Advance rotary cross slide height and rigidity

Hi everyone

I have a van Norman 26 mill with a factory installed 7" riser. With the mill head in horizontal position, the riser prevents smaller cutters from getting close to the table.

I recently purchased an advance rotary cross slide table which I think is 11" based on the photos. I'll pick it up next week. It dawned on me that the height of the rotary table may actually solve my height issue with the mill riser.

So, a couple of questions:

- can anyone with an 11" advance rotary cross slide table tell me what the height is?

- with all the gibs locked, would I see any significant loss of rigidity compared to having my work or vise on the mill table? i.e. would it be reasonable to just leave the advance on the mill table permanently, and bolt my vice, or work, to the rotary? I don't generally work on big parts, so I wouldn't need the full table very often

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Lee

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I think that my Advance is a 12" and I don't see any problems with heavier cuts.

We have two 15" Advance Rotary Cross Slides on two Series 2 BPs. They are 10" tall plus the vice. We have Kurt 6" vices on them. Many years ago I worked at a shop that had the 12" versions and I think they were about the same height. As far as rigidity goes, would depend on the set up, size of cut, material, etc just like any mill. But overall they're pretty rigid. They rarely come off the machines. If you've never used a cross slide rotary before there is a short learning curve but you'll be amazed at what you can do with them. I've used the Troyke and Advance tables and found the Advance to be more accurate.

Awesome, thanks!

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