# Check out my new Toy!!!



## mdocod (Aug 27, 2009)

I won an ebay auction a few days ago, I think I got a pretty decent deal on this unit:







Wooden crate, shipping weight ~85lbs  The Fedex Lady walked around with this thing like it was nothing, I can't even get it off the ground with my back, lol!











Know what it is now ? hehe....






I was really surprised to find that the chuck appeared to be still in it's original box and still had a bunch of that sticky greasy waxy paper attached. I'm tempted to say at this point that the unit may never have been used, only stored and moved a few times. I got out the kerosene and started wiping up the chinese goop. Cleaned up pretty nice, almost too nice... Now all my worries are starting to go away, I was afraid, with so little information posted about the unit that I didn't know as much as I'd like going into such a purchase. Took the chance and it paid off...






Not bad looking. I think the few cosmetic things on the base are probably a result of it having been in storage for a long time, and possibly being moved a few times... no biggy IMO...

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I wanted to see what made the thing "tick" inside. The things runs really smooth.. That "redish" looking stuff in there is not rust, it's just the way that the flash and the surroundings captured the grease on the camera, which is actually just a brownish wet stuff 






I didn't realize how ginourmous this thing was going to be... when I started putting it up on the table I was worried I wasn't going to have room for tooling under the head of the machine! Raised it up and found that I plenty of space for my quick change tooling to fit between the top of the jaws and and the face of the spindle with room to spare. Pictured is a 2D mag body dropped down into the center of the unit, I still have 6 inches between the mag body and the spindle face, which means I have enough room to do tri/quad bored on 2D size hosts right on the little SX3! 

I'm a very happy camper at this time... but I think my previous indexing table may be feeling a bit of inferiority complex at this time...






Oh...

I paid $271+$57 shipping. 

Deal or No Deal? hehe...


-Eric


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## Illum (Aug 27, 2009)

you really progressed from just a drill press hey, I never thought selling battery holders could accumulate this sort of funding for your new toys


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## wquiles (Aug 27, 2009)

mdocod said:


> Oh...
> 
> I paid $271+$57 shipping.
> 
> Deal or No Deal? hehe...


Hell yeah! - you got a great deal there :twothumbs

Congrats buddy!


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## gadget_lover (Aug 27, 2009)

Wow!

That's one nice buy. Congrats!

Daniel


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## mdocod (Aug 27, 2009)

Illum said:


> you really progressed from just a drill press hey, I never thought selling battery holders could accumulate this sort of funding for your new toys




Haha,
Been an expensive "toy" year... Might break even this year, maybe...


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## gadget_lover (Aug 27, 2009)

I think that I've spent too many hours looking at machines and tools.

I actually knew what that was from the second picture. I did NOT guess that there was a tru-set chuck in there.


Daniel


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## precisionworks (Aug 27, 2009)

The [FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]Phase II Super Spacer with 6" 3 jaw chuck sells for $827.59 + shipping at MSC/J&L :thumbsup:

That's a very nice chuck with removable top jaws. You to make custom soft jaws that will bolt right on and fit the shapes & sizes you work with the most. And you can custom bore a set as needed for those special jobs. You'll soon wonder how you ever got along without it [/FONT][/FONT]


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## dom (Aug 28, 2009)

Nice unit at bargain price -well done.
I see is has 15degree slots at the back -is that the limit for automation?

If so -then it might be worthwhile getting another slotted plate made with 5degree increments 

Does the left handle spin it around?

We need another one of these at work-
The bolt on jaws are a great idea.

Cheers
Dom


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## StrikerDown (Aug 28, 2009)

SCORE! Big Time!

Congrats! :naughty:


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## mdocod (Aug 28, 2009)

Hi Dom,

This type of unit is designed for quick indexing to common angles. Every 15 degrees, 24 positions total, or, with masking plates installed, that can be reduced down to 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 positions (IIRC) in order to more quickly "find" the desired position. The rotation is done by hand. Just push the lever on the right back to disengage the key and use the other hand to muscle the chuck around....The handle on the left is a table lock that as far as I understand, is really only necessary (at least for what I do) for when you need to use an angle that is not indexed and want to lock the table to an "in-between" position. 

The nice thing about the big keys and the steep angle of engagement and high spring pressure combined, is that when the unit "snaps" into an indexed position, it's held there with absolutely no play... I'm not sure if the same engagement solidity would hold true for an indexer with many more indexing positions and (theoretically) smaller "key-ways." 

If you have a lot of work to do in 5 degree increments, maybe check out some of the combination worm-drive rotary tables with built in indexers. (the worm drive on them can be disengaged for quick indexing). Or... Bison makes a unit similar to this Phase II that I picked up, it's a bit pricier but is indexed every degree, (I don't know how they managed that, probably have to use the lock lever for most operations?)


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On a side note, the more I play with this thing, the more impressed I am. If I remember correctly, the "phase II" stuff is considered the "good" Chinese stuff, and this unit is better than anything else I own to go along with it for sure. Just darn slick overall...

Precisionworks,

Thank you for that idea... I realized that the removable "top" was the way to reverse them but it didn't occur to me that this enables even a rudimentary machinist to build and install custom jaws to pretty decent precision (I noticed the way it has to almost press fit into position when I tried removing and re-installing one). For now I'm building a stand-off assembly (out of plastic) with screw-on spacers to create a working area for doing the small parts that would just fall down the center hole... Down the road, I think some custom jaws would actually be smarter. I'll order myself up some aluminum or brass or something and give that a try someday!

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Gadget Lover,

What exactly makes a chuck a "true-set" chuck?

I'm assuming that's the name of the system it uses for adjusting the position of the chuck in relation to the position of the table (or adapter plate). (the 4 socket set screws around the lower outside of the chuck that are in alignment with the "boss" of the rotary table.?)

If that's what it means, then, yea, that's very cool! I already took full advantage of those and am probably inside 0.002." Great system..

-Eric


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## gadget_lover (Aug 28, 2009)

Set true, tru set..... my dyslexia prevents me from ever getting it right. 

But you got it right. The adjusting screws that allow you to align it perfectly. 

Daniel


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## dom (Aug 29, 2009)

Thanks Eric
Yes - it sure looks to lock in solid and the 15degree is most common.

The one we have at work has a ratchet handle for turning it around,with an adjustable stop for different degrees.

I think the ratchet mechanism is in 5degree clicks,and with the stop fully out,you'd get 45degree rotation.

One big problem with the sudden stop in rotation on larger(than the diameter of the chuck)/heavier bits of work, was the
job would rotate in the chuck slightly if it wasn't REAL tight.
Caused some confusion when bolts wouldn't fit on the PCD you'd just drilled LOL

One of the handiest "toys" for manual drilling of PCD's though and yours has a look of quality for sure.

Cheers
Dom


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