Good stuff Joe! Back when moldmakers used rotary cross slides, I was taught to find the center of rotation by placing a magnet base and indicator on the turntable and then indicate a pin held in the spindle. This method produces the true center of rotation, as opposed to relying on the accuracy of the center hole which may be obscured by a cross slide or fixture plate. An easy way to save time (and a lot of cranking) is to disengage the worm gear and spin the turntable by hand for this operation.
Hi Joe, I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to explain the nuances of degrees, minutes, and seconds. I haven't worked with these measurement units since school so the refresher is appreciated!
Joe, I found your channel by accident and am glad I did. I am a gunsmith , and when I went to school for it ,we did have a class for machining of course. But, there were things we were not taught . You have broadened my knowledge that I can use to do more custom work and also to make and improve tools. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Joe, you are the ONE-STOP-SHOP for all things machining info! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us that are still learning the ins and outs of proper machining!
Thank you for the video Joe. That is the same 125# table I am using. I bought the Phase II at work 20 yrs. ago. Someone apparently dropped it off of the milling machine table and rendered it useless. I brought it home, took it apart to find slight damage to the worm and main spindle. Cleaned them up on the lathe and had to buy new table locks and oil sight glass to get it back in working order. Works fine once again.
In just a few seconds you hammered the reason I built a small shop to do machining. Having done software and related engineering/science pursuits most of my life - much of which becomes ephemeral pretty quick (and no one would believe you or care if you told them your stuff was making their phone work), I felt a need to have some things I could point to and say "I did that". Even if no one else cares, I still do. Bingo.
Excellent video Joe! I love it that you get down into maths side of these things. Your excellent description of the degree, mins & seconds made it all clear to me. Thank you.
Very Informative video Joe very clear and to the point. I'm kind of old school, I like using the rotary table as much as I can or when I can, this way it will keep your mind thinking I use an advanced cross slide rotary table, so I can unusually do some unusual stuff on a mill. Yes, a CNC is faster, but like I said I'm old school . I usually put the rotary table's center at 0,0 on the DRO's Absolute, and the normal X,Y movements on Incremental, this way you can always jump right back to the center of the rotary whenever you need to. Sorry for the long-winded message Machining has been a passion of mine for years, and once I get started I have a tough time stopping.
I always sincerely appreciate the work that Joe Pie does on these videos. I always learn from his teaching sessions, and I sincerely appreciate his hard work that result in these video's. My sincere thanks and appreciation, Scott
Haha! I just went from "Yeah, yeah, I already know how to use a rotary table and I don't have no time to watch no video today" to "Oh! So THAT's how the seconds calculation works!" (that I had never bothered to really understand); and then to "Oh yeah, so THAT must be why the radius of that part was mysteriously slightly larger than it should've been!" (when I had never thought about the need to re-establish the radius over the zero between a linear cut and a radius cut. Just like you show, if you don't, your "new" radius of tool edge to part center is related to the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle whose adjacent side is the radius you 'want' and whose opposite side is the radius of the endmill. You really could do the trig and see *exactly* how many mils you'd be off if you forget). Thanks for another great video that has (once again) made me slightly less dumb. :-)
Joe thank you so much for these videos. I have the same rotary table and it’s really confusing for an old grunt. I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you again!
Excellent video, and explanation! Recently I was victim off climb milling, and broke a carbide end mail, damaged the part, and need to re-trim the head! Thank you Joe! This videos will help a lot to me and others!
Thank you! Another great post. The rotary table is a great tool to have. They often go for very cheap at machinery auctions as the CNC machines have made them obsolete. I once got a job in a great machine shop because a shop foreman saw a part I made on my motorcycle using a notary table.
As a new hobby machinist, I found your video very informative, I new nothing about the minutes and seconds and how to read them, so thank your for making a clear and understanding video of the rotary table.
Great video. I have just bought a rotary table and I'm cutting change gears for my lathe. I really appreciate learning more about the table. Thanks heaps.
Great video Joe. Would have messed up the first part without the, (keep the center line) lesson. As always thanks for your great teachings. You are making many of us better machinist.
I just recently got a rotary table and just stumbled onto this video so it was very interesting to me thanks again you are my go to youtube channel for machining info before I check any others out
Excellent, can't wait for the rest of the series. My table is usually mounted with a spare 4 jaw chuck which I find most useful, making it very quick to mount up many parts. Loved the add-on video at the end!
Our rotary table project in Machine Tool Technologies at the local college was a 5-sided fire hydrant wrench. A great exercise in making the outside of the wrench with the larger circle around the pentagon meeting the tapered handle to a smaller radius on that end. Cutting the 5 straight sides on the inside was a lesson in remembering backlash and locking everything down for each edge.
