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Best Mounting Arrangement on 13" for a rotary table

ChipMeister

Plastic
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Greetings...
I'm intending to install a SB rotary table on my lathe in lieu of a milling attachment. I figure it'll do for me. I just am not sure about how to mount the thing once I get it. All the depictions of this table show that in order to have the hand wheel on the frontside the lathe, it has to be perched on the narrowest part of its base. Which means to me that I need to have an angle block or plate behind it (just like the milling attachment).

I've been perusing the McMaster catalog and there are a few sizes that look like they might work but they're costly enough to not buy them, yet.

So my question is, and not actually having the table in hand as yet, any ideas about what to bolt to the saddle so I can bolt the table when it arrives?

Thanks!
 
Greetings...
I'm intending to install a SB rotary table on my lathe in lieu of a milling attachment. I figure it'll do for me. I just am not sure about how to mount the thing once I get it. All the depictions of this table show that in order to have the hand wheel on the frontside the lathe, it has to be perched on the narrowest part of its base. Which means to me that I need to have an angle block or plate behind it (just like the milling attachment).

I've been perusing the McMaster catalog and there are a few sizes that look like they might work but they're costly enough to not buy them, yet.

So my question is, and not actually having the table in hand as yet, any ideas about what to bolt to the saddle so I can bolt the table when it arrives?

Thanks!

Say what? Lathes make piss poor mills. The only way this lash up is going to be useful is if the R T is mounted to a vertical traveling axis. How big is this table? To be at all useful you will need at least 3" of travel on each side of the center of the RT in 2 xis.
 
This is a 6' with a 13" swing. I don't have the real estate for a milling machine or I'd be talking about it instead of this. But it is what it is and I'm making do.

South Bend makes(or rather sells under their banner) I believe three RTs for this lathe; I could afford the 6" model. Their on-line catalog does not provide anything in the way of mounting options or even pictures, so I assume it's up to the machinist.

This arrangement does not a milling machine make, but it allows for limited milling. That'll work for me... ��
 
You still need a vertical axis under the rotary table. Otherwise, you would only be able to mill straight lines at one distance from the center of the table, and arcs. You could not mill a square pocket for instance, unless you could coordinate cross slide and rotary movement concurrently. And, all that has to be mounted on the cross-slide, not the saddle. That is too much weight hanging out to the side of the small cross slide on these lathes.

There is a reason all milling machines have orthogonal X/Y axis, but only some have a rotary table. You need to do the same.

allan
 
I am in the same situation with a 16" lathe, but this is what I did. I found an 8"x8" angle plate on e-bay fairly cheap, then bought an old atlas xy table. I made a dovetail to mount the angle plate directly to the cross slide in place of the compound. The table mounts vertically, so that there is vertical feed and extra horizontal feed. Checking for runout in all directions and tightening down the gib screws before any cutting operation is the key along with small cuts. It works for what I need.
 
I have a milling attachment for a SB13 that I would sell .
A poor substitute for a milling machine ; even the most modest ...
A few hours with it , and you would find room for a real milling machine .
 
I totally get that. So my curiosity is piqued by SB even selling these RTs as if sure, bolt that sucker up and 'mill'. I know it technically isn't a milling attachment but from what I've seen of them, the appear essentially to be a vertically mounted vise. That would present the same limitations you've pointed out, no?

Their having been in the trade a very long time, I have to wonder how would one of South Bend's own successfully set one of these up and make it useful.

I'm liking my idea (and my purchase) less and less as the minutes go by.
 
SB sells rotary tables for use on milling machines, do you have a picture where the old SB (or the new incarnation) shows mounting one on a lathe?

As for the milling attachment, it is not a vertical vise. It is a vertical axis, and there is no vise, merely a crude gap with a couple of clamping screws.

allan
 
SB sells rotary tables for use on milling machines, do you have a picture where the old SB (or the new incarnation) shows mounting one on a lathe?

As for the milling attachment, it is not a vertical vise. It is a vertical axis, and there is no vise, merely a crude gap with a couple of clamping screws.

allan


I found this RT on Amazon, advertised as a South Bend product:

South Bend Lathe
South Bend Lathe SB1364 6-Inch Rotary Table
4.6 out of 5 stars 4 customer reviews
Price: $395.00 FREE Shipping for Prime members once available
Usually ships within 1 to 2 months.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Unique 6-slot design
Mounts horizontally or vertically
Satin chrome handwheel and dial
Dual table locks
MT #2 socket
› See more product details
=======================================

So as I see it, this is something offered indirectly from SB and it is intended for use on a lathe. The odd part, unless they no longer support it, is that the SB website has nothing like this.

If this is a case of misrepresentation or worse, flying under false colors, Amazon ought to be notified. I can offer nothing in this regard 'cause I'm still trying to figure this out.
 
Huh? Just because it is sold with the SB name on it does not mean it is intended for use on a lathe. SB sells milling machines as well.

