruen RAL-6011.I used a made up spray can of two pack.I have used these before on other projects,very handy and cost is reasonable at $26-00.

Ueee First up I will have to learn how to cut simple gears.The manual goes into Spiral gear cutting a quick read left my head spinning,another skill to learn at a later date.

Ray-Lifting these heavy awarkward heads is a problem,the DH made it easy with the eye. I made up a four leg light chain link lifter that fits into the tables "T" slots as I needed something to help me assemble the head after painting it.I have an engine lifter but it is awkward to operate in my rapidly diminishing workshop floor space.
Bob

Originally Posted by krisfarm

Thanks all for the reply's.
Michael-No such luck on the heights. The RT is 175mm and the DH 130mm. I brought a H&F one for the DH.

Stuart- I have not had a chance to work out the chuck as yet, I assumed that the allen bolts allowed some adjustment on each jaw. I have to make a couple of keys to locate it on my mill, the ones that came with it are too narrow for my mills slots and then I can set it up and have a bit of a play with it.

Baron J- I have never seen a Myford lathe in the flesh,the colour is called Resendagruen RAL-6011.I used a made up spray can of two pack.I have used these before on other projects,very handy and cost is reasonable at $26-00.

Ueee First up I will have to learn how to cut simple gears.The manual goes into Spiral gear cutting a quick read left my head spinning,another skill to learn at a later date.

Ray-Lifting these heavy awarkward heads is a problem,the DH made it easy with the eye. I made up a four leg light chain link lifter that fits into the tables "T" slots as I needed something to help me assemble the head after painting it.I have an engine lifter but it is awkward to operate in my rapidly diminishing workshop floor space.
Bob

It eventually gets to the point where overhead lifting equipment of some sort is essential. I have been pondering this lately. I am wondering how to go about building a pivoting gantry that extends at the end. I need an extra couple of feet over the maximum swing which is set by shed width. I think it is easier to do this than change everything, including that huge hole in the floor/ground saying "fill me, Fill me, put concrete in me." I don't intend moving a 400mm deep hole. I still think my intended layout is the best option. My lifting trailer does exactly this with an extension of about 500mm. I can connect a support brace which gives triangulation for strength.

Sometimes it is necessary to think outside the square. Keith Fenner's gantry on wheels is a good idea and obviously works for him. If your setup suits this is an option. My floor negates the use of any wheels less than wheelbarrow wheel size. Lengthways strips of concrete that have largely lost contact with each other. Steps of up to 75mm between strips. The lathe slab hole mentioned before has removed one of the worst. The real worst one is just in front of a bench. The lathe slab when it is poured will not match the concrete either side in height as I have decided on a datum height and I am sticking to it. At least untill I change my mind anyway.

I now realise that a lifting arrangement has to be designed at least, sooner rather than later. Too late when you find there are no good options available without major changes.

Dean

Originally Posted by krisfarm

Thanks all for the reply's.

Baron J- I have never seen a Myford lathe in the flesh,the colour is called Resendagruen RAL-6011.I used a made up spray can of two pack.I have used these before on other projects,very handy and cost is reasonable at $26-00.

Bob

Thankyou for the paint details. I bought what was supposed to be a 500ml tin of "Myford" green from fleabay to repaint the drip tray on mine. Its nowhere near the same colour. In your picture it looks very close. But I am aware that pictures can be deceptive.

BaronJ,
I understand your problem,A couple of years ago I ordered a new mill and wanted it to match the colour of my existing lathe I found out the RAL code for the lathe and ordered the mill.When it arrived it was nowhere near the same colour,the only upside was I managed to extract a bigger discount from the manufacturer. The Resendagruen colour does change it appearance depending on the light source,much lighter in sunlight,several shades darker in doors. I took some sample chips in with me to the paint supplier to help find the correct colour.Good luck.
Bob

Bob,
I have just been looking at my similar 8" PB chuck. These chuck are indeed a "set true" type. Those bolts on the sides (one for each jaw) are tapered. by backing them off or driving them in you can push the back of the chuck around and set the chuck. Mine however has got 3 dowels pinning the back in place, limiting the amount of movement possible. Have you had yours apart? Does it have the dowels too?
As you can see from the photo's mine has seen better days, i guess it was run with coolant a lot at some stage leading to rust. It also looks like someone has done the adjusting screws up really tight not understanding how they work. The damage to the back cover can be seen but does not seem to be effecting the screws usefulness.

Cheers,
Ew

Ueee,
can you show a bit more of this chuck?
If I interpret the two photos correctly, then the tapered pins move just the part that holds the scroll. It looks like there are three Allenhead bolts holding that part (after adjustment). How are these accessed when the chuck is back together? The dowels appear to hold the front and the back for the chuck (minus the scroll body) together in relation to each other.
Am I missing something?

Yeah that was not the best explanation....

The tapered bolts push on the 3 "lugs" you can see cast onto the back part of the chuck (that have had bits cracked off them). They do not effect the scroll directly as far as i can see. The 3 alan heads i think you are referring to (in the first pic?) are just the ones holding the pinions in. What looks like a join in that first pic is just the rust line, it is all on piece. As far a i can tell there is no easy way to loosen the back off to adjust it. I guess it should be only done up "just so" and not overly tight.

Ew

Hi Ueee,
I have not had my chuck apart-no time at the moment,we are having some major maintainance work being done on the roof of our house. This should be finished today hopefully. The engineer that I purchased the chuck from told me that it was a precision adjustable chuck. It has lost its brand plate and the only wording on it is "world patent pending".It does have a zero stamped into the main body and another zero stamped opposite this in the back section of the chuck and they are not aligned,so I suspect it is similar in operation to yours. I cannot see any dowels but they could be blind ones on the internals. Pity about the inside condition of your PB chuck,I hope you can clean it up to be usable. I changed from using coolant to using straight ATF oil for cutting fluid on all of my equipment for exactly that problem as I found under my mills vice where you cannot see it was developing light rust. As soon as I get free time I will take some pictures.
Bob

Great read. I have the Meca table as well, they are one heavy beast. And a Meca dividing head but it's not universal but is almost brand new. Iam thinking to sell this, but would would want good dollars. Pretty sure the tailstock and chuck is there but would have to confirm.