Awesome bonus content! I made almost exactly the same thing to use as a shield when using flood coolant to grind bores. I used an old mag base for the base and a sheet of plexiglass for the shield. Keep up the good work 👍🏼
Home machinist and always had trouble with my rotary table . Now I understand what I was doing wrong . Great video give use more and thanks for keeping simple for us self learners
Joe, thanks for these instructional videos. When you cover a topic I know I think "hmm, this is pretty basic". Then you cover a topic I don't know, and when you are done I think 'hmm, now I know the basics". I enjoy the machining videos from Abom and Fenner etc. more after watching your instructional videos because I can see the reasons they do some of the stuff that they probably are not even consciously doing because they have done it so long and so often. Machining is the one occupation that sometimes makes me wish I had chosen a career other than computer networking, the realization that I could actually do the kind of work you guys do, if only I had 20 more years to get the experience. My tinkering on my baby lathe and mill are more efficient because of the knowledge you share and explain on your videos. Thanks
BRASS CANON..... yeah we know , we only been waiting 2 years . :))) I Just bought myself a rotary table so I will be watching these videos with eagerness. Thanks.
As usual, outstanding video Joe. I’ve got a 6in Vertex horizontal/vertical rotary table I purchased to fixture a couple angle plates to, mount a frame between the plates, and checker 1911 front straps with eventually. I ran into some problems during the setup. Been stuck there since. This series should be a huge help. Looking forward to keeping up with it. Very good info! Thanks
This is a very timely series for me--I just bought one (I thought I'd get one before the tariffs bump the price up) and I haven't had a project for it yet. I signed up for notifications and will be waiting for the next installment with great anticipation!
Very timely, I need a rotary table for a job I’ve committed to have done by the end of the month. I wouldn’t have thought to look for the zero orientation. I hope I can find one with the tee slots in the perpendicular orientation. Thanks for yet another awesome tutorial.
Awesome content. The locating of parts onto the rotary table will be very helpful, as I haven't seen any one else make a multi part series just on this topic. Thanks.
Thanks so much for this very timely vid. Please continue with more RT 101. Your thorough and meticulous explanations are dead on. I REALLY would like to see how to do multiple curves. I have a piece of plywood picked out for the "homework". This is what makes things stick for me. I have almost exactly the same RT and have used it a couple of times but I'm going to be much more confident after this.
Joe, thank you for video. I am looking forward to this series of videos. I have only used my table in the flat position on the mill but would love to see some information about using it in the vertical position.
my first operation (attempt) on a rotary table was to cut a hex in the end of a round to hold a die....I put a fine point marker in the quill to and drew out the design to prove my setup/moves.....great educational video and looking forward for more.....
Hi Chuck. Thanks for stopping by. This series will go for a few, and I hope show some very time saving techniques. Stay tuned and rub Howie on the head for me.
Awesome. I ove that you explain the theory behind this stuff and why you need to do things a certain way. Can;t wait for the next installment. Thanks for putting out these videos.
I just started my homeshop to do machining rather than just fabbing. You help me with your knowledge sir, thank you, I'm trying ...and seeing all the tricks given whilst you make chips drives me even more, if i could only borrow your brain for a while lol , but thank you Joe
Great video as usual Joe. Looking forward to future video's on the Rotary Table, particularly one that might be related to putting parts on and centering them to the table... This is one area that for some reason, I've always struggled with (i.e., accurately locate an existing part that needs a round radius feature so that the origin of the feature is at the center of the rotary table). This is especially true for parts that do NOT have a feature already at the center origin of the new needed feature
Timing is perfect Joe , I need to make a flywheel for my model Hot Air Engine. Now if I can just pay enough attention to get it right the first time. Looking forward to the next one , Thank You 😊!
I picked up a Vertex 8" a while back that I have not really toyed with. The vernier scale reads down to 20 seconds. You have to skip lines lines on the main graduated dial to read them. I've never seen a vernier like it. I downloaded a manual for a G9298 8' rotary, It has a reasonable set of steps and pictures on how to read it. I found more than one machinist forum thread where folks are thinking the vernier scale is miss stamped on Vertex tables. This should be a fun series, thanks Joe!
Thanks much for the tips 😊👍, by any chance could you post a print for the snap together peices ,man I have a hundred uses for the device , thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge Joe
Indicate the flat edge, then turn your slots until they line up on x axis and put your own marker where ever the 0 is. Try to indicate the slots and get that zero mark where it is convenient for you. Just like those pcs of tape, but mark it permanently or drill and tap a hole directly under the zero, and move that adjustable marker to that position. I hope I said it right, or I’d have to draw pics. I enjoy your teaching and work. I started machining in the early 70’s like you. My expertise is mainly milling on large horizontal boring mills, huge planer type mills, and jig bore machines, and larger lathes. I did start in some small shops on Bridgeport’s and lathes too. Keep on teaching my friend, I do learn some nice tidbits here and there.
