Shop Miscellany #21 Shars 8 In rotary Table Update

Please Note: I am a beginning machinist and I do not pretend to know everything. Please always operate machinery in a safe manner and if you don't know, find a reliable source. DO NOT COPY ME. I make a lot of mistakes. I provide these videos for entertainment only.

[@garysgarage101]

I’m not surprised Shars watches your channel. I knew there was a way to adjust that backlash, glad you came back and addressed it.

[@DudleyToolwright]

I hate leaving wrong or incomplete information. Bad products deserve to be called out, but unfair criticisms should always be corrected.

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Robert, it nice to know that Shars watch your content and were willing to reach out and help, it was interesting to see what’s inside and how it works, great job mate

[@DudleyToolwright]

Thanks, Matty. I hope you are doing well. We are all pulling for ya.

[@MattysWorkshop]

@@DudleyToolwright I’m going pretty good now thanks

[@Dogfather66227]

Glad you were able to do some tuning to improve the Shars RT. My cheapy 6’ no-name eBay model has the same eccentric mechanism as you mention. It too was well-manufactured and required minimal tweaking. One thing I will mention about the design is the number of T-slots. Your mileage certainly may vary but I have wished for a 4-slot model every time I’ve used mine. Thanks for posting your findings.

[@DudleyToolwright]

I am in the same boat. 4 slots would really be an improvement.

[@Dogfather66227]

@@DudleyToolwright How would you feel about 6 slots? I am going to cut three more in mine equally spaced from the existing ones. Might have to relocate an oiler button but otherwise I think it’s a low-risk solution. I wouldn’t do that to your Yuasa right out of the gate but the Shars might be a candidate.

[@hilltopmachineworks2131]

Nice detective work. Now that you have any extra RT you can make a weld positioner.

[@DudleyToolwright]

...or a rotary grinding table like, we sort of like, Robin Renzetti's. Cheers, Tom.

[@be007]

good review and solution ! cheers ben.

[@DudleyToolwright]

Glad it was helpful!

[@FunctionalPrintFriday]

Nice to see you were able to get this one tuned up. I wonder if this one originated in Taiwan. I've found the Taiwanese stuff tends to be made party darn well.

[@DudleyToolwright]

I think this is too old and I am in complete agreement with the tools from Taiwan. My Yuasa is made there. I remember Japan in the 70's and you wouldn't want to touch the stuff. After a lot of incremental improvements, Japan makes some of the best equipment in the world. Taiwan is certainly following that model.

[@FunctionalPrintFriday]

@@DudleyToolwright I've been thinking about getting one of the ubiquitous China-import 8" ones just because they're so cheap and treating it as a "kit" :P I'll probably just save up for a vertex though. I think the vertex ones come out of Taiwan. I've been pretty impressed with the vertex chucks I've picked up.

[@JesseSchoch]

it is a shame they don't have two thrust bearings and the end of the worm supported. Both seem like fairly simple fixes. they could copy the bearing ball support that the dividing heads use.

[@DudleyToolwright]

I agree completely . The nylon washer is not great and it would be really nice for the table to have bearings, but I bet the cost would be prohibitive.

[@iteerrex8166]

Is it too late to send the other one back? I would’ve thought that the design of basic devices that have been around for centuries, should’ve been much more refined and robust.

[@DudleyToolwright]

It probably is, but it's my fault for not investigating further before looking for another solution.

[@jsteifel]

boy, you didn't read the instructions correctly, they told you to engage the lever, not lock it. The lock is probably preventing you from adjusting it. I'll watch more to see, but I didn't see it say to lock it, only to engage it.

[@DudleyToolwright]

The solution ended up being disengage the worm, make the adjustment, re-engage, and then lock.