rotary table

[lee hawkins 1Participant @leehawkins1]

Hello all,

I have the chance to buy a 10'' rotary table, it has a name plate on the side says Hofmann, it's in very little used condition, it still has all it's paint apart from a couple of scuff marks, excellent condition, it works so smoothly, with no backlash that I can detect , table is unmarked,

I have never used or own a rotary table, I only do hobby stuff but been told that I can buy it for £150 and your getting a bargain at that price

[lee hawkins 1Participant @leehawkins1]

rotary table

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Hoffman is high end gear so probably a good buy if its in good condition and has the index plates etc with it. But 10"? Will you need a hoist to lift it on and off the milling machine? They weigh about 80 lbs or more And is your milling machine big enough to take it?

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

I had a 10" Hoffman rotary table for many year's, an excellent piece of kit. I sold it and bought a Vertex 10" rotary table because I thought the horizontal and vertical clamping feature of the Vertex would be useful. Reality is I have only used the vertical clamping a couple of times and I regret letting the Hoffman go. A 10" rotary is ideal for my Bridgeport and is about as much as I can lift, I have a 14" rotary used every now and again but that required making a wheeled bench to get on the machine.

Go grab the Hoffman at £150 a real steal.

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

At that bargain price I would quickly do the deal,I have a Hoffman universal dividing head and it is a top class piece of equipment. regarding size with rotary tables within reason the bigger the better in order to get more clamping space, I did have a French made really substantial 12 inch rotary table,ex Dufor mill ,very heavy,so with old age I did decide to swap it for a 10 inch Taylor Hobson table,again a top class uk manufacturer in its day, and it is still maneageable and suits the smaller 00 Omnimill i now have.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Um, a rotary table simplifies many operations – whenever a job needs to be turned through an angle: making gears, drilling PCD, cutting wheel spokes, adding flats to rods, cutting arcs, and much else. But it's a waste of space and money unless you need one!

Otherwise sounds like a good buy apart from the size and weight. A 10" table is too big and heavy for smaller milling machines – Bridgeport size and up needed. How much does the table weigh? An elderly weakling like myself might struggle to lift it!

Dave

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

To all you 70 yr old weaklings out there :

Build a lifting platform as I did, problem solved ! Best thing I ever made !

Details in my album and made from cheapy cheapy stuff.

Big milling vises/ rotary tables/ big chucks / loading car/van ? all the same to it.

Does wonders for the back too !

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Sometimes you need the centre of the table under the centre of the cutter on a Vertical mill and that needs a big machine.

It's a steal because no one wants them in industry due to CNC and not many ME's want them either. Great for drilling holes in a circle on a drilling table with a car jack underneath for extra support.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

You need to state the mill you will be fitting it to.

[David-Clark 1Participant @david-clark1]

I heard about someone who had Hoffman. I think it was a rotary table and it needed regressing. Problem was the grease was into three figures.

Just check if it works ok and what grease he uses.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

A Rotary Table, is a very useful item, especially if Division Plates come with it.

The ability to mount wit with the face vertical, under a vertical mill, will allow gear cutting.

A table of the Divisions available will be needed. Otherwise, it will take a time to make up a spreadsheet for nthis.

(It may be possible to change some of the formulae in my spreadsheet for the 90:1 ratio Vertex HV6, to take account of the probably different gear ratio of the Hoffman.

But a 10" table is a big one, so may be too large to fit into the table of a smaller mill., in either orientation.

Howard

[lee hawkins 1Participant @leehawkins1]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the advice

I thought about all the times , if only I had a rotary table, and there was quite a few times in the past, so I went ahead and bought the Hofmann, it's in such good condition and operated so smoothly., I had to buy it for the price,

You hear some say , I have a rotary table and I hardly use it , But the point is they do own one

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Good move, Lee

MichaelG.

[Ebenezer GoodParticipant @ebenezergood76202]

I'm the proud owner of an almost mint 10" Hoffman too, lovely thing but #### heavy!

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