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10" rotary table Kamakura - $675 (Clayton)

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Perhaps a stupid question, but when looking one of these over, what easy tests can be made for wear/usability?

1. backlash in the rotation pinion/gear? What is typical?
2. slop in the table, either up or down, or sideways?
3. rocking of the base when unbolted from the table?
4. Parallel test of the platform relative to the table where it is mounted (when bolted)?

Any other things? With this being a horizontal only table, it may not attract as much attention. For those of us with universal mills, I suppose the vertical mode is less important as we can get that from the horizontal spindle. Or am I missing something.
 
1. On a lot of the RTs, the pinion gear is on a cam. It serves to take out backlash and also disengage it so the table can be rotated freely. I think the big plunger facing us in the picture is the engage/disengage mechanism.

2. Might be very hard to detect as there is a large surface area in contact with each other; any oil will cause the two parts to ”wring together”. If I were to detect any slop during inspection, I would either pass on it or the price would have to drop dramatically as now I am looking at a refurb project.

3. That could be a good check; I would at least look for nicks and dings on the underside as well.

4. That’s a good test. Might be hard to do unless the table it is bolted to is known to be flat and is of sufficiently large dimension to move a surface gauge all the way around the table (or you have a long enough arm on it to reach all the way across).

It can be mounted vertically with a suitable angle block.

I would also rotate it both ways through 360* and feel for “rough” or tight spots.

I generally think that RTs are a “safe” buy unless it is blatantly obvious the thing was left in the back 40 for a number of years and it is totally corroded or has obviously been abused.
 
Very helpful. Thanks. I think someone else also observed this: there is a run of rotary tables being sold right now. Time to scratch that itch!
 
Birkhoff said:
Very helpful. Thanks. I think someone else also observed this: there is a run of rotary tables being sold right now. Time to scratch that itch!
Click to expand...

Yeah, they can be just the thing for guys like us, but are kind of buggy whips in most commercial shops (cnc).
 
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