Andy
The indexing plate itself is maybe a little bit pricey, at 60 bucks,
but it's also a very convenient size, very light weight and it doesn't
require removal to run the lathe. It tucks very nicely inside the
profile of the gear box and tool rail, keeping it out of the way.
You'll have to fabricate an indexing pin arrangement and I made my own
expanding mandrel so it was a custom fit for the plate and the spindle
hollow.
The indexing plate is offered at
and was originally
designed for the tiny Taig lathe. They told me I was the first 7x--
mini lathe owner to attempt using their plate. I supppose I really
should invite them to see the end results too.
I looked at a number of indexing plate options before I put my money
down and this one just made sense for what I was looking to do.
I'm pretty sure I was just bragging on the higher accuracy of your
version over this one.... LOL
Steve
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., andrew franks <andyf1108@...> wrote:
Steve, I'm a bit "that's near enough" myself, but I'd be interested
to know where you sourced those particular indexing plates. They don't
look expensive, and would involve less calculation, and suffer from
less backlash, than my crude detent in a geartrain (alias "peg in the
cogwheels") method.
Andy
cedge11 <cedge@...> wrote:
I recently enjoyed the thread showing one owner's approach
to indexing
the spindle of a mini lathe. His method was probably a lot more
accurate than my approach since mine doesn't allow for adjustment in
minutes and seconds. This one is a bit more down an dirty, for those
of us who still have the "About" marks on our measuring devices...(grin)
You can have a peek at it at
The commercially available, predrilled indexing plate is mounted on an
homemade expandable mandrel which has an oversized taper designed to
center things against the opening edge of the lathe's outside spindle
end. The opposite end is designed to expand against the spindle
interior when the outer aluminum knob is turned, making for a solidly
centered tool position. This takes only a minor few seconds to install
or remove.
There is a fresh mounting rail on top of the gear box cover where the
hinged indexing pin assembly is mounted for easy removal. The indexing
pin assembly allows the pin to slide up or down as needed to match up
with the desired ring of holes. Pretty basic, but it's saved me hours
of time when I needed to scribe dial marks or create a radial hole
pattern for a small cylinder head.
I'll seldom need more than 60 holes in one of those, but a huge range
of numerical combinations are made quite easy by the indexing plate
and any error induction has not been noticable so far.
Just another way to get there I guess...
Steve
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