Perhaps your confusion is that the company is named 'South Bend Lathe'?

allan
 
New SB sells lathes, mills, and surface grinders. Rotary tables are not meant for mills, and milling on the lathe is going to be nearly pointless. Find a cheap drill press and buy a small XY table for it. It'll be much "better" in the end. Also, cheaper.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
 
please do not try to mill with a drill press. Good way to get hurt.

Get a mill,even one of the cheap mill/drill as already suggested is good enough to start with and learn on, if you can find a cheap round column used grab it as they make wonderful drill presses and are perfectly capable of light milling, I had one that I kept even after I got a real knee mill for drilling and and light duty stuff.

But even even a tinY mini mill is light years beyond a milling attachment on a lathe...
 
Huh? Just because it is sold with the SB name on it does not mean it is intended for use on a lathe. SB sells milling machines as well.

Perhaps your confusion is that the company is named 'South Bend Lathe'?

allan

Allan, I believe you have it in a nutshell... I searched for a table to go with a SB lathe, saw the words South Bend Lathe and ran with that idea. So I've learned two things with this post... one, a milling attachment is a quaint, and outdated concept and two, I should read more carefully.

Now where were those instructions for that thermonuclear device I was fabricating?
 
Guess it would be logical to wonder how you would use it for radial or top machining parts or both. For part top machining it might be set at 90 degrees flat to a lathe milling slide. Yes using the cross slide for that axis.
For radial work on the OD of the part likely you would need to raise and lower so again a lathe vertical milling slide would be needed and perhaps an angle plate making a table off the slide.
The lathe does not snub up the table axis travel like a mill does so direction of cutting tool and lighter cuts may be needed.
For a one part production set up a rotating table with index is the berries.

The mill slide with a vise can put in key ways and flats in smaller shafts so with not having a mill or the mill set up on another job it is handy

REF: google lathe milling slide.

Agree a mill can take the place if a drill press then do DP and mill work..But limited space and cash you do what you can.
 
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please do not try to mill with a drill press. Good way to get hurt.

Get a mill,even one of the cheap mill/drill as already suggested is good enough to start with and learn on, if you can find a cheap round column used grab it as they make wonderful drill presses and are perfectly capable of light milling, I had one that I kept even after I got a real knee mill for drilling and and light duty stuff.

But even even a tinY mini mill is light years beyond a milling attachment on a lathe...
If you are smart about things you could turn a drill press into a machine that resembles a mill. Loctite a 2mt setscrew endmull holder into the spindle, fill the round column with cement, brace the table and lock the quill into the head. It won't be good, and yes it would be dangerous if you don't think about things. Just like anything in the shop.
 
If you are smart about things you could turn a drill press into a machine that resembles a mill. Loctite a 2mt setscrew endmull holder into the spindle, fill the round column with cement, brace the table and lock the quill into the head. It won't be good, and yes it would be dangerous if you don't think about things. Just like anything in the shop.
by the time you have done all that and have a kind of mill with garbage spindle barings you coudl get a cheap mini mill and at least know its built for a bit of side load even if its only for light cuts. the one i have is 90% my only drill press now cause i have a bridgeport and all my R8 tooling and vices can be swapped between my mini "mill" and my bridgeport
in fact i use the mini to do nasty wood work that saves me from dirtying up my BP. things liek fly cutting wood blocks for knife handles (things that are flat and square line up much better)
its 80-90lbs of cheap but handy tool that has no US made option LMS is the closest thing but they still import nearly all the parts to build it
i have never milled on my SB9 so i cant judge on the cuts liek the others but i woudl never cobble together a drill press mill les there was no other option at all
 
by the time you have done all that and have a kind of mill with garbage spindle barings you coudl get a cheap mini mill and at least know its built for a bit of side load even if its only for light cuts. the one i have is 90% my only drill press now cause i have a bridgeport and all my R8 tooling and vices can be swapped between my mini "mill" and my bridgeport
in fact i use the mini to do nasty wood work that saves me from dirtying up my BP. things liek fly cutting wood blocks for knife handles (things that are flat and square line up much better)
its 80-90lbs of cheap but handy tool that has no US made option LMS is the closest thing but they still import nearly all the parts to build it
i have never milled on my SB9 so i cant judge on the cuts liek the others but i woudl never cobble together a drill press mill les there was no other option at all
I'm not saying a converted drill press would make a good mill, however it could be done and many hobby guys use them somewhat successfully.

Radial ball bearings are designed to take side loads, so for milling they're adequate in this scenario for what light cuts we'd be taking in soft metals. Cheap drill presses as they come factory actually use their spindle bearings in the wrong way to start. (They do not have angular contact bearings.)

The real trick is getting an endmill to run with little runout, or it's useless.

(Please turn on autocorrect)

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
 
other problems are holding an endmill in a drill chuck and not haveing the chuck mounted into the spindle with a draw bar. side load and vibration then work the chuck out of the taper and crash the drill.
 








 
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