Grizzly Rotary Table w/Indexing

[Troutsqueezer]

Hi,

I just ordered this from Grizzly. I know I should have posed this question before I spent the money but has anyone had any experience with this setup? It seems like a good price considering you get the indexing plates with it. It was only $154. It's a 4".

 

[Jadecy]

Mine is very similer but is 9" and came with a tailstock + dead center for when it is mounted vertically. I used to use the indexer quite a bit but haven't had much need lately because I'm not cutting gears and my DRO indexes arcs and circles. I do really like having a rotary table when I need it though.

The only thing I don't like is un-mounting my vice to put the rotary table on and then having to re-true my vice. That is just because I'm not real fast at it! I guess practice makes perfect.

Have fun with it! It's fun to machine curves!

 

[Troutsqueezer]

I was wanting to get the tail stock to go along with it but along with the rotary table I ordered a boring head and various parts and that jacked up my purchase well past my monthly hobby allowance. The wife was wanting me to build a new dog house and I had to agree to that to get her to let me buy this. It'll be a big dog house and has to match the trim on our home but well worth the trouble.

So now I am thinking about ways to come up with a psuedo tailstock for my HF mill. If anyone has any ideas for something like that I sure would like to hear them.

Thanks.

-Trout

 

[putputman]

Trout, looks like you got a good buy on that RT. You will be able to cut your own gears and easilly make cams with that setup.

I have a 6" with the indexing plates. It came with the tailstock. So far I have not found a use for the tailstock nor can I think of anything I would use it for.

You might consider purchasing a small 4 jaw chuck instead. It can be bolted directly to the RT buy drilling holes through the chuck. I find I use my set up like that quite often, especially for cutting gears.

 

[deadin]

I have that very table. I haven't used the index plates yet so I can't comment on them.
The table itself seem to work fine.( I'm probably not the best one to judge it as it is the only one I have ever used.)
Be aware that the "tailstock" that they advertise with it will require you to make a spacer in order to get it to center when the table is vertical. (And it not a matter of a few thousands, it's more like an inch.)

 

[Troutsqueezer]

So far I have not found a use for the tailstock nor can I think of anything I would use it for.

You might consider purchasing a small 4 jaw chuck instead. It can be bolted directly to the RT buy drilling holes through the chuck. I find I use my set up like that quite often, especially for cutting gears.

Perhaps it was fortunate I ran out of money if there is limited use for the tail stock then. And, as luck would have it, I did buy a small 4 jaw chuck last month.

The table itself seem to work fine.( I'm probably not the best one to judge it as it is the only one I have ever used.)
Be aware that the "tailstock" that they advertise with it will require you to make a spacer in order to get it to center when the table is vertical. (And it not a matter of a few thousands, it's more like an inch.)

That's good to hear about the table and good to know about the tail stock.

I played around with the idea of buying Harbor Freight's version of the RT but since this is something where precision is paramount, I thought it better not to take the chance.

 

[cobra428]

Now Now Trout,
Don't be picking on my HF 6" RT with Indexing. It took a little TLC and mine works fine.
Zero play and smooth as silk

Just kidding Trout. I was worried when I bought it

Tony

 

[websterz]

I have the exact same table and after a little TLC I am quite happy with it. Tear it down and give it a thorough cleaning to get the sand out of it. There is a set screw (slot head) that needs to be backed out before you can remove the worm gear. Look on the machined surface that the table rests on when used horizontally and you'll see the hole. Kerosene or WD40 will get it nice and clean, then you can lube it up with your choice, I used white lithium grease. I am currently working on building a tailstock for mine...not a real complex item to make. I will post pics and a write-up when I am done. In lieu of a tailstock you can use a small screw jack to help support parts while cutting.

 

[Twmaster]

Heh... The HF stuff and much of the stuff sold by The Grizz come from the same factories in China and India.

Fishy dude, do you have a model number on that RT? I'd like ot see some more specs....

 

[websterz]

Heh... The HF stuff and much of the stuff sold by The Grizz come from the same factories in China and India.

Fishy dude, do you have a model number on that RT? I'd like ot see some more specs....

http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-Rotary-Table-w-Indexing/H5940

 

[Twmaster]

Thank you.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Now Now Trout,
Don't be picking on my HF 6" RT with Indexing. It took a little TLC and mine works fine.
Zero play and smooth as silk

Just kidding Trout. I was worried when I bought it

Tony

TWmaster makes a good point, the Grizz table may well be the same unit as the one from HF. I guess the thing was, I couldn't go into Harbor Freight and hold the unit in my hands to get a good feel for it since it can only be ordered on line around here and I wasn't too impressed with the plain jane model they did have on the shelf for 69 bucks. The upgraded model may be a whole different deal. I've always put Grizzly one notch above HF but I know the inexpensive (relatively speaking) mills and lathes are the same just a different color. Grizzly does carry a much wider variety of most things, perhaps I was hoping the RT fell into the "upgraded" category but really have no idea. Hence the post.

websterz: Thanks for the detail, I've copied and pasted your post into my OneNote files for future reference and I'll certainly keep an eye for those pics and write-up on your tail stock.