I think my dividing head makers needs....

The bottom line is that under 'The Sale of Goods Act 1979' the dividing head as supplied is or appears to be 'not fit for purpose'. It is the suppliers resposibilty to either refund the purchase price including any carriage costs or replace it. I would back up my e-mail with a telephone call where you can get someones name. It is suprising that when you have a name they tend to look at these problems much better. Don't forget it is not your responsibility to pay for return carriage if an item is defective.

Aahh but is it the dividing head which is thinly disguised as a rotary table that is not "Fit for purse " or the plates which are not part of it ?

If I buy a spare wheel for my car and it doesn't fit, is it Fiats fault or Dunflops ?

Edited By John Stevenson on 13/05/2013 12:33:40

I don't think it matters if it is a rotary table or an all singing all dancing dividing head. If it was sold as a unit with all parts compatable. It must fall into being 'not fit for purpose' if part of the set up is defective.The plates must fit and be usable on the dividing head/rotary table without modification.

Dismaldunc,

Did you see the plates in the same ad as the dividing device, suggesting they are all part of a "set/kit"? or were they in separate parts of sellers website and not actually described as one fitting t`other/compatible? Suggest you check this carefully before you rush to return it all and incur heavy postage costs, if it turns out that seller has done nothing wrong. Hope this remark doesn`t offend - it could save you quite a lot of dosh - heavy gear to post. Why not try ringing them first, including getting a name and make it sound a friendly enquiry, explaining what you have done and ask for advice. If and when it all turns sour, then write a stiff letter with a reasonable deadline date for reply/action. I am sure that a regular trader will want to obtain an amicable resolution. Good luck and let us all know what transpires.

John

In his first post Duncan says he's already emailed the supplier. I await their comments with interest.

Neil

Why do you need to?

The suggestion was made, that "maybe the plates and the table were supplied as separate articles", seems to have been missed by most of the respondents to this post.

What I believe was meant, was that the plates were made to suit a differernt table, and so when supplied with the table for which they were intended, (and made), they were correct. As they were supplied with the wrong table, (which they were never intended to fit), of course they were drilled wrongly, (Try fitting your aforementioned Fiat wheel on your Ford, bet you it doesn't fit)

donhe7

From the pictures, the holes appear to be on the correct PCD. The only question for me is whether the unequal spacing of the holes is a manufacturing error or if it is done deliberately - presumably so that the plate will only fit in one orientation. I still don't see what that would achieve on any device.

I have both a Myford dividing head and a rotary table with division plates. As far as I recall the mounting holes are equi-spaced and the plates fit in any orientation on each device but I'll check tomorrow.

.

If you are seeking that last "Gnat's Whisker" of certainty, then it's always a good idea to mount a dividing plate in the same orientation on the spindle. It can reduce eccentricity of the circles of holes.

It is worth doing the Math, to understand how much angular error can be introduced by a few thou' of eccentricity. Probably not significant to the average Model Engineer but, the best plates are made that way.

MichaelG.

Some confusion has crept into this thread.

Dismaldunc clearly stated his opening post:

Just got my nice new rotary table with dividing plates from one of the big suppliers (who shall remain anonymous until they reply to my e-mail ) attempted to fit the dividing plates and found the holes out of line see the piccy below.

Les Jones offered the following possible explanation:

Is it possible that the holes are not spaced at exactly 120 Deg. on purpose so that it only fits in one position ?

To which Dismaldunc replied:

I thought that might be the case so gave it a twiddle but tis the same in all three positions ( i also tried the other 2 disks) Dunc

To me this is very clear that the items purchased were not fit for purpose yet some contributors persist in trying to find what amounts to excuses for the supplier.

As suggested let’s see what the supplier has to say in response the Dunc’s email but don’t hold your breath expecting a detailed answer just an apology and an offer to replace or refund the purchase price.

This will seem reasonable to some contributors but it is the minimum the law requires and does not address their obligation to supply good quality items first time.

I formally invite the owners of these companies to explain to us all exactly what their quality control policy and procedures are.

I got an email today from the supplier, they are sending out a new boss for me, which I am quite happy with as it would be a right faff to package up the thing and send it back . I have had quite a few other strange tools from various sources, an eccentric slitting saw arbour and oval shaped knurls all promptly replaced. But this is what you get when buying on the cheap.

i would love to buy "quality" but don't have the dosh, however these cheap tools let me make things and bring me a lot of enjoyment .

.

Sounds like a good result.

MichaelG.

All my division plates from various sources have equally spaced holes and are unkeyed so can be fitted in any orientation. Even photos of a Hardinge dividing head show no key or equivalent. This allows the plates to be rotated effectively trippling the number of holes which in extremis might allow you to get an index otherwise outside your range.

BTW repeatability of mounting orientation is probably assured by the natural instinct to mount the plate with the list of numbers upright.

Although Renishaw's metrology kit is several orders of magnitude more accurate than anything we are ever likely to use ... this is worth reading.

MichaelG

.

I doubt that would qualify as formal

MichaelG.

I can see that if you are in production and fitting a jig to a dividing head for a part, you might want to cut teeth or splines or drill holes in the same angular relation to the jig each time you set it up. For numbers not divisible by 3, this would require the dividing plate to be fixed in a unique orientation.

One point, Dunc is being sent a replacement part and NOT been asked to send back the defective one. So the retialer is not planning to palm the defective part off on the next punter.

Neil

Edited By Stub Mandrel on 14/05/2013 20:06:10