I plan to build a shop hoist (A-frame) to lift things like this onto the mill so I don't hurt myself or drop and damage these expensive things. The vice and materials can easily get too heavy to safely lift. Likewise with larger lathe chucks and bigger shafts. I'm not getting any younger. Looking forward to the next vids.
Barry Gerbracht None of us are. If you figure that out, let us know:) All I did was make/fab/weld up a tool cart for the heavier stuff and lower the table of the mill to height and lock the wheels and slide it over. Teflon or any kind of high density plastic works great. I have a hydraulic hoist to lift the heavier stuff onto the table. Obviously It needs to be not top heavy. I have the lower shelves with enough items to keep it in check. It obviously can then be rolled out of the way and allow more room for work space that’s non confining.
Saw a recent post on Facebook for a rotary table storage cart. Make cart u shaped so can fit around end of mill table. Crank mill table to the left, roll cart around end of mill table. Align height of mill table with height of cart, slide rotary table on or off mill table.
Well done Joe!...We will need this a lot when starting on our part we are making. We actually used a Hass VFll 3 axis and a rotary table to produce those last parts I told you about in Mobile, AL. Were it not for the very expensive Satterfield tombstone we had made, it would have been even harder to accomplish. In your next series of videos on this turntable subject it may hurt or help, to start the discussion on adding axis' to the equation. Such as, moving from a 3 to a 4 axis, and eventually a 5th axis, and the role a turntable would play in that scenario. Thanks for all you do.
Quite frankly, You are the most analytical machinist on RUclips that I am aware of. Here is an idea for a future video: Take the table off the rotary & clock the T slots to your desired Zero.
Actually, There is no need to remove the table-top. All Phase II rotary tables have a "neutral gear". One can disengage the worm gear from the table top, allowing for the top to be turned by hand freely. You can then line up your slots as you wish and re-engage your worm gear. Be sure to fully re-engage. You can reference this procedure in the operation manual. Great video.
Very good info, i just had a yuasa 10” tilting rotary table and a 8” Hartford super spacer with a three jaw and all the index plates given to me, looking forward to using them, thanks again for the info
Thanks Joe looking forward to next Video on rotary table; recently using my 6" rotary table, cut a very tight spline, with 36 splines (16mm round) using a Lathe threading bar in the mill. worked great (Part: Lawn Mower trans axle).
Thanks for covering the rotary table. I am toying with the idea of getting a 6" table that includes index wheels. It would be nice if you could cover using those attachments. I would appreciate a video for typical setups and a video covering just the math for converting back and forth from degrees to minutes as well. I'm not sure why, but it seems all tables have a 90:1 ratio, forcing you into minutes and seconds of arc (most drawings I have seen use degrees). Sherline has nice 4" table (a bit small though) that has a 72:1 ratio. One turn is 5 degrees. It uses a 0-50 wheel where each mark is 1/10 degree. That would seem to be the perfect ratio for a rotary table. If you really wanted, you could add a verier to 0.01 degree resolution. Thanks again and keep up the great videos.
One fix I found for helping with chatter in my rotary table is using heavy lucas oil in the perimeter bearing surface. It produces a dampening effect that cuts down on chatter. That's weird about the offset on your rotary table. I have a 4 slot and the 0 degree lines up when the slots are parallel with the ways. Cool camera mount, that would be great for coolant also.
thanks for describing the offset of half the diameter of the cutter needing to be taken off again before doing a radius, as in centre of the cutter needing to be level with the centre of the table because that little gem would have me confused 👍
As always Joe. Thanks. Great work as always. Thanks for the video on the tooling ball. Bought one and will be working on a specific project soon that made me go holy crap. It works better than sweeping the hole. Keep up everything. Wish I lived in Austin.
Joe, I am looking forward to the this series - A LOT. The only other one I have seen on rotary table is Mr Pete, but that was years ago. I don't know why, but most creators just don't use a rotary table that I have seen. Thanks for the series !
Having a CNC mill, I don't use this one very often. But my cannon wheels just scream...Dont use the CNC. Good timing to shoot some material for you guys.
I believe it was Tom's Technique's where he showed that he turned a piece that would fit a collet and the center bore of the rotary table that would enable one to quickly centering the rotary table. That's a great fast and simple method to truing the rotary table!
393stroker here is the video. ruclips.net/video/GjezShYnoEU/видео.html. I miss toms techniques, he had some great videos. Unfortunately he started to fade from RUclips a few years ago. I still reference his chart when grinding HSS bits. Chris
Very fine. Thanks. A thought occured in regard to the slots positioning. A new zero point could be referenced/marked reflecting the desired. It's basically arbitarily situated (unless I missed something - I haven't reflected, just a quick thanks as I will get one of these and took a look at your work. The 3ft camera gave excellent shots and you must be happy with that. Have a joyful continuance.)))
REALLY looking forward to the next installment. Id like to see some holes interpolated (if thats the correct term ) on the rotab. And thats a pretty nifty camera mount.
