So, if you have a mill at some point you will want a rotary table, because they are stupidly handy. The downside to a good rotary table is usually the size and thus the weight. So if you have for example a 150mm (6") rotary table and fit a 190mm chuck on it, you don't have to do any more weight lifting for the day. This among the other fact that I only had external jaws for it, drastically limited its usability for me. Add to that that I have been a very good boy, so I treated myself to a new Chinese 125mm chuck.
Originally I thought I'd make a completely new adapter for the chuck, but after having a very long look at it, I decided that with some precision lathe-work I could not only modify, but improve the base-plate and also have an excuse to let the little engineer inside of me out.
So how do you hold a 200mm plate in a 125mm chuck? The trick here was super
simple by using an 8mm allen head bolt and use that as a datum/reference for
all other work. Interestingly enough in the first picture the surface finish
looks absolutely terrible, which it isn't at all in real life.
Not only did I machine the chuck face, but also the back side and unlike in
the past, I now have two alignment edges, in the center it will locate into
the morse tape in the rotary table and also on the outer edge.
Now I don't want to pat on my own back too hard, but that chuck registered on the hump in the middle like you wouldn't believe. Just downright perfect.
Three M8x70 bolts, a bit of tapping and countersinking later and there you go.
So why the rush you ask? First of all I will need it make a few of the parts that I want to make for the Hotroad TR1, specifically cut some hexes onto shafts and more immediately, the little green pickle has got almost new front brake disks on it (seriously), but as it was parked for so long the pads rusted to the disks, so giving them a skim is the order of the day.
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