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K & T Model K Dividing head indexing plates

Rawleigh

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Location
Virginia, USA
I salvaged a K & T Model K dividing head from the scrap man. Unfortunately both plates were broken in half. It has a 10" chuck on it. It needs some work, but seems salvageable. The price was right (free) so I don't mind spending some time cleaning it up if I can get plates. The plates that were on it were 22689 (54, 58, 68, 76, 78, 88 & 98 holes) and 22690 (60, 66, 72, 84, 92 96 & 100 holes).

I have done a search on the Model K and understand that it came in different sizes and uses a different gear ratio from most dividing heads.

I am a novice machinist who mostly works on old equipment, so it is probably more dividing head than I need, but it was free. I need to be able to cut splines on shafts and do other simple dividing tasks.

Does anyone have any of the more common plates available for it? Also, why did they put two plates back to back on it? All of the other models I have seen have a single plate. I understand how a "normal" dividing head works, but how does the double plate design work?

I have a friend with a CNC Bridgeport who thinks he can make me plates for it, but If I can get some for a reasonable price it would save him a lot of work. I have been watching on Ebay, but I haven't seen any of the large K plates come up in the last 6 months.

Thanks for putting up with my novice questions.
 
Create a backer plate for each fragment set, clean up the crack quite well, mount the fragment sets to their respective backer set, and see how much accuracy has been compromised?

Set up an ebay search for indexing plates, dividing plates, specific part numbers, etc. and ebay will email you when something is listed.


I would suggest a search string such as:
(kearney, trecker, model K, milwaukee) (indexing , dividing) (plate, plates, 22689, 22690)

The above search string will return ads created by knowledgeable sellers; keep in mind that many indexing plates have little or no I.D., and the seller has no way or no desire to identify it. In those cases, the suggested search string will miss those listings.

If you know the other part numbers, include them in the search string.

I had an excellent experience with Bill of Small Tools; he went to the spare plates collection and found two of the Model H plates I was seeking, with a good attitude and fair prices.

[email protected]

I would also suggest a well-crafted WTB listing in the Tools section of craigslist.

And place a Wanted ad on Practical Machinist in the Classified section.

You will need to show a representative image, measurements of bolt circle, diameter, part numbers, etc. People don't always know what they have, help them understand that what they have is what you desire.


Good Luck,
Steve
 
Steve: Unfortunately about 1/3 of the plates got away before I found it! Thanks for the very helpful reply though. Looks like John may be able to help me out! If he cannot I will check with your guy.
 
Thanks Ramsey! Yep, those are what I have! Actually I only have the hub and half of each plate. How do you use the double plate system? Do you just take them off and flip them over to use the second plate?

I am going to have to disassemble, clean, etc the whole dividing head, but since it was free I think it will be worth it! The chuck is locked up right now, but with some TLC it should live! Plus I hate to see neat old US made equipment making the trip to China! :( Sorry for being so ignorant, but I learn by asking!
 
Mod K Dividing Head

YVW...Make certain that the spindle locking lever is not engaged as this prevents movement of the chuck...Plates held together by screws and reversed in use...Ramsay1
 
Definitely make certain that the lock is off, but if you still do not get motion (or not easy motion), there is one thing to do before taking everything apart.

I just acquired a model K head in the same condition as yours and the lube had dried up and become glue. A small amount of paint thinner softened things up. Follow that with several flushes with kerosene and fresh lube. Unlike most dividing heads that have plain bearings, the K heads have pre-loaded precision ball bearings and will be a lot of work to take apart and put back together. The main section of 5:1 hypoid gears has an oil reservoir and the 8:1 crossed helical gears has its own oil reservoir.

The input shaft for power drive turns the hub the index plate is mounted on, which drives the input to the main 5:1 section (if a pin is dropped into a hole). When you are not doing helical milling, the index plate is locked by a two-part clamp that grabs the OD of the index plate. If your plates are busted up, the clamp could also be broken or missing. I mention this because I will need to make the missing clamps, using the parts from my "good" dividing head as a model. Let me know if you need clamp parts. I can probably make them for you when I get around to making my own, or, if you are in a hurry, I could get you the dimensions and good pictures. The clamp parts are not extremely high precision, so making them is probably easier than finding them for sale at a reasonable price.

Archie

P.S.: K&T's approach with index plates was to have a single (double-sided) standard plate that will do the most commonly-needed divisions. The second and third pairs of the index plates are the "high numbers" plates and were a option. The idea is that if most divisions can be done with a single (double-sided) index plate, there is nothing to get lost.
 
Archie: Amazingly my clamp is OK. Let me know if you need any measurements. The lock lever is released and I get a partial revolution out of it, so I will try some mineral spirits in it! Good idea and good info on the bearings. Thanks. I will post my results. I hope I do not have to open it up!
 
Does anyone have an exploded parts diagram, etc for this dividing head that they could scan for me? It looks like this head may have been in a flood at some time and i may have to open it up to get everything cleaned up. After readiing Archie's post I would like to see what i am up against.
 
Rawleigh,

I have PDF's of a few of the advertising brochures for the model K heads. They show what is inside, but were not meant to support disassembly. If much water stayed inside, there is a chance that both the 5:1 hypoid gear pair and the precision ball bearings are no longer usable, not to mention the 8:1 crossed helical gear pair. Dividing heads with plain bearings and a worm & wheel would be more likely to survive although the steel worm would probably be damaged.

If no one else posts any diagrams, send me your e-mail address via private message and I'll send you what I have.

Archie

P.S.: I see you are in VA -- I live in MD a bit south of Gettysburg. If you find that the head cannot be salvaged, I would be interested in it for parts for my head.
 
I have 4 of the dividing plates you are looking for

22691,22692,22693,22694

They are in western PA and will fit in a medium USPS flat rate box

PM me an offer if interested

PJ Ritz
 
Ramsay: Can you post that bigger? If not please send it to me by email so that I can blow it up. Thank all of you for your support. I will keep you posted.
 








 
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