Work stop for rotary table

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On Friday afternoons I try to take some time to do something that make my life better. Today I made a work stop for my rotary table. It's purpose built for the task. I'm drilling and tapping castings on a rotary table. Because the castings (and the pattern) are hand made there are always little variations that don't lend themselves well to indexing. A half a degree here and there becomes very noticeable. To remedy this issue I built a work stop that indexes off one of the features of the casting. In the past I've used other methods but on this run... I think I finally solved it. Simply rotate the part against the stop and lock the table. Drill the hole and repeat two more times (three hole on the diameter, 120 degrees apart). I can now drill all three holes in under a minute. Later I'll tap the holes with a tapmatic. This is a real time saver.Pic 1: Drew the part in Alibre.Pic 2: Cut on plasma table.Pic 3: Bent to shape on the pressPic 4: Test the fit on the rotary tablePic 5: Drilled a hole for the stop bolt Attached Images
Reply:Here are the rest of the photos Pic 6: Tapping the 3/8-16 holePic 7: This is the stop. Yes I cannibalized a cheap hold down. No wonder I never find one when I need one  The T pin comes out allowing the casting to rotate past.Pic 8: Completed and installed.Pic 9: AgainEnjoy! Attached Images
Reply:What a great statement that maybe we all should try "do something to make my life better".  So simple.Great work as usual.
Reply:Hi forhire, I assume your drilling quite a few of those casting to justify making the stop. Looks good. I especially like that cutting table.
Reply:wow, that looks great!! the plasma does such a nice clean job......your bracket is fantastic!!!
Reply:Originally Posted by mattlagoWhat a great statement that maybe we all should try "do something to make my life better".  So simple. Great work as usual.
Reply:I'm doing more castings and the last work stop worked so well I decided to make one that works in the vertical position. This build was a little more involved but I should be ready to crank out some work tomorrow. I wanted to be able to mount the work stop directly to the indexer. I decided to make a part the fits into one of the tangs. Here are a bunch of photos. Enjoy. Attached Images
Reply:Here are the rest of the photos. With this stop I can drill the three holes in the casting very fast. I then can come back with the tapping head and do all three holes in less than a minute and a half including mounting the part.Yeah I know there isn't a hole drilled for the tap yet... I just tore down the horizontal configuration and I'm setting up for the vertical. The tapping head was there to ensure I had clearance for all it's kit. Attached ImagesLast edited by forhire; 02-16-2012 at 03:42 AM.
Reply:Finished drilling and tapping a LOT of holes today. The new work stop worked perfectly and was very fast. A lot faster than cranking the indexer. I was able to drill 3 holes in about 2 minutes and tapped the 3 holes in about a minute. I added a rest to the mechanism allowing it to be flipped out of the way while rotating the casting. I added some plastic tubing allow smoother faster work.  Attached Images
Reply:For Hire, That is good stuff! I am taking a class called the mother machines, Mill , drill and lathe.I go every Tue. evening from 7-10 pm for 10 weeks!My first project is building a water tight cylinder with press fit tolerances.  I'm having a good time learning the machines!  What are the castings for? Theylook like small engine case's to me!AEAD 200LE, Lincoln precision tig 185, Millermatic 251, Spectrum 625 extreme, Victor torch , Smithy 1220LTD. and  Do all C-4 band saw ,  Always adding.
Reply:Originally Posted by houseoffireFor Hire, That is good stuff! I am taking a class called the mother machines, Mill , drill and lathe.I go every Tue. evening from 7-10 pm for 10 weeks!My first project is building a water tight cylinder with press fit tolerances.  I'm having a good time learning the machines!  What are the castings for? They look like small engine case's to me!
Reply:Is it bad if I got paranoid when you were drilling your part directly over the surface on your drillpress?  One shop I worked in, my boss would have had my head if I even knicked the surface (and you could tell prior employees had!) so I would use a UHMW spacer so that I wouldn't have to worry about it, lol.  And bessy clamps on larger parts...small parts weren't bad as I had the surface mounted vice...but I got goosebumps looking at the one picture!  His son was funny.  There was this drillbit divot directly in the center of the surface.  His old man was talking about the surface of the drillpress and mentioned that, to which he (the son) replied "It's a centering divot!"  I laughed inside.  I was afraid to do otherwise...Last edited by mb_welder; 02-17-2012 at 09:06 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by mb_welderIs it bad if I got paranoid when you were drilling your part directly over the surface on your drillpress?
Reply:If you look at the last photo in post #9 you'll notice that the lock on the indexer is missing the knob. The knob has been missing for a few years. This operation requires me to engage and release of the lock hundreds and hundreds of times. After many hours my hand gets sore.  Last night while drilling I decided it was time to make a new knob. So while the auto feed ran holes I split my time on the lathe and whipped out a new knob from scrap. No build photos as I was turning a minute here and there between holes. Even still it didn't take long. My hand is much happier today.  Attached Images
Reply:You get all the fun jobs...I CAN'T STAND those tapping heads......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterYou get all the fun jobs...I CAN'T STAND those tapping heads...
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterYou get all the fun jobs...I CAN'T STAND those tapping heads......zap!
Reply:forhireHave you tried a Snow tap head. I use to supervise a aluminum machining department that made parts for outboard moters. We hade about 20 Snow tap heads in operation each head would average 1500 holes a day. Over a 20 year period I only had one head fail to the point that it was not able to be repaired and that was due to operator abuse. We did preventive maintennce on the tap heads that usualy ment replacing the clutch or collet. If you are looking for a bullet proof tap head look at snow tap heads.
Reply:What's the lube you are using,  I use cutting oil? I would like to find out the product name that you are using.Thanks in advanceGreg
Reply:Originally Posted by Mick120Nice work Forhire.....I'm always tinkering with ways to make my job easier and, the plasma table always gets a workout.That centrifuge of yours looks interesting, when I get more time I'll cruise your site......Looks to be a bonus for bio-diesel.
Reply:I have a set of those same tapping heads.  I haven't used them yet, but what are some of the problems that you are having with them?  I've always used the other style of tapping heads, so these are all new to me.---No good deed goes unpunished---
Reply:.....can't wait to have my floor in my shop.....so o can put various bits of equipment on it  numer one and two prioritys right now j head Bridgeport and an old lathe you have such nice equipment forhire1979 sa 200victor 100several bfh's several pitbulls (for holding down the floor)
Reply:Originally Posted by mebuilditI have a set of those same tapping heads.  I haven't used them yet, but what are some of the problems that you are having with them?  I've always used the other style of tapping heads, so these are all new to me.
Reply:That's looking good! What a smooth work! Cool and nicely done.PlasmaCam CNC cutterLathe and Band SawClamps