Stu's Guide to Indexing Part 1: The Horizontal/Vertical Collet Indexer

[@johnb5519]

My old neighbors daughter, told me I could have all her fathers machine tools and his Bridgeport mill. He was a tool maker extraordinaire, having made his own precision vises and other devices. One of these indexers, made by Yamatokoki of Japan labeled NEWS, was in with the bunch, and I was wondering exactly how it worked, as I never got a chance to see him using it. I figured it was an indexer but trying to rotate it didn't seem to work. Maybe it's just stiff from sitting for 20 years. Now that I see how it operates I'll give it another try. Thanks for the video.

[@StuartdeHaro]

@@johnb5519 Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. My email is my channel name with no spaces @gmail.com. I'm sure we can figure it out.

[@vandal968]

Very helpful video. Seen this style of indexer many times, never knew how they worked.

[@ActiveAtom]

Nice use of the indexer with a jaw chuck. Nice video for the knee mill.

[@louisroy9348]

Nice job explaining indexing head. Very understandable. Thanks

[@drickard67]

Got one with a box of other tooling... Had no idea how it worked. I'm much obliged.

[@nerdyrcdriver]

Well, now I want one. I have been using a dividing head for stuff like that. It is a really versatile little thing, but there's so much adjustment it takes a while to get it trammed in (if running horizontal) and set up at 0 or 90 degrees accurately.

[@StuartdeHaro]

Yup, and I don't know about you, but my dividing head is a LOT heavier than this thing. Thanks for watching!

[@bruce150]

Excellent as always Stuart. Thank you!

[@billoxley5315]

I found 2 of these at the local scrapyard. Paid 9 bucks each. One was in near perfect condition, gave my son the other.

[@douglasbattjes3991]

What a great video and so well done, as I said below I have a Clausing 8520 mill , and with it came a Hardinge H-4 indexer that holds 5C collets. What a great video, just wish I could put a 3 jaw chuck on mine, would like to see your buddy fly his plane. 👍👍👍👍

[@StuartdeHaro]

They sell chucks with a 5C shank. That's definitely an option for you.

[@douglasbattjes3991]

Thanks so much Stuart, I'll check the out

[@captcarlos]

Hi Stewart, First comment, subbed. Very well done, concise and informative videos. Obviously not your first rodeo! Sound, focus, frame, script and rhythm appear effortless.. Which it is not. You deserve, and will get, many more subs if you continue as you have started. Thanking you. Btw, in Aus, that's a gun tap.. And that shoots the swarf down the hole, probably not best for a blind hole. My choice for machine tapping a blind hole would be a spiral flute tap.. The more subs you get, the more of the 'hive mind' will comment. Sssssaaaalll good. Cheers.

[@StuartdeHaro]

Hi Carl. Welcome to the channel and thanks for watching!

[@ALWAYSPDG]

Nice job, thanks for the info.

[@donswords6671]

Thanks Stuart! I have a Clausing 8520 mill that was fitted with a single phase motor before I bought it so reversing is not an option. My lathe is 3 phase though so that's good. Helpful tips on your video Thanks again.

[@douglasbattjes3991]

I have the same Clausing 8520 mill and was like brand new, old machinist had it who passed away, got it for under $1,000 and looked like show room new, little surface rust but all came off, and with it had a Hardinge H-4 5C collet + boxes of like new things, and even a Hardinge indexer, and I just found out how much a new H-4 indexer is, $24,500.00 un real what a new china one cost. Hope you enjoy your Clausing 8520 mill I know I love mine. 👍👍

[@donswords6671]

Hey Doug I sold mine. We took it apart and put it in the back of a guys pick-up. That was the beauty, among other things , of the Clausing. They really hold their value too. I bought a Sharp First, Bridgeport clone. Great upgrade.( I had the room)@@douglasbattjes3991

[@johnstrange6799]

Cool. Thanks.

[@md8744]

Is there any way to fix it loose on this index Sir? Mine is loosing the head and along with whole thing bottom. I tried to tight it but........🙌

[@sidewind131258]

You are using a handtap in the mill ? what are the rev speed ? I don't have tapping capability on my mill, and tapping much more than 2-3 holes by hand (and fearing to break the tap) is a workout I'd like to avoid. Do you have link to the indexer in both this and your next video ? Anyway, as usual good job explaining things.

