Adjustable angle plate

Does anyone know of a supplier of a good quality (not imported) adjustable angle plate, about 6" x 4" ish, for use on a Tom Senior mill,

All I can seem to find are imported ones of varying quality,

Good luck with that quest, I admire your sentiments! I think 2nd hand is your only option if you want 'made in Britain'. Can someone prove me wrong?

Tony

You could get a set of castings from College and then make to whatever spec you like in whatever country you reside in. Though from a previous post I think the cheaper option was to by an imported one and rework it given the price of one like this though whether it's been anywhere near Oxford I don't know.

I doubt industry has much call for them now preferring to tilt the work on a 5-axis machine.

Edited By JasonB on 26/10/2020 19:23:05

Have you considered bolting two normal angle plates together at the required angle ?

Am I missing something? If you were looking for a fixed angle plate I could understand the search for accuracy but for an adjustable plate my first question would be are you looking for metric or imperial?

It might be worth contacting The Sheffield Tooling Company; used to be Riley's when under previous management
https://sheffieldtooling.co.uk/product-category/workholding/tables/

They also have an ebay shop with different stuff listed, along with many products which aren't on the web at all.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_ssn=sheffieldtoolingco&LH_PrefLoc=&_from=R40&_trksid=p2499338.m570.l1313&_nkw=angle+plate&_sacat=0

Bill

That is interesting. Their tables look just like mine in many of the details:

I bought mine secondhand on Ebay some years back. I didn't fancy the tables with lugs and two axial bolts. They'd move in an instant with my thud and blunder machining. I also wanted a large table as it would need to support a cylinder for a 4" scale traction engine. The table I ended up with is bigger than I intended, at 9" by 18", but it just fits on the mill table. The top and T-slots are in a shocking state but the table operation is smooth and everything that should be flat, square or parallel is so.

Andrew

I put up links for their shop as well as ebay.
As an example, a similar table/plate to yours, but smaller, is in the shop @ £187, whereas the same item on ebay is also £187 or make an offer, inc delivery.
When you take ebay and paypal fees into account, it may be that the actual cost, via a direct phone call, is lower than immediately obvious.


I've never used them in under their new ownership, but often used Riley's when I lived in Sheffield.

Bill

Edited By peak4 on 26/10/2020 22:12:28

Would something like an Abwood tilting vise fit the bill?

.

as in decimal degrees vs degrees, minutes, seconds ?

... if something affordable, with the requisite precision, came available ... I would suggest using a calculator

MichaelG

Real Abwood tilting vices are large and very, very heavy. I have a 6" one and no way would it go on a Senior mill. Franky I'm a little dubious of putting it on my Bridgeport. Got it 'cos it was too cheap to let go but have only used it once.

There are smaller import versions in similar style. Merely very heavy.

The couple I looked at years ago were rather indifferent as to vice quality. Odds are that the price the market will accept isn't enough to engineer a really good vice on top of all the swivelling gubbins.

I imagine Ketan at ArcEurotrade is most likely to have found something useable and affordable. Realistically you need a very good vice for this sort of job. After carefully setting the vice angle pounding a job down onto parallels to get it settled snugly in the vice is clearly less than ideal. Indicating in a tilted vice and tilted workpiece that don't feel like behaving is, um, seriously frustrating. Arc prices are are up towards the top end of "home market" versions which may be indicative!

There are some very inexpensive tilting vices using either sheet metal side arm brackets or a quadrant and sidelock screw. As purchased the quadrant and side lock screw version is generally marginally less inaccurate but neither are sufficiently accurate or rigid for proper milling use with a decent size cutter. Many folk have re-worked the cheap side-arm type, like the Clarke CT25 from machine mart, to produce a small tilting vice of very satisfactory accuracy for light duties. Fundamentally the moving jaw is too small with insufficient guide area and there is little that can be done about that. I think life is too short and the rewards incommensurate with the effort.

I have a tilting table like like Andrews and one of the 0 to 90° variety using a similar quadrant to permit rotation. The common size 0 to 90° is generally smaller, albeit a little taller, than the common ones like Andrews. More in keeping with the Senior I think but it does only tilt one way. If well made the simple one or two lug and pivot type can work well but setting can be tricky and the pivot arrangements need to be beyond reproach.

Arc do a couple of smaller ones in the same style as Andrews which are worth a look.

Clive

You may be averse to purchasing imported goods, for whatever reason, but they can be made to function accurately, if that is your concern, as shown by Stefan Gotteswinter in his short video series on YouTube, starting here.

Just what sort of accuracy are you looking for? And to what use will it be put?

John

I like the idea of using two 90degree angle plates bolted together, this would give probably an unlimited combination of angles, also would be more rigid and not inclined to move during machining operations.

I do it with two quiet often or even just one, as my angle plates are machined on the back face one can be held in a vice at the required angle.

I also put a small vice in the larger one when a tilting vice is wanted for smallish parts.

I seem to recall a system rather like a jury rigged sine table. You bolt a round bar, say 1 1/2 in along one end of a plate that will be your work table. You clamp the bar in the vice on a parallel and tilt it as required with the free end supported by a machinist's jack. Suitable for the little jobs and suitably made can be clamped flat on the table for some other work on the piece before tilting for eg some champfer.

With the bar extended beyond the plate to provide clamping space it might work just sitting the bar in a main table slot to avoid losing height.

As it is 'just a plate' you can merrily drill and tap fixing holes as you are not defacing a proper tool.