Thread: Mill Table and Rotary Table Size

Hi team,
If I am planning to get a Bridgeport style mill with a table whose dimentions are:
1,270mm (50”) x 230mm (9")

• Will an 200mm (8") rotary table be a good fit, or will it be a bit too cumbersome?

Also, I'm aware that Vertex tools have a reasonable reputation and one of these would roughly match the 'grade' the proposed mill (both being Taiwanese) however,

• If anyone has experience with the cheaper Indian equivalent, I'd be keen to hear your opinion regarding the quality

​Thanks for any help you can offer.
Freddie

I've got a 12" table that I sometimes find too small so I certainly wouldn't go less than 8"

Freedie

One thing to consider is weight. Not knowing you, I don't know if you mind lifting a 50kg rotary table up onto the mill.

Steve

If your table is 9" across and you get a R/T larger than that, you do run the risk of it not allowing the table to get as close to the column (table contacts the column before full travel). I have a 8" vertex and find it heavy enough that I would not want the next size up (my table is 9 1/2" - I could possibly squeak a 10" in). One day I will get that crane going...
However, I made a false table from a piece of 20mm Al that bolts on to give me effectively a 10" top if I need it.

Michael

Hi Freddie, Guys,

I have a 6" vertex RT and to be honest it is getting to be too heavy for me ! I did the same as Michael and made a separate aluminium sacrificial table for the top which allows me to use the full width of the mill table plus about another 3" inches. It also means that I can easily bolt stuff to it and add or remove a chuck when I need to.

my 8inch vertex is not light. I can manage it tho but will be thinking that I should make a table/stand that can sit next to mill table and just slide it on and off. I have found the 8inch too small as well.

oh and get one with 4 slots...I reckon the 3 slot 8inch vertex is too restrictive for clamping ..the next size up is 4 slot

Originally Posted by Reidy41

Freedie

One thing to consider is weight. Not knowing you, I don't know if you mind lifting a 50kg rotary table up onto the mill.

Steve

Thanks Steve. It looks like the 8" Vertex is closer to 25kg than 50, and I'm confident that I'll be able to handle that for a few years yet
Freddie

Originally Posted by eskimo

my 8inch vertex is not light. I can manage it tho but will be thinking that I should make a table/stand that can sit next to mill table and just slide it on and off. I have found the 8inch too small as well.

oh and get one with 4 slots...I reckon the 3 slot 8inch vertex is too restrictive for clamping ..the next size up is 4 slot

Thanks for that esky. A couple of valid points that I hadn't thought of there.
Also a bit of a vote for the Indian table too, which has 4 slots, though I see that they do not reach in as close to the centre as the 3 slots on the Vertex.
Going up to 10" adds substantially to the price ($1,150 vs $889 for the Vertex) but it's good to see general consensus is that I probably won't find the 8" too big for the 9" table.

I find of all the accessories I have the rotary table gets used the least. Just something worth bearing in mind. For me the dividing head is much much more commonly used.

I have both a R/T and Dividing Head from VEVOR and in my opinion they are both very good for the money. I would even go as far as to say excelant...

This is how simple the false table I have is. A disc 250 diameter, with a grid of tapped holes to match my clamp set kit. Spacing is 1.125", to match the 1-2-3 blocks and mill T slot spacing. There are 4 counter bored holes that allow it to bolt to the top of the R/T via the T slots. By having them counterbored I can skim the top if I desire without needing any fancy holding.
DSCN8959.JPG
The back has 4 bushes, sized to be a snug fit in the R/T T slots. This gives a measure of repeatability to removing the table, as well as provides a drive between the R/T and the false table.
DSCN8960.JPG
My R/T does have 4 slots, but the same could be done for a 3 slot version. The bonus to using a plate like this is that mounting a chuck directly becomes relatively easy, as the holes for the holding bolts can be tapped straight into the false table.

Michael

Nice idea Michael.

When it come to R/T let's face it, whatever you buy it's more likely to end up too small for a job than too big.

But cost and shear weight also plays a big part and in the end a compromise (as always) is achieved in the decision as to what size to purchase.

I have an 8" vertex and glad I choose that over a 6". 10" would have been a ripper but the cost and weight is just up there!

Also my R/T has 3 slots. I would much prefer 4 slots but it wasn't something I thought of until it came to work holding after the purchase was made.

Simon

Sent from a galaxy far far away

Just adding to what Michael said.

Having a "false table" on top of the RT also allows it to be a sacrificial item...should you stuff up.

Originally Posted by matthew_g

I have both a R/T and Dividing Head from VEVOR and in my opinion they are both very good for the money. I would even go as far as to say excelant...

Totally agree.
I've had the Vertex 10inch rotary table for probably 15-20 years along with other gear as that's all that was available at the time and was suspicious of buying from Vevor.

The vertex rotary table has a tight spot in it which a lot of people around the world complained about back then, so not perfect.

I bought the Vevor dividing head set for $340 from aliexpress delivered from Australia and was so impressed, so then I bought the 6inch rotary table for the shaper and was also impressed for the price at $180 and already had dividing plate here.
In between I've bought 4 of there DRO scales and a few other things, and all is fine.

I see a few bad reviews saying there are sharp edges etc, honestly for half the price of big named stores, get a file out as we are dealing with sharp edges everyday machining things.
If not spend double the money.

You don't need to pay high prices for good gear these days is my way of thinking after seeing what turned up very quickly in the post.
I'll continue to buy from them.

When I started out it was all hercus, myford and quality Australian and English made gear that was mostly unaffordable to the new home hobbiest like me.
I used to be in awe of the older machinist I visited having all this gear.
Today it's available to regular hobby Australian's at a reasonable cost at least.

Sent from my SM-A135F using Tapatalk

I have a BP clone and a 300mm rotary table (all 57 kg of it).
It fits on the mill nicely but does over hand at the front and rear.
So far that hasn't been an issue for me
rotab.jpg
My Div head weighs 70 Kg and as I can't lift that sort of weight anymore, about 18 months ago I started thinking about building some kind of hoist.
One Sat I was in Bunnings and they had a Gorilla brand 50/100kg elect hoist for around$100 and a “swing arm” gantry for about $120.
hoist arm.jpg
I couldn’t make it for that so I bought one of each (Bunnings no longer carries the hoist or the gantry but they do have a Kingchrome brand hoist which looks the similar except its a different colour, slightly larger and a lot more expensive).
As I didn’t have any suitable material to attach the gantry to I also bought a new Acro prop.
Acro prop is bolted to the floor behind the mill with the top located with some timber spread between the roof rafters.
The hoist came with a snatch block and with the cable doubled the its rated at 100Kg. Even with the cable doubled it was a bit fast so I also fitted a double pulley block so I could have 4 runs of cable to slow it down.
I recently bought another hoist from Ebay which is slightly larger (125/250kg) so I built a frame and mounted the small hoist above the lathe so I can lift the 4 jaw on and off safely.
I fitted the new hoist to the gantry but as it runs at 10m/minute it’s a bit fast. I made a new single pulley block with double ended side pates and also a new double block.
pullies.jpg
So now its running 4 runs of cable and whilst I'd prefer it if it was a little bit slower it does the job.
This lifting arrangement has certainly made it easy to lift the heavy stuff on and off the table.
The gantry would be easy enough to make if you have the materials on hand. Alixpress has them for around $229
regards Peter