Good advice I got as an apprentice was to centre the part on the table off the mill, then centre the spindle to the part, rather than picking up on the table, then tapping the part true while the table is on the mill. It's a lot easier. I was also taught to rough out slots and arcs by plunging every 1°, then take a finish pass, to avoid having the table/part shift under the cutting forces.
Many thanks Joe, I've had a 10" rotary table a few years but never come close to using it anywhere near it's potential. Only ever used it for basic (table scale) degree hole making. (just like the 4" Made in India I had before it) I knew it had vernier scale for minutes but the hand-wheel markings always confused me (1,2,3,0?) Watching video and it makes super easy sense. With quadrant 'exercise' oops, I'm guilty of remembering tool offset one direction but not the other. I think I may now be ready to try some of the projects I didn't know how to divide up accurately.
Great video- loved the tip about moving in half the diameter of the cutter; that didn't naturally occur to me. I would love to see an explanation for using the rotary table to make a "lightbulb" shape. Basically a circle with a handle on it.
If you plan to make a bracket, similar to the one in your drawing, remember the center of the pivot hole must be in the center of the table. The left and bottom edges would be offset from the center. I built a crane out of a Harbor Freight truck bed crane. It is fastened to the floor and next to the mill for lifting rotary tables and super spacers. There's no good way to lift a rotary table with your hands. Great video.
If the hole was drilled or bored, it could be done as is. For the outer profile to be a true 90 degree arc, the rotational center would have to be adjacent to both straight sides.
The question is: should the outer profile be 90 deg, or should the arc-slot be centered on the pivot hole? You can't do both with the same setup. The outer profile choice would put the corner over the table center, but if the arc-lot is centered on the pivot hole (which seems like a useful goal) that hole needs to be over the table center. (Centering the hole would be simpler than centering the corner, but if it's a training exercise, you get to define the problem.)
Good stuff Joe! Back when moldmakers used rotary cross slides, I was taught to find the center of rotation by placing a magnet base and indicator on the turntable and then indicate a pin held in the spindle. This method produces the true center of rotation, as opposed to relying on the accuracy of the center hole which may be obscured by a cross slide or fixture plate. An easy way to save time (and a lot of cranking) is to disengage the worm gear and spin the turntable by hand for this operation.
Thats a great tip, ill probably do that going forward!
I'll show that in an upcoming video. It does establish true rotation if the hole is out. Excellent comment.
Thank you! I have learned so much from you. You and Mr Pete are the best teachers on RUclips.
Hi Joe,
I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to explain the nuances of degrees, minutes, and seconds. I haven't worked with these measurement units since school so the refresher is appreciated!
Joe, I found your channel by accident and am glad I did. I am a gunsmith , and when I went to school for it ,we did have a class for machining of course. But, there were things we were not taught . You have broadened my knowledge that I can use to do more custom work and also to make and improve tools. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Joe....having spent 40 years as an engraver and now doing machining....i find your vids very interesting and informative.....keep up the good work
Joe, you are the ONE-STOP-SHOP for all things machining info! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us that are still learning the ins and outs of proper machining!
Glad to help
I lost count of how many useful details you squeezed into this one, great job Joe, I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series!
Nice shot of the dial, thank you for taking the time to set it up. It made your explanation very good.
I absolutely love how your videos are some out of the box straight forward solutions to problems I may not have encountered yet. Thanks so much.
Thank you for the video Joe. That is the same 125# table I am using. I bought the Phase II at work 20 yrs. ago. Someone apparently dropped it off of the milling machine table and rendered it useless. I brought it home, took it apart to find slight damage to the worm and main spindle. Cleaned them up on the lathe and had to buy new table locks and oil sight glass to get it back in working order. Works fine once again.
In just a few seconds you hammered the reason I built a small shop to do machining. Having done software and related engineering/science pursuits most of my life - much of which becomes ephemeral pretty quick (and no one would believe you or care if you told them your stuff was making their phone work), I felt a need to have some things I could point to and say "I did that". Even if no one else cares, I still do. Bingo.
You get it.
I have watched this many times and I learn something new every time. Thank you so much.
You're welcome, glad it's helpful!
Excellent video Joe! I love it that you get down into maths side of these things. Your excellent description of the degree, mins & seconds made it all clear to me. Thank you.
Very Informative video Joe very clear and to the point.
I'm kind of old school, I like using the rotary table as much as I can or when I can, this way it will keep your mind thinking
I use an advanced cross slide rotary table, so I can unusually do some unusual stuff on a mill.
Yes, a CNC is faster, but like I said I'm old school .
I usually put the rotary table's center at 0,0 on the DRO's Absolute, and the normal X,Y movements on Incremental, this way you can always jump right back to the center of the rotary whenever you need to.
