Buying used Index Head

[Bill in Ky]

When buying a used index (dividing) head with 3 plates is it necessary to have
instructions with it? I have been watching them on ebay for sometime and they never list an instruction manual with them.
I was wondering if setting one up for gear cutting was standard among brands or easily figured out.
Thanks,
Bill d:^)

[mklotz]

If you're asking about the use of one (calculating turns and holes, which
plates are needed, etc.) the DIVHEAD programs on my page will do that for you.

If you're asking about maintenance (which oil, parts diagram, etc.) then an
aftermarket manual may be needed.

[madman]

Last two index heads i bought one had a broken single plate the other one just one plate. HM no wonder i got em cheap.

[J Tiers]

Just about any basic shop text will have instructions on how to use the thing, assuming that it is relatively standard 40 crank turns/turn type.

After you do it a few times, you will probably be able to figure the setup in your head. It isn't hard until you get into differential dividing etc.

[wschoenbeck]

I found the manual and brochure's for my Ellis dividing head on line as PDF's someone had scanned. Only a few pages and as J Tiers notes the 40:1 ratio are all similar. I've seen others on line as well. Our Peer of the Realm (John Stevenson) also sells generic plates that can be modified to fit a specific head. Another thing on my list of round tuit's to get. He also sells a CD on dividing and graduating.

[lazlo]

When buying a used index (dividing) head with 3 plates is it necessary to have instructions with it? I have been watching them on ebay for sometime and they never list an instruction manual with them.

Make sure you get an idea for the relative size of the dividing head, if you don't have a full-sized turret mill (i.e., a Bridgeport or clone). The Brown and Sharpe dividing head and the asian clones are pretty darn big.

The Carrol and Ellis dividing heads are quite a bit smaller, and fit nicely on a Mill/Drill. I have two Ellis dividing heads which are really nice -- the second one is going be be CNC'd at some point

As far as the plates and dividing tables, like JT said -- most of them use a 40:1 worm drive, so the indexing plates and the corresponding tables (number of turns and remainders) are the same.

The only pain with the plates is that there are a bazillion different mounting hole patterns: 2, 3 and 4 holes, with different bolt circles, and different diameters of the plates. The latter isn't as important, as long as the selector pin can move out as far as the outer-most row of holes.

If you know the correct size and mounting style of the dividing plates, they're listed all the time on Ebay.

Good luck,

Robert

[Bill Pace]

The Brown and Sharpe dividing head and the asian clones are pretty darn big.
The Carrol and Ellis dividing heads are quite a bit smaller, and fit nicely on a Mill/Drill. I

Very true! I've got a little Carrol and cant really use it in the upright mode on my 6x26, and even on the mill/drill if can eat up some real estate, its sure is a sweet little tool though. I glommed on it at an auction for $80 with chuck, tail stock and 3 plates----though some time later discovered I had duplicates of the 2 high # plates (somewhat less used) and didnt have the plate with the low # (probably the most used one) ---I borrowed a plate from a buddy and made a clone though....thasa lotta holes to drill!!

[Malc-Y]

I must have been lucky when I bought mine on ebay, it is a 10" swing Elliott universal and it came with a full set of change wheels for differential indexing and spiral cutting, both hole plates, original instruction manual, tailstock, 8" 3jaw chuck, in fact totally complete except for the small arbour support jack.
This dividing head when new cost twice as much as a brand new Myford ML7 lathe! I got for £125 (about $225). And for another £30 the seller threw in a box of 50 assorted gear cutters. The downside is the weight, I have a 1/2 ton chain hoist over my Bridgeport to lift it on and off. I have had it about a year now and have already successfully done some gear cutting. (4 off 21 tooth 14 DP, 1 1/2" PCD, 20 degree pressure angle).

Malc.

[Rex]

I answered a local classified for some "free scrap metal for lathes etc"

Picked up a small box from an old widow lady. It included several turned cannon barrels, assorted real scrap, and a little dividing head just right for a mill-drill, even fit my minimill OK. It's about 3.5 inches from spindle to table, 1.5-8 threads so it takes my Logan chucks. Only came with one plate, and the ratio is 48:1. No markings on it at all.

And no directions. Those things aren't intuitive to use either, at least for me.