Rotary tables

Hello I’m wondering if you pros out there Can’t help me out in buying a rotary table,, I have a Bridgeport M head And I’d like to get a rotary table for it but I am not for Familiar with the brands and which ones to stay away from..I’m just a hobby machinist and not really that good at it to be honest with you and would like to buy one,, obviously not top-of-the-line but can anyone tell me about some of the better brands And which ones are just junk.. I also was led to believe that it’s better to at least get something 8 inches in diameter ..???
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated .. thank you.

Generally speaking, older, larger sizes don't sell well because they are heavy. If you're able to move/slide heavy things, or creative enough to create a system where you don't have to handle it, then you can often score old, big, quality products for little money.

That is the route I went. I found a new, old-stock Bridgeport 15" on ebay listed as "pickup only". Had an acquaintance in the area that was willing to pick it up for me. I won it for $200 give or take. I built a swing-arm on the side of my mill column that the ro-tab bolts to using the t-slots of table top (so the bottom is smooth). I just swing the arm out over the mill table, crank the knee up to take the pressure off the bolts so I can remove then, slide the rotab where I need it and bolt it down. The only time I ever "lift" it is if I'm attaching it to the 90 degree mount (got that from the same seller for $60 on ebay). I will say that if you do a lot of work with the table on 90 you may want to just go for one built for either orientation, and you may want to go smaller. I don't do much 90 degree work and I've always been able to "make it work" when it was an issue. IE, I was once milling some key-ways spaced precisely around a small circular element (1.5" diameter) so I used my rotab (this was before I had a proper collet indexer). I had to extend the part out further from the table so the table (about 18" high when on the 90 degree mount) could stand up beside the head while the quill did the machining. You wouldn't have that problem with an 8" rotab.

As far as brands: that depends on your desired precision level and fit & finish quality. Import products are cheap and they will work for many uses, but if you can score used name-brand for less or even similar money why not go with name-brand?

My needs were similar to you. I eventually settled on a YUASA made in Japan. I found a 12" on ebay in almost new condition with the dividing plates for cheap. Problem is it is heavy at 172 lbs. So getting it on the mill table is a bitch. Luckily I am still able to do it at my age. In a few years it will be a problem. As for a Chinese rotary table the quality is all over the place from nice to absolute junk. So unless you can inspect it, steer clear.

I was in your position a few years ago after I got fed up with my POS Palmgran table.

I may get flak for this but I settled on a Phase II 221-308 8" table and have been happy with it. Apparently they are made in Taiwan which should be better quality than mainline. They were the only "quality import" that listed specs:

http://www.phase2plus.com/details.asp?pr=PRECISION ROTARY TABLES&id=55

At 83 lbs. the 8" fit my baby Clausing right but I would go with the 10" or bigger for a Bridgeport if you can handle it. Space seems to get eaten up quickly with work holding.

Precision Rotary Tables

Laverda said:

My needs were similar to you. I eventually settled on a YUASA made in Japan. I found a 12" on ebay in almost new condition with the dividing plates for cheap. Problem is it is heavy at 172 lbs. So getting it on the mill table is a bitch. Luckily I am still able to do it at my age. In a few years it will be a problem. As for a Chinese rotary table the quality is all over the place from nice to absolute junk. So unless you can inspect it, steer clear.

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Yikes!! 172 lb and you're muscling it on?

My 15" Bridgeport is about 120 lbs and that's enough for me (I'm young and in my prime but don't want to cause any life-altering injuries). Add 50 lbs for the right-angle mount which thankfully is separate.

Terry Keeley said:

I was in your position a few years ago after I got fed up with my POS Palmgran table.

I may get flak for this but I settled on a Phase II 221-308 8" table and have been happy with it. Apparently they are made in Taiwan which should be better quality than mainline. They were the only "quality import" that listed specs:

http://www.phase2plus.com/details.asp?pr=PRECISION ROTARY TABLES&id=55

At 83 lbs. the 8" fit my baby Clausing right but I would go with the 10" or bigger for a Bridgeport if you can handle it. Space seems to get eaten up quickly with work holding.

Precision Rotary Tables

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"M" series BeePee, the OP has, lest we forget. Even an 8" might be overkill.

I'd suggest a used Yuasa/News IF you trip over one. My mere 6" handles most real world needs.

ELSE a new(ish) Vertex (Taiwan). And get the dividing-head kit for it, same go, so it fits and is a more useful "system" overall.

Cheapest NEW combo rotab/DH worth half a damn are prolly those now made in India.

BEST are vintage Moore, SIP Genevoise, or Pratt & Whitney, but good luck finding any of those under 15" or so... if at all.

I have a Troyke 9 inch RT. It fits nicely on my mill with a 9x36 inch table. I can lift it on and off but would not want to be boosting anything larger.

Erich said:

I have a Troyke 9 inch RT. It fits nicely on my mill with a 9x36 inch table. I can lift it on and off but would not want to be boosting anything larger.

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Troyke's tend to be a good deal taller than average, daylight-budget wise. Not exactly lightweights, either. Yuasa/News and Vertex are flatter and lighter - as are most Moore's.

Monarchist said:

"M" series BeePee, the OP has, lest we forget. Even an 8" might be overkill.

I'd suggest a used Yuasa/News IF you trip over one. My mere 6" handles most real world needs.

ELSE a new(ish) Vertex (Taiwan). And get the dividing-head kit for it, same go, so it fits and is a more useful "system" overall.

Cheapest NEW combo rotab/DH worth half a damn are prolly those now made in India.

BEST are vintage Moore, SIP Genevoise, or Pratt & Whitney, but good luck finding any of those under 15" or so... if at all.

