Mounting a spin indexer on a small mill.

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zeeprogrammer

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Don't no one start wagging a finger at me...this is not the way to mount a spin index on a mill...

IMG_0462.jpg


As you can see...it's wider than the table. No good way to mount.

CC provided a nice link to a Bogstandard thread...

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=2681.0

Nice modifications there...but I don't have enough faith in myself or the mill to make those kinds of changes yet.

According to both the thread and the documentation that came with the spin index...it should be ready to use as is. For grins I mounted a DI in the mill, a rod in the spin index with a collet and measured runout. Virtually nothing for a couple of inches which is where I expect to working. After a few inches...the rod was bending due to pressure of the DI. I hadn't supported the end ...but good enough.

So I'm thinking of turning the thing upside and down and drilling four holes in the plate that would allow a bolt to a T-nut on the outer channels of the table. Even better would be slots from the edges.

I don't know what kind of material the base is.

Can I center drill and drill holes in the base? Anything special I should know?

or...

Can I use an end-mill and slot the base? Anything special I should know?

Thanks.



 
Zee I believe the material is cast iron and the slotting is a good idea to quickly align it with the mill axis. I am lucky enough to have enough z travel that I use mine in the vise and when I use in on the surface grinder I use a machinist square to get it close enough.
 
Zee

The material is proberly Cast Iron,
Drill/Mill as such

Andy
 
ZeeP .. Thanks for posting the photo, probably, like you, I'm quite surprised how big the Spindex actually is :eek: ........ OK body is a casting, it will be Cast Iron, that's good, nice to machine, albeit a bit messy ::) .......... your X2 is perfectly capable of reducing the base width and putting in a couple of slots so you can clamp it to the table ......... but it will be a (very) steady job. ..................... (perhaps add another one or two "very's" ) ;)

Have fun, I'm looking forward to the updates :bow:

CC
 
Thanks Bob. My vise doesn't open enough...and even if it did, I'd probably have to square (mill) the base since the vise should be square already. Not something I want to do yet (insufficient experience and confidence in machine).

Thanks Andy. I guess that means I can machine the slots with the end mills I have.

Reading of other posts on CI seem to indicate one should be careful with this stuff when machining it. Can come off as a power and breath it? I'm thinking of having a vacuum on at the time. Is a small wet-n-dry vac good enough? Maybe use a respirator?

Just saw your post CC. You seem to be suggesting I reduce the width of the base. Now that I look at it again...it is pretty big. Hmm...maybe I should go for it...mill it enough to put in the vise maybe.

I haven't had the greatest luck milling on the side...I get a poor finish (climb milling) or its wavey. Side forces and all that. So how about setting the thing on its side and milling it down? What do you think? How easy is it to machine? (That is, how deep a cut?) Then I'd need to figure out how to make it square.

Thanks.
 
I drilled mine to mount on a Taig (once) and bolted it down that way. The bolts aren't precise enough for final alignment in any case, so the drilling doesn't have to be precisely spot-on-- IIRC I drilled it in the drill press after marking it out.
 
Thanks Shred.

You know...I think I'll try that first...drill the holes.
That will keep me going.
When I get enough experience (confidence) I can go further.

Thanks all.
 
zeeprogrammer said:
mill it enough to put in the vise maybe.

It's a VICE ..... ;D ................ not a vise ::)

CC ............... :hDe:
 
CrewCab said:
It's a VICE ..... ;D ................ not a vise ::)

CC ............... :hDe:

See that line under my avatar there? The one that says West Chester, PA? Yeah...that's the one. VISE. ;D To spell it otherwise around here would be a sin. :big:
 
It's not a vice... I can quit any time that I want. ;D


Or something like that.
 
Darn.
Drill press has no head room.
Mill has no head room.
I'll have to try milling slots.
(It wouldn't make sense to plunge cut with end mills would it? Even if could...seems better to slot.)
Now to figure out clamping.
 
zeeprogrammer said:
Now to figure out clamping.


Boy and how! My first attempt wasn't too swift. I have developed a very healthy respect for those spinning masses at a very early stage.
 
CrewCab said:
It's a VICE ..... ;D ................ not a vise ::)

CC ............... :hDe:

That's funny.

If you have a vice, it may lead you to visiting the gambling halls or the working girl standing on the curb.
If you have a vise, you can use it to make stuff on your milling machine.

I don't know what that makes of the Vice President...
:)
 
steamdave said:
Or in nautical terms: The Vice Admiral's Vice was the Rear Admiral's Rear. Hello Sailor.

Rof}
Alright now, back to the topic.

Rick
 
Zee,

Don't worry too much about cast iron dust when machining it.

Because cast iron contains a good amount of carbon, normally you machine it dry. That is when it produces a lot of the heavy 'dust'.
There is nothing stopping you 'wetting' the area with some sort of coolant, oil, or a spray of WD40. That will make the dust form into a fine paste and so will not become airbourne.

It then becomes a wipe away problem, rather than a brushing or sucking exercise.


Blogs

 
Thanks Blogs. That helps a lot. I think it gives me that last puzzle piece. Again, thanks.

Weird. I had a dream about machining the slots. The dream was just too real. Screwed it up.

I'll be real careful Kermit. I'll try to post pics.

It may be a while...wife comes home today!!! Yeepee. Managed a bit of cleaning. Daughter and her boyfriend took pity on me and did a bunch of weeding. (It wasn't out of goodness of heart - it'll cost me.) Not a great cleaning job but it should cut down on the grovelling....maybe save the knees.

Dean and Dave...what Rick said. :big: (Not really - otherwise it becomes a dry text read.)
 
Just so you know the "next time". ;) Those fertilizers with weed control really do work. With in one week of putting some down this spring all the dandy lions and clover were brown and wrinkly dry, but the grass was doing great.

;D
 
Kermit said:
Just so you know the "next time". ;) Those fertilizers with weed control really do work.

Hoping there 'is' a next time.
She'd kill me if I put anything in her garden. ;D
Thanks though!
 
zeeprogrammer said:
Hoping there 'is' a next time.
She'd kill me if I put anything in her garden. ;D

It's good to know I'm not alone. ;D

Best Regards
Bob
 

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