I am looking at purchasing a new 8" rotary table. I have found the following three units in my price range and would like some feedback from those of you who have used these as to which is the best for the buck.

Vertex 8" Horizontal / Vertical Table

http://www.vertex-tw.com.tw/products/products_list.php?language=_eng&cid=10

Harbor Freight 8" H/V Table

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47825

Phase II 8: H/V Table

http://www.phase2plus.com/details.asp?pr=PRECISION%20ROTARY%20TABLES&id=55

I am on a budget, but I feel the HF one is not even worth the metal is made out of. As for the other two, I have heard good things about the Phase II products, but nothing of the Vertex. However, the vertex looks like it might be a nicer table and would like to get other opinions from those who have seen or own one.

Enco has the Phase on sale right now, but truck shipping is the only way they will send it. So that ends up making it the most expensive of the three.

Any help would be appreciated.

I have a Phase II 8". I have used it for over 12 years and never had a complaint, except it sure is heavy! These are worm gear driven so expect some backlash when reversing directions. Accuracy is excellent.

Bill

I have the Grizzly 6" rotary table set that comes with the index plates and tailstock. It looks identical to the 8" vertex, so I can only assume that they are made by Vertex for Grizzly.

I like the table I have. I am almost done with a conversion of it to my cnc 4th axis. It is also a worm drive.

I have owned the 8" Vertex for the last 10 years. It works perfectly. I converted it to CNC 4th axis about two years ago. It has a worm drive with backlash adjustment on the worm and on the shaft. The Vertex is the only one of the three where the maker (Tawain not China) is prepared to put his name on it, together with a test certificate. Generally Vertex has a good name for low-end equipment, you do get value for money and no boat anchors. The main spindle has a taper roller bearing and the worm shaft has a thrust bearing (ball), but strangely only one. I added a second when I converted to CNC.

Personnally I would skip the HF table. No tolerance specs, crap manual, no mention of backlash adjustment, strange design. It has all the hallmarks of a boat anchor.

Just some thoughts and opinions.
Phil

Having an 8 1/4" x 28 3/4" table, would a 6" rotary be too small? I believe that most of my work could be done on a 6". My biggest problem right now is their seems to be an abundance of 6" and few 8" out there right now. Plus, with the 6" I can get the dividing rings and tailstock for with the table for about the same as just the 8" table. This would be the Vertex or Vertex look alike.

Go with what you can afford. You can always make you a bigger round jig plate for the 6" rotary.

If the 6" is big enough and you are on a budget then obviously go for it. However it can get quite crowded on RT when you allow for odd shape work pieces and clamping arrangements etc.

Phil

PS: Make sure your mill table Tee slots allow for clamping the RT without fouling the indexing disc otherwise you will end up having to make special clamping fixtures.

Having an 8 1/4" x 28 3/4" table, would a 6" rotary be too small? I believe that most of my work could be done on a 6". My biggest problem right now is their seems to be an abundance of 6" and few 8" out there right now. Plus, with the 6" I can get the dividing rings and tailstock for with the table for about the same as just the 8" table. This would be the Vertex or Vertex look alike.

This is true about getting crowded. But.. You could always machine some risers for the table and the tailstock. At some point, I'm going to try setting up a trunion and see how well that works. But I want to remove some x3 slop first.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I decided to break down and buy the 8" phase II table. After speaking to a small shop that sells the Vertex and not Phase, he told me that he personally uses the Phase II and loves it. He said the Vertex is a decent hobby table, but the prefers the Phase due to the oil bath and the fact that you can really tighten up the backlash without making the table really tough to turn. He told me that rotary tables are pretty much the one machine tool that you REALLY get what you pay for.

It should be here Monday, as I ordered it from J&L.

Give us some feedback after you have given it the once over.

Phil



It should be here Monday, as I ordered it from J&L.

Give us some feedback after you have given it the once over.

Phil

Will do! I can't wait to give it a spin. I am holding off on ordering the dividing plates to see if I really need them or not. It looks as if Grizzly is the best place to get those anyway.

I just got the Phase II set up and filled with oil. The only thing I can say is WOW! This is far better than anything I expected. I cannot detect any backlash in this table. The quality is nothing less than spectacular. I know I made the right choice. Only thing I did not count on is this thing is BIG and HEAVY! I am sure I could have gotten away with the 6" with no problems.