The Home Machinist!

I have a grizzly 0704 milling machine. I need a rotary table and would like to use a 8" do you think I could use this size table or would I be better off with 6" table?



""

I would go as big as I could for ease of clamping.
Lonnie

It's not too large unless you can't fit it or you can't lift it.

And you can always use a crane.

Steve

I agree with the statement, but there are practical limits. I love my 12" Troyke VH, but it's a beast to mess with, and eats a LOT of Z space. One of my more used pieces area small horizontal relatively light weight rotary table. it's adequate to most of my needs (when those needs are horizontal), easily managed physically, and takes little z space. Being horizontal only, it is much lower in profile and a lot lighter making it easier to manage. But likely my most used piece of tooling (particularly for vertical rotary work) is a 6" Hartford "spacer" VH indexer. Very nice piece to use, again easy to handle physically, and doesn't take up too much space. But it's a spacer, not rotary crank, and that can be a problem which can push me to loading up the ~150lb Troyke. Another favorite for other reasons is my 12" top slide Troyke rotary table. SO handy and nice to use, but oh so hard to move and takes up most of the envelope in my standard 2J (I really need a spacer!). So if I only had one, I think I would chose a good 8" VH "Super Spacer". Convenient indexing, rotary crank, weight and size that is not completely miserable, and rigidity to take some decent loads as needed. If you do smaller work, or have smaller machines, then the same would go for a 6" unit. But I will say that the 6" table on my little Hartford can be unbelievably cramped for setups even on smaller stuff. I usually keep a 6" PB 4 jaw on it which works well for most setups, and I wouldn't let it go under any reasonable circumstance, but it's at a pretty much hard limit for me on small size acceptability...

thank's for the info.

I have three tables: 4", 8", and 10". The 10" job has to have the chuck removed in order for me to move it. It has been sitting on a cabinet since I got the 8" table. The 8" job is not much fun to carry either. Its default location is on the mill next to the vise. Very convenient, and usually not in the way.

My 8" table is made for a 6" 3-jaw chuck, attached with an adaptor plate. I put an 8" 4-jaw on it. Instead of using a plate, I made my own T-nuts and attached the chuck directly to the table. I don't have the convenience of a scroll chuck, but I'm also not wasting an 8" table on a 6" chuck, and the 4-jaw is versatile. Also, the plate would take up half an inch of height.

If you want to be able to move the table easily, consider a 6" table. If you plan to leave it on the mill most of the time, weight is less of an issue.

If you want more room to clamp stuff, you can put a plate on top of the table. Someone who knows more than I do can tell you whether this is a good idea.

I have an 8" rotary, the cheap grizzly one, and I bought an 8" 4 jaw chuck and mounted it to it. It is extremely handy. I have a 3617 mill..

When I was shopping, I had many of the same questions and ended up with a 10" Phase II.

That said, it will take my engine hoist, or something attached to the ceiling, to lift it off and on.

So do pay attention to weight!

I have 3 rotary tables, an 8" Yuasa, a 14" Troyke, and a 20" Troyke. The most used is the 8" but when needed the others have come in handy. The 20" lives on a die lift cart when not in use, the other two I use the overhead hoist to move them. The 8" almost always has a 6" chuck bolted to it. I had my 8" rotary when all I had was an Enco mill drill and it was a tight fit at times and it was not until I got a bigger mill that I could really use it with the chuck mounted to it.

Our 20" Troyke lives on a roller table when not in use. When needed, table rolls over to machine (which ever one) and machine table is adjusted so that heights match. Then rotary is slid across the gap, wiping under side in process.

I have a lift table, bought at Harbor Freight that holds my 12" rotary table and other pieces of equipment. I do like Herb Kephart does. Table goes up, knee comes down and just slide it across. Easy Peasy!