Sorry for the long-winded message
Machining has been a passion of mine for years, and once I get started I have a tough time stopping.
I always sincerely appreciate the work that Joe Pie does on these videos. I always learn from his teaching sessions, and I sincerely appreciate his hard work that result in these video's.
My sincere thanks and appreciation, Scott
Thanks Scott.
Haha! I just went from "Yeah, yeah, I already know how to use a rotary table and I don't have no time to watch no video today" to "Oh! So THAT's how the seconds calculation works!" (that I had never bothered to really understand); and then to "Oh yeah, so THAT must be why the radius of that part was mysteriously slightly larger than it should've been!" (when I had never thought about the need to re-establish the radius over the zero between a linear cut and a radius cut. Just like you show, if you don't, your "new" radius of tool edge to part center is related to the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle whose adjacent side is the radius you 'want' and whose opposite side is the radius of the endmill. You really could do the trig and see *exactly* how many mils you'd be off if you forget). Thanks for another great video that has (once again) made me slightly less dumb. :-)
Joe thank you so much for these videos. I have the same rotary table and it’s really confusing for an old grunt. I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you again!
Excellent video, and explanation! Recently I was victim off climb milling, and broke a carbide end mail, damaged the part, and need to re-trim the head! Thank you Joe! This videos will help a lot to me and others!
Thank you! Another great post. The rotary table is a great tool to have. They often go for very cheap at machinery auctions as the CNC machines have made them obsolete. I once got a job in a great machine shop because a shop foreman saw a part I made on my motorcycle using a notary table.
As a new hobby machinist, I found your video very informative,
I new nothing about the minutes and seconds and how to read them,
so thank your for making a clear and understanding video of the rotary table.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, thank you. As someone with a rotary table who hasn't yet come to understand how to properly use it, I appreciated this video.
There are a few more coming. Thanks for watching.
This Dude is a absolute genius! I learn so much from him. Thanks Joe!
Great video. I have just bought a rotary table and I'm cutting change gears for my lathe. I really appreciate learning more about the table. Thanks heaps.
Great video Joe. Would have messed up the first part without the, (keep the center line) lesson. As always thanks for your great teachings. You are making many of us better machinist.
Loved the close view of the dial/graduations - very helpful 🍺
I just recently got a rotary table and just stumbled onto this video so it was very interesting to me thanks again you are my go to youtube channel for machining info before I check any others out
Awesome! Thank you!
Excellent, can't wait for the rest of the series. My table is usually mounted with a spare 4 jaw chuck which I find most useful, making it very quick to mount up many parts. Loved the add-on video at the end!
Me too. No more tripod for general video work.
Our rotary table project in Machine Tool Technologies at the local college was a 5-sided fire hydrant wrench. A great exercise in making the outside of the wrench with the larger circle around the pentagon meeting the tapered handle to a smaller radius on that end. Cutting the 5 straight sides on the inside was a lesson in remembering backlash and locking everything down for each edge.
I think your rotary would suit me just fine! All I have is a beat up old one.
This is all good stuff Joe - thanks for doing it. :)
Awesome bonus content! I made almost exactly the same thing to use as a shield when using flood coolant to grind bores. I used an old mag base for the base and a sheet of plexiglass for the shield. Keep up the good work 👍🏼
Thanks, Joe. Nice camera mount at the end and really looking forward to your next installment.
Cheers, Gary
Great stuff Joe, always enjoy your "no nonsense" explanations. Best wishes from the UK.
Home machinist and always had trouble with my rotary table . Now I understand what I was doing wrong . Great video give use more and thanks for keeping simple for us self learners
Joe, thanks for these instructional videos. When you cover a topic I know I think "hmm, this is pretty basic". Then you cover a topic I don't know, and when you are done I think 'hmm, now I know the basics".
I enjoy the machining videos from Abom and Fenner etc. more after watching your instructional videos because I can see the reasons they do some of the stuff that they probably are not even consciously doing because they have done it so long and so often.
Machining is the one occupation that sometimes makes me wish I had chosen a career other than computer networking, the realization that I could actually do the kind of work you guys do, if only I had 20 more years to get the experience. My tinkering on my baby lathe and mill are more efficient because of the knowledge you share and explain on your videos.
Thanks
Thanks for watching.
This is all new to me and something I have always wanted to learn more about, starting with the basics thank you Joe.
BRASS CANON..... yeah we know , we only been waiting 2 years . :))) I Just bought myself a rotary table so I will be watching these videos with eagerness. Thanks.
The wheels are 14 spoke 7 segment assemblies. Intricate.
Fantastic Joe, thank you very much. This is just the instruction I want. I am looking forward to further videos. Best wishes. Andy
As usual, outstanding video Joe. I’ve got a 6in Vertex horizontal/vertical rotary table I purchased to fixture a couple angle plates to, mount a frame between the plates, and checker 1911 front straps with eventually. I ran into some problems during the setup. Been stuck there since. This series should be a huge help. Looking forward to keeping up with it. Very good info! Thanks
I believe I'll offer up a few things to reduce the stress. thanks for watching.
