Part Three Heavy Duty Turntable

Lonestarr

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My custom built turntable only has 3 parts....The rotary plate, the bearing carrier from a vehicle and the base. I turned the plate from 1 inch steel stock, I put indexing scrolls on the surface to center the vise, this has worked out well. The finger detentes around the edge idea was copied from a European design.....It turned out to be a bunch of little chip traps....Don't think I would do that again...The bearing carrier can be picked up free at body shops as take offs.....
So, with a little work you can get into a very nice turntable for next to nothing.....one thing the grease in the bearings needs to be washed out and 10 weight oil used for free turning......

Hope you like it Bob
 

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Dave London

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Nice job dittos on the chip traps:beatup:. Also seems you have a nice supply of Purple Heart. One o my favorites :thumbsup:
 

monk

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you make me resent the fact that i don't own a metal lathe. i just got a junky old delta lathe for wood. it was 2k well spent, though
 

Lonestarr

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Monk When I retired many years ago I outfitted a complete machine/welding shop. I never have regretted it, I use it everyday....

Regards Bob
 

Lonestarr

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Good point Jerry, one nice thing about using a bearing carrier like this is it has a dirt seal on top of the bearings. The bottom is sealed in a pocket in the wood base. I made this turntable in 2012 and have not had a dirt problem yet.....Thanks for the reply Bob
 

atexascowboy2011

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I LIKE MASS !

I have yet to see an apparatus that you have made that wasn't kickass !

My turntable plate is 3/4" SS.
I have an 1&1/2" SS round that I'd like to mount, but it's already overkill at 3/4".
But, the spinning mass of a big hunk of steel like that just has to feel great !
 

monk

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Monk When I retired many years ago I outfitted a complete machine/welding shop. I never have regretted it, I use it everyday....

Regards Bob
like an idiot, i sold off my metal lathe. at the time had no place to put it. i also had to pass on a bridgeport. it had the v s drive and a dro on all axes. could have got it for 600 bucks. joe oppurnockity, the piano tuner, said it right, " oppurnockity only tunes once" !
 

atexascowboy2011

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My turntable is mounted on a live center tailstock, making it adjustable up and down for fine tuning and the use of various height vises.
Smoooth!
 

rodsta

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You might drill those dimples into holes and they wouldn't collect up the chips. Mine is an old cast iron water cover with holes. Works well. Nice design on the whole turntable by the way. Sure is purty.....

Rod
 

Indy Joneds

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does the turntable spin effortlessly lonestar or does it need a certain amount of force before it turns because of the weight ? beautiful job by the way
 

atexascowboy2011

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Rodsta, then you'd have a mess of chips inside the base with the bearings. Bearings being jacked up and locked up. What a mess !
 

don hicks

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does the turntable spin effortlessly lonestar or does it need a certain amount of force before it turns because of the weight ? beautiful job by the way

I too am curious as to how freely the bearing rotates. I saw a youtube video with a Shimpo turntable that just kept on spinning after a push. I made a turntable using a LEE Valley lazy susan bearing , it works OK but, too get it to spin really freely leaves the bearing slack, take out the slack and resistance goes up a lot. I have the gear to make one , just haven't come up with the right bearing yet. Your idea might be the ticket.Compliments on the design and machine work, if it works as good as it looks, it should be a keeper.
Cheers
Don
 

dogcatcher

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Abilene TX Ruidoso NM
My turntable is mounted on a live center tailstock, making it adjustable up and down for fine tuning and the use of various height vises.
Smoooth!

Thanks, you saved me a bundle of cash. Using one of these I can attach a lathe faceplate or even one of my lathe chucks. If I want it centered I can use my independent jaws or the self centering one. Add a heavy chunk of flat steel to the face plate or chuck for weight will be easy.

I already have everything, the live center tailstock adapter, the face plates, the chucks etc..



If anyone has a wood lathe, they have all of the parts except this one for $35 plus shipping. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LTCA18.html
 

Lonestarr

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Richland Washington
Thanks everybody....Kind words, I appreciate your comments....The double row axle bearings turn very easy but when you add a grease seal it adds a little friction. This is the trade off for never having to worry about chips and dirt....I keep a little machine oil on the seal so it is no problem... If you look at the expensive turntables you see a very low vise height which gives you plenty of room under the scope.....Since both my ball vise and turntable were made by me I found that if I gave away any more room under the scope I would have to stretch my neck to see through the scope.....One plus to all this is you sit very straight up and down.....

The tail stock bearing adapter with a threaded shaft looks to be a good Idea.....Good thinking

Bob
 

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