Refurbishing an Index Rotary Table

I recently acquired a 12" Index brand rotary table. This table is pre Wells index in that it is labeled "Index Machine & Tool Works" with the Jackson Michigan address. It's in useable condition, but before putting it to work I was going to at least clean off the years of dirt and gunk and lube it. I was also thinking while it was apart it might be appropriate to surface grind .010" to .020" off the top to eliminate some of the past indiscretions. Fortunately I've never had to attempt to grind the top of my other rotary tables so I'm not sure if it's something that can or should be done. Any advice on the subject would be appreciated.

I would also like to know if anyone could lead me in the direction of any publications like parts list or owners manuals concerning this unit.

That's a nice old RT.

Before doing any milling or grinding on the top I would make an attempt to see just how square it is to the vertical axis. Make the table top square to that axis and then check that the bottom of the base is parallel to the table top.

Nice RT. Were it me, I'd strip, clean it, and measure wear. I'd scrape the bearing surface back to parallel with base on both base casting and the table with a reasonable bearing ppi. I'd want the center hole truely vertical. Only after that's done would I look at the top, and unless it's more than a few thou out from the parralel and flat would I grind (or preferably mill) it flat first and then scrape the top into whatever tolerance and ppi you need/ like.

Or just use it and live with it.

L7

I picked up a similar table made by Gorton, it had been knocked around quite abit, but all I needed to do was knock down the burrs with a scraper, and lightly stoning, the old table still had great accuracy.

I bought one of these last fall -- just Index, not Wells-Index -- and am also interested in any documentation available. I want to tear it down for cleaning, inspection and repair, and will feel my way along if need be, but a parts diagram would be helpful.

Thanks!

Best of luck on your search for documentation. I've been looking since I purchased the table in 2019 with little success. About the only thing I've found so far is a similar one for sale on eBay. In that case it also had an indexing capability. Other than that the cupboard has been bare. I did however disassemble mine for inspection and cleaning. All in all I was impressed with the condition of all the internal gears and bearings. I did have to make a spanner wrench to remove the top plate. It was a fairly simple affair, and didn't take much time.

I've used it on several occasions over the last couple years and have been happy with the results. It's a beast to move around, but a joy to use once in place.

If I do happen across any documentation I'll either post it here of drop a PM to anyone interested. I don't hold out much hope for finding anything, but as the old saying goes, "Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut"