turntable info

R

Ray Cover

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
1,012
Location
Missouri
J

jldj

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
87
Hi Ray, I bought one almost identical to the one in the pic. Not knowing anything about turntables I realized after I got it that it wouldn't be high enough for the way I've got my scope set up. I put it away and chalked it up as a loss. I never put a ball on it until now. It supports the weight o.k. and spins o.k. too ( I guess); it's a noisy sucker. you'd have to figure a way to secure it to move the block around on it. Felt doesn't seem to move well - leather pad moves just a little better - but with a little effort. I guess as cheap as it is - you probably couldn't expect much better. I might even try to make a stand for it and give it a try. Jack
 
G

gail.m

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
308
Location
Ocala,Fl
I bought the 10" one from bonsaijoe's. It is very smooth and makes no noise whatsoever. I think he is an ebay seller, but has a .com website.
 
Z

zmankay

Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
63
Location
St. Louis, MO
Hi Ray,

After 7 months of using a cheap eBay lazy susan I came across a Shimpo Banding Wheel. Here's their site to see the various models: http://www.shimpoceramics.com/pdf/banding_wheels.pdf

They are available through various outlets but I found the best deal at Kentucky Mudworks which is a pottery concern. The current cost is $56 and they offer free S&H, which is a pretty good deal because the model I bought BW-22L weighs 11 pounds. For me it is the right height with my set-up and the enclosed ball bearings will spin forever. It is very smooth. Depending on your setup, perhaps a teflon sheet could be used to ease moving it around for centering purposes. Here is their site and their prices for each model. http://www.kentuckymudworks.com/equipment/bandingwheels.html#p80

Granted this thing isn't as nice as a positioning turntable but then again its $56 and it will serve very well for anyone just getting their feet wet w/o investing a ton of money.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Hope this hepls and take care,

Jim
 
C

Christian DeCamillis

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2006
Messages
639
Location
Traverse City, Michigan
Ray,
Why don't you get a couple of the ones Chris Malouf had a link to on Steve's forum. They are cast iron and have ball bearings. They were only 80 dollars. They are made of cast iron and heavy. Vibration is the nemesis of engraving. Cast iron absorbs vibration and shock better than any steel there is. It would help with the total mass of a vise, so long as it's not sitting on rubber or something that delievers shock back to the source. I still don't understand why the holders for vises are made from rubber. Cast iron would be a much better choice. In fact old vices were always made from cast iron. Large mills lathes shapers etc... are still made of cast iron. The reson isn't only cost. they absorb shock and vibration like nothing else. Why is an anvil made of cast iron the worst thing to have.? because the energy is absorbed and not sent back to the piece being forged. Chris
 
KatherinePlumer

KatherinePlumer

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2007
Messages
235
Location
Oak Run, CA
I'll vouch for the Shimpo banding wheels too. I have one on a drill press stand. Love love love it! Incredibly smooth, totally silent, and what a fabulous color! ;) With a teflon pad on top, the vise slides around just fine even though this has a grooved surface.





-Katherine
 
R

rod

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
1,609
Location
Mendocino. ca., and Scotland
I have tried this one of Katherine's,

It is super smooth and easy to spin about $85 for potters.

Unlike lazy susan's this one has a central bearing and not a ton of small balls on the periphery.

It is good!

Rod
 
C

Christopher Malouf

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jun 19, 2007
Messages
2,037
Location
5mi from the nearest Dunkin Donuts in Tennessee
I have not tried the Bonzai turntable nor the Shimpo cast iron turntable.
As an entry level turntable, I'm sure either one is great. .... and "Entry-level" always equates to "replacement" when you get better.

Until I have tested one by trying everything from pounding inlay materials on it to fine-shading gold, then I wouldn't spend a dime on one as it may very well end up on my private island of "Misfit Engraving Tools" .... an island now over-populated because of both my own crackpot schemes as well as the fact that I made the mistake of listening to manufacturer product reviews.

I would really like to see how well, and how long a center bearing turntable lasts with a 35 pound vise rotating on its' outer edge as it would need to for any gun barrel or large, bolstered knife. The thing with any kindof a lazy susan or turntable is that they are basically designed to have the center of mass of any object (or balance of mass of multiple objects) located near or at the center of the table.

I used the GRS turntable for years and I'll never buy another until they do something about the black oxide on the bearing races. I'd buy the $8.00 Bonsai Joe one first.