This is a very timely series for me--I just bought one (I thought I'd get one before the tariffs bump the price up) and I haven't had a project for it yet. I signed up for notifications and will be waiting for the next installment with great anticipation!
Joe Pie... knocking it out of the park... year after year!
@joepieczynski great explanation of the degrees,minutes, seconds. I understand it now . thanx
Thanks Joe. Very good explanation for a rotary table. I am surprised I have never heard one word on this before. As always great hanging out with you.
Very timely, I need a rotary table for a job I’ve committed to have done by the end of the month. I wouldn’t have thought to look for the zero orientation. I hope I can find one with the tee slots in the perpendicular orientation.
Thanks for yet another awesome tutorial.
They may have done that so you can use the vertical real estate for pins and screws in a fixture plate ???
I'm looking forward to getting stuck into to this series with you Joe on Rotary Tables.
Awesome content. The locating of parts onto the rotary table will be very helpful, as I haven't seen any one else make a multi part series just on this topic. Thanks.
Fantastic info, Sir! I love all your videos, keep 'em coming⚡
Joe, Thanks for the clear explanations. I am looking forward to the rest of this series and am eagerly waiting for the tangent cutting episode. :D
I have one as a hobbyist, used on my mill drill. You certainly have cleared up some of the features and use of the rotary table.
Fantastic, Joe, you are an inspiration! And you are the reason I have a laptop next to my mill/lathe! Well done! Stan, UK
I cannot believe I have only just discovered this channel. Fantastic !
Thanks. I hoped I earned a subscription.
Absolutely
Thanks so much for this very timely vid. Please continue with more RT 101. Your thorough and meticulous explanations are dead on. I REALLY would like to see how to do multiple curves. I have a piece of plywood picked out for the "homework". This is what makes things stick for me. I have almost exactly the same RT and have used it a couple of times but I'm going to be much more confident after this.
Outstanding. You will like the next few secrets I share. Stick around.
Thank you Joe.
You are an excellent teacher.
Joe, thank you for video. I am looking forward to this series of videos. I have only used my table in the flat position on the mill but would love to see some information about using it in the vertical position.
Very cool Joe very intuitive. I still remember the first time I used a rotary table many many years ago, all I can say is them was some fun time's
my first operation (attempt) on a rotary table was to cut a hex in the end of a round to hold a die....I put a fine point marker in the quill to and drew out the design to prove my setup/moves.....great educational video and looking forward for more.....
Hi Chuck. Thanks for stopping by. This series will go for a few, and I hope show some very time saving techniques. Stay tuned and rub Howie on the head for me.
Joe, thank you so much for going these videos! I have learned so much, these are all things i have always wanted to learn to do probably.
Good info! Now slap an xy table on top of the rotary and compound it. I did some of that years ago, a real head scratcher!
Awesome. I ove that you explain the theory behind this stuff and why you need to do things a certain way. Can;t wait for the next installment. Thanks for putting out these videos.
Fabulous video. I always....always learn something new on every one. Loved the bonus material. Keep 'em coming.
Very informative, thanks. I look forward to more rotary table vids. A rt is on my want list.
Monday I start my new job as a
machinist teacher.Definitly will
recommend your videos to the
students.
Thank you. feel free to suggest topics.
I just started my homeshop to do machining rather than just fabbing. You help me with your knowledge sir, thank you, I'm trying ...and seeing all the tricks given whilst you make chips drives me even more, if i could only borrow your brain for a while lol , but thank you Joe
Great video as usual Joe. Looking forward to future video's on the Rotary Table, particularly one that might be related to putting parts on and centering them to the table... This is one area that for some reason, I've always struggled with (i.e., accurately locate an existing part that needs a round radius feature so that the origin of the feature is at the center of the rotary table). This is especially true for parts that do NOT have a feature already at the center origin of the new needed feature
Correct. Nobody seems to be willing to go there. No feature to pickup....Not a problem. Stick around.
Joe, master machinist awesomeness. You keep sharing the most amazing information and detail. Thank you.... thank you..... thank you. 👍 😁
Necessity is the mother of invention and you are one of her favorite sons Joe! Very nice camera mount :)
Great video and great lesson Joe! I like that Go Pro camera mount too.
Timing is perfect Joe , I need to make a flywheel for my model Hot Air Engine. Now if I can just pay enough attention to get it right the first time. Looking forward to the next one , Thank You 😊!
Another great video. I have the basics of the rotary down, but looking forward to your more advanced series of vids. Thanks and keep up the great work
I have a few things to show that will rock your world. Stick around.
Thank you for all your videos and the time you put in to explanation.
Greetings from Sweden
Thanks for checking in.