[@StuartdeHaro]

No it's a spiral point tap, so you can run it under power. I think I had it running at 135 rpm, which is pretty slow, but it was a blind hole and I wanted as much reaction time as I could get so I didn't bury the tap in my part. Link to the Horizontal/Vertical Collet Indexer: amzn.to/2QSghK1 (Wow, these have gotten a LOT more expensive than I remember. Check the used tool market. I got mine from a tool dealer for $125 with collets about 4 years ago) Link to the Spin Indexer: amzn.to/2R2SAPj Thanks for watching!

[@Indiana_John]

This is a super cool device! I'm almost sold on copping one, but the reason I stumbled on it to begin with is because I'm wanting to do cylindrical grinding. Would this be able to spin freely if all the indexing stops were blocked/backed out?

[@StuartdeHaro]

I doesn't spin easily since it is turned with the ratcheting handle. I'd use the spin indexer (spindexer) that I covered in another video.

[@Indiana_John]

@@StuartdeHaro I was afraid you might say that. I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone, but I suppose it's better to get the right tool for the job. I do have a dividing head, and I need to do cylindrical grinding. Would it not make any sense to get one of these if I've got a dividing head and soon a spindexer? Also, thank you very much for the prompt response! I really appreciate that 👍

[@Indiana_John]

@@StuartdeHaro I wonder if I could spin with the knurled draw bar/tube nut? Like, if I clamped a swiveling handle to the side of that like what spindexers have

[@StuartdeHaro]

@@Indiana_John it's worth a shot. Let me know if it works.

[@StuartdeHaro]

@@Indiana_John I have all three (and a few other indexing tools) and each has a place. For grinding, you're going to want it to turn smoothly and relatively quickly (no gear reduction) so you don't sit in one spot and burn the part.

[@donswords6671]

May I ask when you re tapping with the mill does the tap draw down the quill? Do you need to ease the return pressure to allow that? I'm new. :-)

[@StuartdeHaro]

I leave the quill unlocked so it will self feed when the tap grabs. On the way out I put a slight upward pressure on the quill so the tap won't drag on the top of the hole. I have a video on the subject which you can find here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHXUc5SLZteEepI

[@frankljs]

I just got a used yuasa indexer looks exactly like the Chinese one. Got for $60.00 . I bought it with my first Lathe. I would like to be able to put a small 4 jaw chuck on this. Is there a specific chuck that just screws right on it or do I need some sort of adapter, then a chuck? Some help would be great.

[@StuartdeHaro]

That is a screaming good deal. You'll need to measure the threads on the spindle and get a back plate for those threads.

[@frankljs]

Stuart de Haro . Yeah, he didn’t know what he had. My lathe came with a couple extra 3 jaw chucks im not using. So your saying if I find the right back plate, I could mount one of those or another chuck to the back plate? Thanks for the help.

[@StuartdeHaro]

Yep. If you have plain back chucks handy you can just put them on to any backplate you want. Just turn a boss to match the bore on the back of your chuck and transfer your hole locations.

[@frankljs]

Stuart de Haro Many thanks sir!

[@frankljs]

Stuart de Haro: i have been watching vids on back plate construction, but another question came up. How important is concentricity with the back plate to lathe chuck? I dont have a lathe with the same spindle as my indexer to mount the back plate and chuck to, to make them concentric. Or does this even matter with the indexer?

[@franklinbaker9612]

What size and brand chuck are you using on the indexing head?

[@StuartdeHaro]

That's a 6" (150mm) chuck from shars.com.

[@genexrollins]

360 /24 = 15 so that unit indexes in 15 degree increments. ......since when is 15 a factor of 24 ????

[@StuartdeHaro]

It isn't, but we're not talking about degrees here. We're talking about divisions. There are 24 holes that the pin could drop into. You could drop it in every hole for 24 divisions, every other hole for 12, every third hole for 8, so on so forth. That means you can get 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 divisions of the part.