lathe rotary table factory

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A rotary table is a really nice accessory to have for your mill, but one that you can delay purchasing for a while until you master the basic milling operations. The rotary table is driven by a worm-gear and is accurately calibrated in degrees and fractions of a degree.

Finding a rotary table of the right size for the mini-mill has been a lille problematic. 8-inch tables are really much too big. Even a 6-inch is pushing the limits. I have one from Grizzly. It is well made and works well, but mounting it to the table was a little bit of a challenge.

The first rotary table I purchased was made in India and was of really poor quality. I returned it to the vendor for a refund. Unfortunately, the return shipping on a heavy object like this is not cheap, so be careful what you buy!

Sherline makes a beautifully finished 4″ rotary table which I got to see first hand at Cabin Fever 2001. I was very impressed by the high quality of this item, but It was a little small for my needs.

The table I currently use is a Grizzly G1049 6-inch model. As of 03/02 it sells for $199 plus shipping. It is well-made, and I have been very satisfied with it, although it is a little large for the mini-lathe as you will see in the photos below.

After cleaning off the packing grease with kerosene, a painbrush and a rag, I mounted it on the mini-mill table using 3/8″ carriage bolts that I also use for my 3 1/2″ Grizzly milling vise. The center hole is a #2 Morse taper.

The RT is really a little oversize for the mini-mill, but still provides enough clearance to be practical. I did not feel that the weight was beyond the capabilities of the mini-mill table.

Here’s a picture showing the table with a 12″ rule and a 1/2″ mill in an end mill adaptor. Mounting the mill in a collet would provide another 2″ or so of working room. The head is at the top of the column. Also shown is the 3″ chuck from the 7×10 mini lathe. As you can see, there is adequate clearance for most operations.

The casting has mounting lugs for both horizontal or vertical mounting. This makes it potentially much more flexlible, but the table of the mini mill is small compared to the RT which makes mounting the rotary table in the vertical orientation a little tricky.

One problem is that the lower edge of the handwheel for the RT is lower than the base of the RT, so it must be positioned off the edge of the table. If the RT is positioned perpendicular to the X-axis, the mounting holes in the RT are outside the limits of the T-slots in the mill table.

For the price, I was pretty impressed by the quality of the table. I would rate it somewhat lower in quality than the Sherline 4″, but much better than the Victor 6″.

The handwheel is satin-finish steel with cleanly etched divisions. Each full rotation of the handwheel rotates the table by 4 degrees. A brochure included with the RT illustrates an indexing plate accessory which can apparently be attached to the RT, but I’m not sure whether or not Grizzly sells this accessory.

An eccentric cam between the handwheel and the table permits you adjust the meshing of the worm-screw to minimize backlash. A screw with a T-handle locks the cam in place once it is set.

Here’s a nice little 4″ imported rotary table offered by LMS for $134.95. They offer several other models, including the Sherline 4″. I don’t have any first-hand experience with this one, so I can’t really comment on quality or capabilities.

A rotary table used in conjunction with a mill allows a machinist to produce virtually any part they can design. Sherline’s rotary table is a precision piece of equipment that has been designed to work with their vertical milling machines. However, it can be used on any mill whenever the small 4-inch size would be an advantage. The only limits are size, not complexity.

The table is 2″ high and 4″ (100mm) in diameter. The main components have been machined from solid bar stock steel, and the complete unit weighs seven pounds. The table has been engraved with a laser, giving sharp and precise lines every 5°, numbered every 15°. These lines are calibrated with the 72-tooth worm gear that is driven by the handwheel. The handwheel is divided into 50 parts, making each line on the handwheel 1/10°. This allows a circle to be divided into 3600 increments without interpolation. Seventy-two revolutions of the handwheel rotate the table one revolution.

The rotary tables can hold more weight when they are not under a continuous load. Click on the Video tab above to see examples of different weights and uses for our rotary tables.

The table T-slots are identical to those used on the Sherline mill and lathe, making the vast line of Sherline tooling available for use with this product. Two hold-down clamps and T-nuts are provided with the table. Also included is an adapter that allows Sherline’s 3- and 4-jaw chucks to be screwed directly to the rotary table. An optional right-angle attachment is available (P/N 3701) to mount the table in the vertical position to increase its versatility further. With the table mounted vertically, an optional adjustable right-angle tailstock (P/N 3702) can be mounted to the mill table. It is used to support and stabilize the other end of long work held in a chuck or otherwise attached to the rotary table.