I picked up a Vertex 8" a while back that I have not really toyed with. The vernier scale reads down to 20 seconds. You have to skip lines lines on the main graduated dial to read them. I've never seen a vernier like it. I downloaded a manual for a G9298 8' rotary, It has a reasonable set of steps and pictures on how to read it. I found more than one machinist forum thread where folks are thinking the vernier scale is miss stamped on Vertex tables.
This should be a fun series, thanks Joe!
Thanks much for the tips 😊👍, by any chance could you post a print for the snap together peices ,man I have a hundred uses for the device , thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge Joe
All of that stuff is available on my website. The coupler hasn't been posted yet, but thanks for the reminder.
You demonstrated and spoke, I learned. Thank you very much.
Got more coming. It gets better.
Thanks man.you just keep dropping little gems for helping me remember/understand
Thanks for watching.
Indicate the flat edge, then turn your slots until they line up on x axis and put your own marker where ever the 0 is. Try to indicate the slots and get that zero mark where it is convenient for you. Just like those pcs of tape, but mark it permanently or drill and tap a hole directly under the zero, and move that adjustable marker to that position.
I hope I said it right, or I’d have to draw pics. I enjoy your teaching and work. I started machining in the early 70’s like you. My expertise is mainly milling on large horizontal boring mills, huge planer type mills, and jig bore machines, and larger lathes. I did start in some small shops on Bridgeport’s and lathes too. Keep on teaching my friend, I do learn some nice tidbits here and there.
I made a new offset index plate. Problem solved.
I plan to build a shop hoist (A-frame) to lift things like this onto the mill so I don't hurt myself or drop and damage these expensive things. The vice and materials can easily get too heavy to safely lift. Likewise with larger lathe chucks and bigger shafts. I'm not getting any younger. Looking forward to the next vids.
Not as much fun but I suspect a commercial hydraulic engine hoist would be cheaper and will fold up for storage.
Barry Gerbracht None of us are. If you figure that out, let us know:) All I did was make/fab/weld up a tool cart for the heavier stuff and lower the table of the mill to height and lock the wheels and slide it over. Teflon or any kind of high density plastic works great. I have a hydraulic hoist to lift the heavier stuff onto the table. Obviously It needs to be not top heavy. I have the lower shelves with enough items to keep it in check. It obviously can then be rolled out of the way and allow more room for work space that’s non confining.
Saw a recent post on Facebook for a rotary table storage cart. Make cart u shaped so can fit around end of mill table. Crank mill table to the left, roll cart around end of mill table. Align height of mill table with height of cart, slide rotary table on or off mill table.
Great idea. These things are heavy.
Steven Haskell Did that 25 years ago. Nothing is worth injuring yourself or damaging machinery.
Well done Joe!...We will need this a lot when starting on our part we are making. We actually used a Hass VFll 3 axis and a rotary table to produce those last parts I told you about in Mobile, AL. Were it not for the very expensive Satterfield tombstone we had made, it would have been even harder to accomplish. In your next series of videos on this turntable subject it may hurt or help, to start the discussion on adding axis' to the equation. Such as, moving from a 3 to a 4 axis, and eventually a 5th axis, and the role a turntable would play in that scenario. Thanks for all you do.
Looking forward to seeing this series Joe.
Quite frankly, You are the most analytical machinist on RUclips that I am aware of. Here is an idea for a future video: Take the table off the rotary & clock the T slots to your desired Zero.
Actually, There is no need to remove the table-top. All Phase II rotary tables have a "neutral gear". One can disengage the worm gear from the table top, allowing for the top to be turned by hand freely. You can then line up your slots as you wish and re-engage your worm gear. Be sure to fully re-engage. You can reference this procedure in the operation manual. Great video.
Very good info, i just had a yuasa 10” tilting rotary table and a 8” Hartford super spacer with a three jaw and all the index plates given to me, looking forward to using them, thanks again for the info
Thanks Joe looking forward to next Video on rotary table;
recently using my 6" rotary table, cut a very tight spline,
with 36 splines (16mm round) using a Lathe threading bar in the mill.
worked great (Part: Lawn Mower trans axle).
Thanks for covering the rotary table. I am toying with the idea of getting a 6" table that includes index wheels. It would be nice if you could cover using those attachments. I would appreciate a video for typical setups and a video covering just the math for converting back and forth from degrees to minutes as well.
I'm not sure why, but it seems all tables have a 90:1 ratio, forcing you into minutes and seconds of arc (most drawings I have seen use degrees). Sherline has nice 4" table (a bit small though) that has a 72:1 ratio. One turn is 5 degrees. It uses a 0-50 wheel where each mark is 1/10 degree. That would seem to be the perfect ratio for a rotary table. If you really wanted, you could add a verier to 0.01 degree resolution. Thanks again and keep up the great videos.
