Jergens ball lock subplate

I have a Jergens ball lock system and I am planing to make a sub plate. I planned to make a aluminum subplate about 20mm thick. I read several thread and have made one about 15 years ago. I recently saw a mill were the pocket for thr jergens ball locks was machined into the oem steel table. It got me thinking... Is this a good or terrible idea?

No corrosion issues, no flatness problems, I get to keep the T slots,

well if you use the jergens receiver for the ball lock how are you going to press fit it from the other side? go to jergens site and see the receiver schematic and you will know what i'm talking about.

I would build a sub plate to house the female receivers, then t-nut that to the OE table. You should have no issues if you dust cut the face of the subplate after it has been t-nutted to the table.

Then if you sell the machine, no harm no foul. An OE table is a terrible thing to waste....

The Jergens ball locks are all mountable and accessible to the spindle side of your subplate so there should be no issues with accessing them. If you machine the pockets after you mount the subplate, then dust cut the face you will be as square and parallel as your machine is true.

If you've really thought it out and can't see a negative I don't see why not. I could see doing it myself, but I'll let you go first.

Some mill manufacturers are already putting in Jergen sockets on the bed alongside the T slots.

The positions are already programed into the parameters.

I would buy or build a receiver plate with Jergens Ball Lock receivers, but make it the same pattern that Jergens uses so the plates will be interchangeable.

Here's a few pix of mine.



Btw, No pic of the Magnos Chucks yet only a solid model.

If you are sure that's what you want, go for it.

Some people think a table is a sacred thing that can never be touched, but I personally would mill my receiver bushing bores right into the table if it was my machine. The biggest potential snag I can think of would be if you mess up on the bores for some reason. With a plate the situation is salvageable. On a table it would be more.....complicated.

I would recommend to make sure you want the ball-lock system though. The heads on the shanks are big, and the hardware is fairly expensive. I have used them and like them, but at this point I think precision shoulder-type bolts does the same thing and is much more economical. And if you went that route I think a subplate with a grid pattern would be better, for if threaded holes get messed up over time.

I would make sure to plan ahead and use a fixture locating system that would work for horizontal and vertical machines, so if you grow in the future your current fixtures can be used on new machines without modification.

Brian

brian.pallas said:

I think precision shoulder-type bolts does the same thing and is much more economical.

Click to expand...

The main problem with a shoulder bolt is the clearance required to prevent galling when tightening. Twisting motion is much more likely to cause galling compared to straight axial motion. Clearance prevents this, but the greater the clearance, the lower the repeatability.