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Rotary Table Chuck Adapter Plate
- Thread starter YYCHM
- Start date
I agree with Dabbler. The trick is how to securely mount it especially for the interrupted cut. On this (aluminum) chuck mount plate I used threaded holes with bolts in from behind because they didn't detract from this particular end result. I've also seen setups with edge clamps which mitigates the holes which are on my make-it list. Either way, finish one face, flip, re-mount & repeat 2nd face. Standoffs as shown is one way to finish the OD edge in the last step. But it needs to be rigid setup & light cuts. You don't want that disc coming loose.
Even though its HRS you may see some distortion. Try & get well through the skin & aim for relatively equal removal both sides.
Even though its HRS you may see some distortion. Try & get well through the skin & aim for relatively equal removal both sides.
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historicalarms
Ultra Member
Craig, I had to turn a lot of square plating into round slabs for that big canon you've seen and if I may offer a suggestion it would be to grind (just a shop grinder) those points down to almost finished dia. before trying to make it "round" with your lathe. I found that the increase in dia of the work-piece much diminished the cut I could take even with my 1340 sized lathe and the "interrupted cut" just magnified the effort needed (dabbler is very right about interrupted cuts being murder on carbide inserts). I just think your small lath will be taxed to the limit trying to remove much more than a minimum from the plate.
You can probably use a similar hold-down concept on your RT. Your screw heads need to be beneath the surface depth of course, but maybe you position them where they can eventually become features like slots if it bothers you, or maybe align to a chuck back plate bolt pattern. I'm going to make something like that with a grid array of threaded holes for fixturing on the RT.
Modifying the face plate was the first thing that crossed my mine. Alas, the piece is just too small to mount without making a mounting adapter. The slots on the face plate already extend to flange where it attaches to the spindle.
I'm going to try using the RT. Probably less drama going that way anyways. I would image turning off the corners would be a pretty bumpy ride on a mini lathe.
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I tried turning the piece in both directions. CCW appeared to cause the least drama.
RPM? 1/4-1/3 of low gear RPM what ever that amounts to. I've got to get one of those hand held RPM things someday.
Brand spanking new end mill(s).
Stickout? The only stickout is material I'm trying to remove.
Been locking X, Y, and Z every pass. Well..... I forgot to lock X once, but that was immediately obvious.
"Clamp it higher"? What do you mean by that?
Mike has a point the bolts do look crooked - is the table held down tight? And yes by stick out we mean your end mill is sticking way out of the tool holder or collet. It should stick out as little as possible and move the head down closer to the part. for RPM your speed should be SFM for steel * 4 / tool diameter which = (100 * 4 )/ 0.5 = 200 <edit> 800 RPM.
Read up on speeds and feeds and also conventional vs climb milling. Your machine is probably not suitable for climb milling. nor is mine.
Read up on speeds and feeds and also conventional vs climb milling. Your machine is probably not suitable for climb milling. nor is mine.
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Clamping bolts are straight. Image illusion.
Tool stickout….ya I can reduce that. Is that what janger is referring to as stickout?
Not creating a shoulder, turning a square into a disk. I roughed out a octagon on the saw first. I need to mill off all that extra material.
There is some slop in this RT that I haven't figure out how to eliminate. It's supposed to be backlash adjustable but the only screw on it doesn't have any effect? Of course instructions weren't supplied with it.
Bofobo
M,Mizera(BOFOBO)
You and I have pretty much the same stuff, that being said, the tool is undoubtedly deflecting and i would have used only the side of the end mill for a full depth of cut rather than a 2 step process. Sometimes the formula for cutter speed is out the door, in the hass i used we would have the base program brought in all according to the math and as the first parts were made we would adjust feeds and tool speeds to find the best results, perhaps you need faster ...... with my current upgraded motor my speed reader tops out at 500rpm i only made one belt groove thus far. you are running oem and i never used low gear in oem configuration because its a small mill and smaller tooling spins faster than large tooling.
Looks like you want to finish the part to final OD first.
You state that your face plate has slots all the way to the edge but is not large enough to clamp the part - no problem!
Use double sided tape and some thin shim stock (maybe 0.020” or so) between the part, shim stock and the face plate. Make sure the part is centered on the faceplate using your center hole to dial it in (actually, since you already have a partially machine OD, use it). Use your tailstock with a live center to push the part against your face plate. It is called friction driving / turning. Works great.