One fix I found for helping with chatter in my rotary table is using heavy lucas oil in the perimeter bearing surface. It produces a dampening effect that cuts down on chatter. That's weird about the offset on your rotary table. I have a 4 slot and the 0 degree lines up when the slots are parallel with the ways. Cool camera mount, that would be great for coolant also.
thanks for describing the offset of half the diameter of the cutter needing to be taken off again before doing a radius, as in centre of the cutter needing to be level with the centre of the table because that little gem would have me confused 👍
Super interesting stuff Joe! Can't wait for the next video to see this in action. Nice new toy at the end.👍👍
As always Joe. Thanks. Great work as always. Thanks for the video on the tooling ball. Bought one and will be working on a specific project soon that made me go holy crap. It works better than sweeping the hole. Keep up everything. Wish I lived in Austin.
Joe, I am looking forward to the this series - A LOT. The only other one I have seen on rotary table is Mr Pete, but that was years ago. I don't know why, but most creators just don't use a rotary table that I have seen. Thanks for the series !
Having a CNC mill, I don't use this one very often. But my cannon wheels just scream...Dont use the CNC. Good timing to shoot some material for you guys.
I believe it was Tom's Technique's where he showed that he turned a piece that would fit a collet and the center bore of the rotary table that would enable one to quickly centering the rotary table. That's a great fast and simple method to truing the rotary table!
393stroker here is the video. ruclips.net/video/GjezShYnoEU/видео.html. I miss toms techniques, he had some great videos. Unfortunately he started to fade from RUclips a few years ago. I still reference his chart when grinding HSS bits. Chris
Great technique I use that all the time to get it closed then I dial it from there👍
Hold on to your seats guys. Got some cool stuff coming up.
@@shadowdog500 Yep , sad to see that. Tom loved his plunge cuts!
@@joepie221 I cannot wait Joe. I find your technique of teaching to be one the best and easiest to understand. Thanks for you contributions.
Hey Joe, move the zero indicator by drill & tap new hole. Tslots now perpendicular.
Bingo.
Very fine. Thanks. A thought occured in regard to the slots positioning. A new zero point could be referenced/marked reflecting the desired. It's basically arbitarily situated (unless I missed something - I haven't reflected, just a quick thanks as I will get one of these and took a look at your work. The 3ft camera gave excellent shots and you must be happy with that. Have a joyful continuance.)))
Thank you, I’ve been waiting for a video on a rotary table. Great JOB can’t wait for the next one.
Love your videos! If possible I would give them all my 10 thumbs up.
Joe you are a excellent teacher !! Thank you Mark from MN
REALLY looking forward to the next installment. Id like to see some holes interpolated (if thats the correct term ) on the rotab. And thats a pretty nifty camera mount.
Good advice I got as an apprentice was to centre the part on the table off the mill, then centre the spindle to the part, rather than picking up on the table, then tapping the part true while the table is on the mill. It's a lot easier. I was also taught to rough out slots and arcs by plunging every 1°, then take a finish pass, to avoid having the table/part shift under the cutting forces.
I like to nibble for slot work. Its really quick. About your setup technique, I'd have to see it, or get more details.
Many thanks Joe,
I've had a 10" rotary table a few years but never come close to using it anywhere near it's potential. Only ever used it for basic (table scale) degree hole making. (just like the 4" Made in India I had before it) I knew it had vernier scale for minutes but the hand-wheel markings always confused me (1,2,3,0?) Watching video and it makes super easy sense. With quadrant 'exercise' oops, I'm guilty of remembering tool offset one direction but not the other. I think I may now be ready to try some of the projects I didn't know how to divide up accurately.
Always good to see old school. Thanks!
Great video thanks
Would love to see in the next video some jigs to hold small parts that need a corner radius
Its planned.
Great video- loved the tip about moving in half the diameter of the cutter; that didn't naturally occur to me. I would love to see an explanation for using the rotary table to make a "lightbulb" shape. Basically a circle with a handle on it.
If you plan to make a bracket, similar to the one in your drawing, remember the center of the pivot hole must be in the center of the table. The left and bottom edges would be offset from the center. I built a crane out of a Harbor Freight truck bed crane. It is fastened to the floor and next to the mill for lifting rotary tables and super spacers. There's no good way to lift a rotary table with your hands. Great video.
If the hole was drilled or bored, it could be done as is. For the outer profile to be a true 90 degree arc, the rotational center would have to be adjacent to both straight sides.
The question is: should the outer profile be 90 deg, or should the arc-slot be centered on the pivot hole? You can't do both with the same setup. The outer profile choice would put the corner over the table center, but if the arc-lot is centered on the pivot hole (which seems like a useful goal) that hole needs to be over the table center. (Centering the hole would be simpler than centering the corner, but if it's a training exercise, you get to define the problem.)
Great video mr pie,cant wait for the next one as all your videos are followed.wynand from south africa