Dismantling Vertex HV6 Rotary Table

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello Robin,

It's nice to get to hear the outcome of a question, all too often advice is dispensed and that's an end of the story. I'm glad to hear you have a satisfactory piece of kit after your efforts; wise to leave it alone now.

Your observation about the thrust plate may well have been the problem all the way through, I found mine had been distorted by the end access clamping screw so that the needle bearing it was bearing down on had been loaded on one side only; it gave a rather lumpy and imprecise action to the end float adjustment. It was much better for corrective machining.

Regards Brian

[Robin GrahamParticipant @robingraham42208]

Just a final note now I have the table working OK and have cut metal – which went fine. My milling machine is a little bench-mounted job (Warco WM14) -the table is only 120 x 400mm. When I started thinking about getting an RT I assumed it would have to be a 4 inch, but after some research decided I'd take a chance and go for the 6 inch. I'm very glad I did. Although it overhangs front and back, it all works well – at least in horizontal mode. I think if I'd gone for the 4" I would be spending forever trying to figure out how to attach the work to it.

And hello Daniel – thanks for looking at the thread!

Regards, Rob.

[Keri PurvesParticipant @keripurves19457]

Is there a way to tell the earlier (with bearings) HV-6's from the later no-bearing types? Are the bearing ones oil filled and the later ones greased, and if so is there an oil filler port that can ID them?

I get the impresion that the new ones have three or six t-slots and the earlier ones had four…..but that might be random for all I know.

What about the rear, is there a big givaway?

After a big of googling, it looks like maybe the earlier ones had the locking plate on the rear quite recessed and the newer ones have it nearly flush, does that ring any bells? I would assume that if the plate has eight grub screws it would be to adjust a non bearing kind (like the 4" no-make I'm trying to upgrade from)…..but Brian's photo has one ring with four and one ring with eight holes so I'm not sure.

Like this (early?):

Vs this (new?):

Could I be cheeky and ask if Brian would mind putting some photos of his asssemble bearing type HV-6 up so we can be sure what that type looks like underneath at least?

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello Keri,

I've just spotted your question and you puzzle me with your reference to rings with 4 and 8 holes in them—I can't see them so what and where are they?!!

My table was bought many years ago and has the deeply recessed pocket on the underside for the thrust bearing, a slim needle bearing assembly of two hard plates with the bearing sandwiched between them.

All lubrication, with the exception of the plain table underside to body, is by grease. My table is NOT oil filled, I don't think it was designed to be so anyway.

The bearing surface just mentioned is oil lubricated, you can easily see the containment groove in my picture to hold the oil. Does this informatioin help you?

Regards Brian

[Keri PurvesParticipant @keripurves19457]

Thanks Brian, it does indeed help – I'm 98% sure that you can tell the two types apart by looking at the underside. If you look at the two photos I posted, the "ring" is the lower securing plate that's still visible when assembled.

TOP PHOTO – Now I look closely I can see that the bearing type ring has three holes…. (at a guess two to fit a pin spanner and one containing a locking screw, assuming the bottom of the table is threaded – I can't see?).

LOWER PHOTO – On the non-bearing type, the plate has four through holes for securing cap heads, plus four holes that contain grub screws that are used to adjust the clearance. On this type the top of the plate is a sliding surface, and it's a larger diameter as a result.

What confused me with your own dissasambled one is the ring in the bottom left of the photo – is that actually part of the worm drive?

Thanks! Keri

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello Keri,

Now I understand!

Your top photo with the deeply recessed needle bearing housing is identical with my table. It is in fact a thick washer, threaded to fit the stalk of the table itself and has a short socket head screw that deforms the washer across a slit cut in from the circumference as a crude grip on the threaded stalk. The other two holes in it are for a pin spanner. In fairness it would be hard to see how that grip could be done deep inside a housing in a more workmanlike way..

The ring with 8 holes that puzzled you is the securing collar for the worm drive

Regards Brian

[Keri PurvesParticipant @keripurves19457]

Thanks Brian – that's cleared it up, making it easier for people to find the ones with the bearings!

[RobonthemoorParticipant @robonthemoor]

Hi Brian wood I’m looking at your photo as I have a vertex HV6 brand new never been out the box til now & the winding handles missing, so will make one. Just can’t make out from your photo the handle & the washer that holds it on, it as slots in it I assume as the shaft is flat on either side with a 4 mm key placed in. Would you take a photo of the washer & handle on there own, with the collar separated away please.

Regards Rob

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Hi All

Stephen Gotteswinter did a series on reworking and scraping a new Vertex table to Gnats endowment accuracy on You Tube.

**LINK**

Link to a calculator for dividing using a Vertex style rotary table

It produces a simple list of the positions you can print in DEG MIN SEC as used by the vertex dividing head.
Just enter the number of divisions required.
**LINK**

I have never opened my 8" rotary table it was purchased over 15 years ago, It has always worked well for me.

Regards
John

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello Robonthemoor,

I'll be in the shop tomorrow so I will try and answer your question afterwards. I have a problem now with posting photos, some silly incompatibility which hides the activate or go button, I haven't seen it for some time now!

Regards

Brian

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Hi All

Below are some photos of my 8 inch Vertex rotary table, as you can see it has 4 slots, the cover plate at the bottom is attached with 3 set screws. I cannot see a bearing however I have not removed the setting collar with set screw. I can see an inserted steel outer part in addition to the collar there is grease in the joint Judging by the small hollow centre shaft I suspect there may be a ball or roller bearing?.

The table has a Morse taper centre hole.

I purchased this table between 1980 and 1984 I know it was used in my first workshop hence the date range.

The label is not pinned on just a stick on that fell off a while back. I keep it in a drawer.

I will pull it apart when I have the time.

Regards
John

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I would expect hat the 'eight screw' base insert is similar to that on my Vertex 'Rapid Indexing' table:

Four screws adjust the clearance, the other four lock it in place.

… Plain bearing surfaces throughout.

MichaelG.

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