. The fellow uses single sided masking tape only - that works, but double sided tape is better.
Once you have a good OD, use your 4-jaw to hold it and machine a face. Flip it and do the other face. Done.
You state that your face plate has slots all the way to the edge but is not large enough to clamp the part - no problem!
Use double sided tape and some thin shim stock (maybe 0.020” or so) between the part, shim stock and the face plate. Make sure the part is centered on the faceplate using your center hole to dial it in (actually, since you already have a partially machine OD, use it). Use your tailstock with a live center to push the part against your face plate. It is called friction driving / turning. Works great.
Once you have a good OD, use your 4-jaw to hold it and machine a face. Flip it and do the other face. Done.
The tail stock in the video is an integral part of the setup, so don't neglect that. It helps support the in feed force & more importantly helps prevent the blank from coming off the face plate. I notice he said 'light cuts' & notice his blank was very close to circular to begin with with the laser cut blank. Interrupted cutting can impart a lot of torque & that has to be met by the strength of the adhesive. I'd say if you are going to do this in the lathe, try & complete your RT/milling job to get the excess off & at least you are circular. Unfortunately with the TS center in place, it makes surfacing the disc a bit more challenging because you can only go so far, but there are ways around that too.
Rudy, he didn't mention his face plate dimensions but said it was too small, so I doubt his lathe will accommodate a 4J to grip the edge.
But YYC, just looking at your bolt-up on the RT, you are saying those studs wont fit the slots of your faceplate? Or is the issue your lathe cant accommodate the overall diameter of the plate in your swing?
Back to milling, one day you should try a roughing end mill. People get the idea they are only for production & hogging. But they are actually well suited to light duty hobby machines too. They make a different chip that removes material more efficiently than conventional & is actually easier on your machine. Save your good EMs for finishing.
Rudy, he didn't mention his face plate dimensions but said it was too small, so I doubt his lathe will accommodate a 4J to grip the edge.
But YYC, just looking at your bolt-up on the RT, you are saying those studs wont fit the slots of your faceplate? Or is the issue your lathe cant accommodate the overall diameter of the plate in your swing?
Back to milling, one day you should try a roughing end mill. People get the idea they are only for production & hogging. But they are actually well suited to light duty hobby machines too. They make a different chip that removes material more efficiently than conventional & is actually easier on your machine. Save your good EMs for finishing.
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4" plate on a 6 1/4" FP. The min distance between the FP slots is 3 1/2". I probably could have made it fit, but I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough slop left to center the plate on the FP.
The RT approach to this project went from bad to worse.
Too much slop in that RT. LOTS of chatter and vibration. I tried low gear low speed, low gear high speed, high gear low speed and warp drive. Nothing seemed to help. Note the 1/2" shank cutter set close to the quill.
I'm kind of disappointed with this RT. Is it junk or are RT's not made for this kind of operation?
In any event, I gave up and moved it to the lathe where things went much better.
Here I'm facing off after repairing the damage done to the outside circumference by the RT. Looks much better now.
I hear every one on the interrupted cuts and carbide tipped tools now. Didn't have a HSS to use. First pass chipped one. Not bad enough to abandon it though.
So the questions now is.....
How do I transfer the bolt pattern on this chuck onto the adapter plate?
The image is deceiving. The plate is 4" dia and the chuck is 3" dia.
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You could take the mounting studs out. Lay a piece of paper on top of the chuck and rub it with a blunt object or a pencil (tape the paper to the side of the chuck so it does not move, if required). You will get an imprint of the features (including hole location) on the paper. Transfer the paper onto your mounting plate and center it. Use a center punch to mark out the holes. Drill a little oversize so you can fine adjust the chuck to the plate. Mark one hole on the chuck as reference and the same one on the adapter as well.
You could also use the rotary table on your mill, assuming you had the bolt circle radius of the mounting studs and they were symmetrically 120* apart.
You could also use Tranfer Pins (aka blind hole spotters) if you had them or made them.
Just out of curiosity: how are you planning to mount the chuck onto the adapter plate?
You could also use the rotary table on your mill, assuming you had the bolt circle radius of the mounting studs and they were symmetrically 120* apart.
You could also use Tranfer Pins (aka blind hole spotters) if you had them or made them.
Just out of curiosity: how are you planning to mount the chuck onto the adapter plate?