Viceroy Boring Table

[richardb]

I have a boring table that came with the lathe which I believe is a Denford item, used it for the first time and whilst drilling from the headstock it rotated a bit and ruined the job !

The table replaces the top slide and fits over the upstanding dovetail spigot on the saddle, two hex grub screws push angled slugs onto the dovetail spigot - same as the original topslide except there are only two set at 90deg, not 3no as per topslide (90+135+135deg set out). I had tightened them as much as normal as I didn't want to damage the spigot surface etc but it rotated under moderate pressure - have to feed using leadscrew handwheel.

I can't find a drawing of the table to see if it should have a third fixing - anybody have a similar item / drawing ?

The catalogue pic shows a similar table but it has extended screws beyond the edge of the table.

[Pete.]

I'd say that is a rare item. God knows even steadies are few and far between.

Personally I woud fabricate a post that locks into one of the saddle tee slots and has an arm with a clamp on the end that grabs the edge of that table to stop it from ever rotating. Those wedge pins are just not going to have enough grip.

Of course there's nothing to stop you from simple adding more wedges by drilling and tapping extra holes.

[richardb]

Hi Pete,
Yes I had thought about drilling a further 'peg' as per top slide, would be interesting to see Denfords original intent.

The idea of a bracket is one I had not considered - thanks - maybe a good plan !

Do you think the orientation in use matters as its mounting spigot is very eccentric ?

[Pete.]

Yes indeed, the further away from the pivot centre the greater the forces trying to rotate the table. If you had your drill hole centred on the pivot it would not turn at all.

[richardb]

Hi Pete,

Agreed, I was only a bit off centre due to angle plate fixing holes etc but enough ! - as its really not secure enough currently to use at all.

Looked at drilling the third hole today and understand maybe why it was left off - it would fall pretty much on the long diagonal so need a really long drill bit - approx 6 1/2" which I'm pretty sure will be longer than long series - so will need to make a drill extender of some sort and something similar for the tap.
Still would like to see Denfords original design drawing.
From what you noted about it being scarce I doubt anybody can confirm numbers of fixings or if they have had similar issues.

Thanks.

R.

[Pete.]

Most lathes (I never checked my Denford when I had it) deliberately have the top of the cross-slide dovetail at or below the level of the saddle tee slots. This is to allow a person to remove the cross slide and mount a fixture plate across the slots for line boring or horizontal boring duties, or anythng else they can think of. You do lose the facility to utilise the cross slide but those are rarely rigid enough for any but the lightest milling. An angle plate with a small cross table mounted to the vertical face would be far more versatile.

[bikerwookie]

I have the same table but mine has 3 grub screws at 120 degrees apart. I use it when milling on a 280vs and never had it rotate on me.

[Andy B]

I've posted some drawings here - https://www.denfordata.com/bb/viewtopic. ... 497#p24497 - of the original boring table (ML118) and the later version introduced with the powered milling attachment (ML132).

As can be seen, ML118 only had the 2 retaining screw holes at 90 degrees, whereas the ML132 type had 3 at 120 degrees.

Andy

[richardb]

Hi Andy,

Many thanks for finding and uploading the drawings - much appreciated as I know how long these things take to find/sort.
Was nice to find mine was correct and not missing anything from works.

Well to close this one, I've added a third fixing to match the topslide i.e 90/135/135 deg set out.
As I thought drilling it was rather difficult as it was on the long diagonal - I don't have access to large machines etc but found the top slide was the correct drilling height for the dowel hole !
So clamped it to the slide, made an extended centre drill and found a long series 7.9mm drill (165mm long) that was just long enough !
Very restricted access for tapping the long 3/8" Whit thread.

Hope that has sorted it !