Towards a better looking angle plate - Model Engineer

I want to use this angle plate for bolting something to the cross-slide of my mini-lathe.  Purchased many years ago, but finally found a use for it…after finding it in the bottom of a drawer.

Hengfeng are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.

The backside where all the nuts and washers will go is quite rough and I’d like to neaten things up so that fixings don’t work loose.  (And to keep up appearances with Mrs. Bucket.)

I seek advice for doing this without destroying my tooling.  I can’t tell if the roughness is cast, or sand that’s been painted over.  Am I going to ruin my Dremel stones on this?

Mike

On MikeK Said:

Thanks for the replies, gents.

I can’t get a finger sander just yet (I do want one, though).

What I just noticed is that the four slots aren’t evenly spaced.  It probably should have been one for the reject pile.  I’ll make some simple T-nuts and ruin a couple Dremel stones today.

Mike

Maybe not. Angle plates, like many lathe faceplates,  usually have cast-in slots, so they are not precision machined and may not necessarily be in exact positions. Patterns move around in the casting process, moulds distort, and castings distort.

Hence, T-nuts are usually not recommended. T-nuts are designed to fit in a machined T slot. Faceplates and angle plates with rough cast slots and uneven back surfaces work better with plain flat washers and nuts to grip on to the uneven surfaces and cock at an angle if one side is higher than the other. Plus you get to use the very ends of the slots which T nuts will not access.

A Dremel grinder seems rather small for such clean up work. Those expensive little grinding tips don’t last very long on a relatively larger job. If you don’t have a regular size die grinder (which most of us don’t) you can buy the regular size die grinder tips with the 1/4″ /6mm shanks and a stone from half to one inch diamater,  cheap enough and spin it in an electric drill. Most corded drills will spin fast enough for it to work ok for this type of clean up work.

There is a lot can be done too with abrasive flap wheels in the pistol drill, and others in fitted to 4″ angle grinder etc, although they wont get into sharp corners. For knocking out/off that congealed casting sand and iron dust, lot can be done too with a cold chisel or even a welder’s chipping hammer, or even just then end of a handy bit of steel bar ground to a bit of a point.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Cast Iron Angle Plate.

Don’t feel too bad about the poor quality of the finish on your angle plate. My mate bought a not-cheap mid-sized Chinese milling machine from a reputable supplier to industry and hobbyists that had the same: painted over casting sand and iron dust still stuck to the castings. Including INSIDE the gearbox. Now, that took some fettling — in the original sense of the word, as it happens.

While you are at it, run a try-square over your angle plates and make sure they are actually square. Not all are created equal and some could use a touch up with a fly cutter to make them truly square. That matters more than the state of the cast surfaces.

I have both 6″ and 8″ fully machined Eclipse angle plates. Their slots are really out of proportion for their size as they are about 17mm wide at the machined face although casting draft reduces this to about 15mm. The slots are also extend too close to the fillet between the faces so large, say M12 or M14 bolts would not be able to get to the inner end of the long slots.

I use mostly 6, 8 and 10mm fixings and have accrued an assortment of washers and wide T nuts so the plates are used frequently, but the out of proportion aspect of the plates is mildly annoying. I am not averse to making modifications to manufactured/branded tooling even if newly purchased although on this angle plate I have just added two tapped holes on one edge but I cannot remember why now.

Like Jason I prefer the fully machined type of angle plate and the 4″ angle plate I bought at a show about 10 years ago has not been used although several times I have been tempted to take a hacksaw to it and remove the webs. I cannot imagine a machining set up where the strength given by the webs would be essential or beneficial.

If Mike K has milling facilities then he could make a silk purse of of his cows ear.

Ian P

You wil see my angle plates in use in just about every built thread I post and the vive comes on and off many times in a build but just to expand what I said last night

Two plates bolted together and to the table with M10 fixings as that is what fits the 12mm slot width of the mill’s table but M6 used to hold work to the plate. Bolted together in a U shape and the upper one angled to suit the job, the U shape is often more compact than the only option of “Z” with webbed plates so ideal for smaller hobby machines

Same job different setup again M10 to table and M6 to work. Note that the flat back without webs allows me to place G clamps anywhere I want if there is no may to use the slots.

Not sure I would have wanted to use just M6 fixings on a job like this . The M10 clamp sets also make good machinists jacks

Want more information on Open End Slotted Angle Plate? Feel free to contact us.

I'm looking for a reasonable angle plate for the mill, which if needed to I can accurize or smooth out the action (like Stephan did on one of his great vids).
What would you guys say are the advantages or disadvantages of the various types. I like the look of the ones which swivel over a hump (yes, terrible description I know). But then there are the ones that pivot in the centre (often cheap Indian manufactured), but then some which fold almost like a book, from one side. I wasnt thinking of a sine settup, which I may get later for the surface grinder, but more something that is larger and pretty solid, thats able to absorb large cutting forces (mill). And, that could be set up accurately using angle gauges or protractor. I have this type and find it "serviceable" - meaning it arrived with the top surface coplanar to the bottom across the pivot axis and the top surface that tilts was flat to within 0.001". It is certainly NOT Herman Schmidt quality but for my needs it's worked fine. You can buy it here.


The T-slots were about 1mm undersized to their stated spec, so I re-cut the slots to actually fit the size T-nut it's supposed to accept.

I've got both. If I were going to buy one. I'd only spend money on one which has sine function....even for mill use.
More importantly, if you have more time than dollars, you can have fun, do good work and be safe making all these.
You don't need to spend any cash on these. On the other hand if your shop is trying to turn a profit making parts is likely more profitable than making tooling and accessories.

Daryl
MN

I bought one for my mill since the head doesn't nod. It is very heavy but it is solid. It also is tall and eats up a lot of vertical height.
Joe

thats the type I have and it has come in very handy. They come up used a lot.

I bought one for my mill since the head doesn't nod. It is very heavy but it is solid. It also is tall and eats up a lot of vertical height.
Joe

Actually Joe, my mill head does "nod", so I can get away without I guess. But then tramming up and farting around... also I have a horizontal mill, which could use a adjustable too. Yeah I really like the look of your angle plate.