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Dunno, I always seem to be running out of space on my 8" unit. My baby Clausing's table is 3" narrower than the BP's 9" so if I had a BP AND could handle a 120 lb. 10" rotab I'd go for it.

Terry Keeley said:

Dunno, I always seem to be running out of space on my 8" unit. My baby Clausing's table is 3" narrower than the BP's 9" so if I had a BP AND could handle a 120 lb. 10" rotab I'd go for it.

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Lotta 8" <=> 10" out there at half that 120 lb weight or thereabouts, yet not at all flimsy for the OP's needs.

Only a BeePee, less than 2 HP at the average spindle, R8, more often than not.

Half or less the HP and maybe even only 2 MT tooling grip for an M-head.

not knowing what you have in mind... maybe shaft work? I'll toss in this option.

it's sort of a small for a rotary table, but has the quick indexing plates. takes lathe chucks... tailstock option etc..

Good for small parts rotary table work laying down or milling flats on shafts etc.. standing up. Much more of a Swiss army knife versatile tool for someone who knows not yet exactly what they want one for.

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I lucked into a 12" Bridgeport rotary table and highly recommend them. Low profile, well made. The 12" is as much as I can handle. No way could I manage a 15". A friend has a Troyke and it hurts just to look at it. OTOH, I use my small import "B&S" dividing head much more than the rotary table. You can rotate them up and do small rotary table type work. They can easily take a chuck.

Terry Keeley said:

I was in your position a few years ago after I got fed up with my POS Palmgran table.

I may get flak for this but I settled on a Phase II 221-308 8" table and have been happy with it. Apparently they are made in Taiwan which should be better quality than mainline. They were the only "quality import" that listed specs:

http://www.phase2plus.com/details.asp?pr=PRECISION ROTARY TABLES&id=55

At 83 lbs. the 8" fit my baby Clausing right but I would go with the 10" or bigger for a Bridgeport if you can handle it. Space seems to get eaten up quickly with work holding.

Precision Rotary Tables

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I also went with a Phase II for my Bridgeport, but I bought a 10". Calling it HEAVY (80#) is being polite - there's no way I would ever want a larger table unless I specifically needed one. Right now, I have a 6" 3-jaw chuck mounted on the 10", and every time I have to move it on/off the BP to a storage table, I wish I'd bought the 8"

here is a nice one

Rotary Table, 9" Moore F-478 - Other

weight is about 75 lbs

dee
;-D

I found an 8" no-name except for a "Made in Japan" placard, some searching revealed it to be a Kawasaki brand presumably meaning it was made in Kawasaki, Japan. Pretty nice unit but does not have a vernier so indexing below 1 minute is a matter of interpolation. The table is fairly unique in that it has t-slots in a cross-hatch pattern which does help a lot with workholding. The base casting has very pronounced channels to help drain coolant but a couple places where it can leak past so additional measures are needed if coolant is used. Clamps are excellent and lock with the handles in a convenient position. The usual sort of backlash adjustment is there and works fine. Weighs in the 60-ish pound range, maybe a bit heavier.

dcsipo said:

here is a nice one

Rotary Table, 9" Moore F-478 - Other

weight is about 75 lbs

dee
;-D

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Same vendor "j-sag" is also on eBay, has several other rotabs. I've purchased several times from them. No complaints.

Greg Menke said:

I found an 8" no-name except for a "Made in Japan" placard, some searching revealed it to be a Kawasaki brand presumably meaning it was made in Kawasaki, Japan. Pretty nice unit but does not have a vernier so indexing below 1 minute is a matter of interpolation. The table is fairly unique in that it has t-slots in a cross-hatch pattern which does help a lot with workholding. The base casting has very pronounced channels to help drain coolant but a couple places where it can leak past so additional measures are needed if coolant is used. Clamps are excellent and lock with the handles in a convenient position. The usual sort of backlash adjustment is there and works fine. Weighs in the 60-ish pound range, maybe a bit heavier.


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Decently accurate Verniers are not all that hard to DIY. Probably a major reason they have survived so long in a picky world.

Greg Menke said:

I found an 8" no-name except for a "Made in Japan" placard, some searching revealed it to be a Kawasaki brand presumably meaning it was made in Kawasaki, Japan. Pretty nice unit but does not have a vernier so indexing below 1 minute is a matter of interpolation. The table is fairly unique in that it has t-slots in a cross-hatch pattern which does help a lot with workholding. The base casting has very pronounced channels to help drain coolant but a couple places where it can leak past so additional measures are needed if coolant is used. Clamps are excellent and lock with the handles in a convenient position. The usual sort of backlash adjustment is there and works fine. Weighs in the 60-ish pound range, maybe a bit heavier.


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Probablyally foolish to think a used rotab would be accurate better than one minute anyway.

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dsergison said:

Probablyally foolish to think a used rotab would be accurate better than one minute anyway.

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If you're really trying for accuracy you set up a sine bar on its side, use a dial indicator along the beam to determine you've reached the correct angle. Or just use an established reference and trig out the X-Y differences at a set distance. Then you just need the rotary dials to get you close.

My biggest issue with rotary tables is when I put my 30" SIP on the Rong Fu I don't have room for spindle tooling. And the mill table leans all sorts of funny, I think they're not rated for the 1000lbs the rotab weights. Clearly a case of Rong tool Fu job...

dsergison said:

Probablyally foolish to think a used rotab would be accurate better than one minute anyway.

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Out of 360 degrees? Probably.

Out of the "local" degree if/as/when THAT was "independently established" ? Not by so much.

In any case, it can't much matter unless you have something BETTER to go by AND a genuine need for that fine a granularity.

Those few who have either will JF have to tool for that.