Yeah ... Steve Lindsay's is ALL steel but so long as your not using it between jobs to farrier horses, or to pattern weld a quick billet under the microscope, you should be fine n' dandy. It's super expensive but it beats having to replace a cheaper one two or three times more or even sooner when debris contaminates the bearings and trashes the races.
 
Last edited:
fegarex

fegarex

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
2,061
Location
Ludington, MI
Hi Chris,
I have a question about your comment about the black oxide on the bearing races. What issue are you having? Being a gunsmith as well as an engraver for many moons I am pretty familar with black oxide. About the only issue you might have is the surface would come out a slight bit rougher out of the tank. Black oxide is nothing but a controlled rust and will slightly etch the surface but I would think a day of roataion would smooth things up. I run into some firearms after blueing (black oxide) that need to be cycled several times to smooth any areas that were once smooth but it usually doesn't take much as the etch is slight.
Rex
 
C

Christopher Malouf

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jun 19, 2007
Messages
2,037
Location
5mi from the nearest Dunkin Donuts in Tennessee
Hi Rex,

Well ... I'm not having an issue any more because I replaced it instead. :)

So I've been told ... the first one I had was finished with a zinc oxide which drove me nuts until it wore off ... now these are black oxide (or some sort of different oxide) which, as it wears slowly off, sticks to the bearings.

The issue I have, and the question I put to GRS, is why in the world were the races dipped? The races should at least have been re-machined and re-polished after. My guess is cost. With the fact that the gap is so large between the two turntable halves, debris is just going to slowly destroy the bearing race anyway and in a couple of years I'll be needing to replace it again for the very same reason.

Yeah, I was gonna try the Brownell's blue remover and re-polish the races but I already had enough time into screwing with it that I should've got the dam thing for free.

... Did I mention it's for sale???? For less than retail cheap!!! Seriously, I don't wanna fix it as it is literally brand new but if it makes it easier for the next guy without me looking like I'm tool bashing then that's ok.
 
Last edited:
maplesm

maplesm

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
245
Location
Hopewell, VA
I am using th same Shimpo Banding Wheel here in the Virgin Islands - the home of rust. It is solid the bearings are sealed and no problem after a year.
 
fegarex

fegarex

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
2,061
Location
Ludington, MI
Chris,
I guess that answers that..
Don't know about zinc oxide.. I wouldn't think black oxide would really "come off" or be an issue but it must be due to the humidity in the bunker...
:)
I don't have one so I can't say but just wondered.
Thanks,
Rex
 
C

Christopher Malouf

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jun 19, 2007
Messages
2,037
Location
5mi from the nearest Dunkin Donuts in Tennessee
Hi Rex,

That's just it .... I'm baffled. It comes off as a brownish stuff right at the contact points. I thought the brownish stuff was cosmoline as there is a rust preventive spray applied after manufacture for storage. Even after using brake cleaner, the stuff is still there until it finally comes off completely. I hate to bring it up on the forum but it is something that needs to be addressed and fixed.

Aside from that, it really is a decent turntable and will last for some time with regular cleaning. ... and that's the key. I would say that engraving motorcycle parts led to my previous turntable's rapid demise. I'll get a bonsai tree table for bike parts and use the better one for the finer work.

I seem to have developed some sort of intollerance to vibration that my eyes pick up through the scope so I had to spend the extra cake for super smoothness. Any platform, that uses an open bearing system, is going to inevitably deteriorate.

A lot of folks don't realize how bad the vibrations can really affect you over time and it definitely has an impact on how much time you can spend at the bench in a week. I'm not necessarily talking about the vibration that gets passed through the table, but the vibrations caused by a poor bearing setup. It would seem that of all the turntables out there, minimizing the vibrations they create is definitely a challenge and we are all different with respect to sensitivity. My search got desperate at one point that I almost bought one of those high dollar, giant aircraft/industrial size, cylindrical closed bearing thrust washers...even a quality control reject would have worked as it don't have to support 45,000 pounds at 15,000 rpms :) Now there's a small opportunity for a young, venturing enterpriser with an affinity for making tools that are hopefully both affordable and perform as expected.

Gotta run ....

Chris
 
Last edited:
fegarex

fegarex

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
2,061
Location
Ludington, MI
I was jabbing you about the bunker thing but that sounds like plain old ordinary rust to me...
Needless to say you have solved to problem another way but it is just a thought.
I was going to get one but I put a thrust bearing under my drill press table and it seems to work fine and gives me a 12" table.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Sponsors

Top