yet another angle plate

hallo all

just new on the forum I would be pleased to take advantage of your experience, or yor specific knowledge, about commercially avaliable adjustable angle plates.

I was looking for one to mount on optimum bf20L, which should be the same as a Champion 20V or one of the most recents amavm25lv

examples are here link and here link, they are also avaliable from other suppliers bur essentially the same tools

The one I would prefer is the second one, I think it is more rigid and it would solve my setup.

I know the discussion about imported goods but I also believe is possible to make them accurate enough, with some effort, and for the price I think is worth it

the BF20 table size is 700x180mm with 3 slots 12mm wide and spaced 62mm.

I need to mount the angle plate with its T-slots perpendicular to the x axis (or its hinge should rotate along the y axis) to use it with my fourth axis rotary head , which is aligned to the x axis, since I have to mill some angled slots otherwise it would' t have been a problem.

the angle plate lower mounting slots should have a distance of about 124mm.

unfortunately from the description of the variuos angle plates this key information is missing and that is the distance of the mounting slots on the milling machine table.

they describe the dimensions of the top table of the plate and the spacing of the T slots but not the mounting side which goes on the table of the mill.

I would like to know if anyone owns one of those and which one of the avaliable adjustable angle plates might fit the dimensions of my mill's slots.

Of course I could make some adjustments in case of need but not major ones which might compromise the structure of the angle plate itself

I hope I was clear.

Thank you in advance for any help

Fabio

Hi Fabio, the angle-plate in your 2nd. link does give a mounting slot dimension of 110mm. Isn't that the dimension you are interested in?

I have a similar, but slightly larger angle-plate. It's sturdy enough but when fastened down to the mill table it will only adjust to about 42 degrees maximum, and that's only after I modidied itl. To go to the full 50 deg. of its scale requires a spacer about 10mm thick underneath the mounting foot.

HTH

Edited By Clive Brown 1 on 14/03/2022 20:28:07

When I was looking for an angle plate I only considered the second pattern. All round much more rigid, and easier to adjust. Can't help with precise size requrements, as mine was bought secondhand. It's knocked about a lot, and is a tad on the large side for the Bridgeport (10" x 18" ), but nothing is going to shift it while machining:

Andrew

thank you both for your replies.

Clive: yes I think that 110mm is usable and for the tilt I was looking for around 30 degrees so it should be ok.

I am also looking for the same setup for a bigger mill . The Andrew one looks interesting.

I am waiting for some other base slots dimensions like the 5"x7" and the 10"x7" before making a decision.

But I was wondering if anyone knows a link with a pdf that describe this familiy of plates in details (dimensions).

I haven' t been able to find one.

thanks again

cheers

Fabio

The angle plate in the first of your two links is more versatile to mount than the second one as toe clamps can be used on various parts of the base if necessary.

Fabio, whatever angle plate you buy, consider fitting a fixture plate with threaded holes like this, It makes it far more usable,

Thanks again to everybody, the toe clamps idea is something I had not considered even if somehing I use quite often and would solve several problems. I could also use the same tool on different mills

and I also like very much your fixture plate Richard.

tnks

here's some more views, I've found this fixture plate far more useful than the slots, which never seem to match up with anything you need to clamp to it.

I've got one of the ones in the second link - the minimum hold down spacing is about 100 mm, maximum about 115. You have to be careful with the length of the studs and nuts, otherwise they foul the table adjusting nuts. Some time I might make a couple of dedicated toe clamps which would put the hold down nuts outside the base of the table.

It is good and rigid.

I found it easy to make one - using a length of round bar (20mm dia +/-) to which I bolted a flat steel plate with a few holes. In use, the bar is held in one of the table slots, or in a V-groove support or a pair of V-blocks. The 'far' end of the plate is supported by a small screw-jack and adjusted to the required angle. This is checked using a dial gauge fixed on an arm under the milling machine head, and this check allows me to adjust the rotation and the jack height to be sure that the plate surface is parallel with one axis and the correct angle to the other axis (either way round to suit the job). A simple calculation relating distance moved horizontally with increase or decrease in height of the gauge saves a lot of faff trying to measure angles in degrees. the last part I made was a steering support for a pre-war Bentley and I was told it was 'better than the original.'

Much of my work involves one-off machining, and as a pensioner I need not look too often at the time spent, so something like this meets my needs at minimal cost. Whether it will work for you, only you can say.

Cheers, Tim

Thank you all Gentlemen

For sure now I have a better idea of the whole thing.

Each of the two kinds have advantages and disadvantages. It would be better to have both and most probably in the future I will.

For now the most versatile setup for my use is the first type. I will fit it with Richard's plate and let you know. Mounting base dimensions are not critical if I will use dedicated custom toe clamps.

Now I just have to order one.

Thanks again

Cheers

Fabio