What's new
What's new

Why does my rotary table crank have an extra knob.

Bill D

Diamond
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Location
Modesto, CA USA
I bought a used Dayton rotary table. The hand wheel to rotate the table has one full size hand crank and 180 degrees apart it has a small nub of a handle. Roughly the same diameter but only 3/4" long. Not really long enough to grab. I suppose I could use it if the other handle was blocked, but not really practical. It is no way heavy enough to help balance the hand wheel.
Bill D.

This is what I bought. Yes the shaft was bent but mostly the crank attachment portion outside the bearing housing. I bent it back to almost straight and lapped it into the plain bearings.

Rotary Table, 10-3/8 in, 38NF09 | eBay
 
That second handle looks like the aftermarket handles I have purchased from McMaster. My guess is the previous owner didn’t like the nub of a handle provided by the manufacturer so he added a useful handle. Leave it be or if the nub bothers you.... whack off the nub.
 
We have a couple rotary's like that and a couple lathe cross slides and compounds with similar feature. The nub is for your thumb to push while holding the other handle for a little extra steadiness. At least that's how I've always used them.
 








 
Back
Top