# Best Homemade Tools >  Rotary table

## athomp

I wanted a rotary table for my mill but didn't want to have to pay big money for a decent sized one so I made my own 11" table. It's made out of 1/2" plate, 2 brake rotors and a ring gear off a lawnmower engine. I turned a spindle on the lathe and welded it to the bottom plate. A brake rotor is mounted on the spindle. Another brake rotor with the hub cut out is mounted upside down on the lower one. The ring gear is riveted to a piece of 16 gauge sheet metal and sandwiched between the two rotors. I made a worm gear on the lathe. Two thumb screws adjust the worm gear against the ring gear to eliminate backlash. There is a bolt on either side that can be screwed in against the lower brake rotor to lock the table in place. The gear ratio is a bit odd at 97:1. The whole thing weighs 123 lbs.

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almarghi (Sep 22, 2018),

blkadder (May 17, 2018),

Captainleeward (Jan 12, 2018),

Gary A. Wills (Jan 13, 2018),

jlrice54 (May 17, 2018),

johncg (Feb 18, 2021),

Kevic (Jan 3, 2019),

KustomsbyKent (May 17, 2018),

Miloslav (Mar 28, 2019),

mwmkravchenko (May 17, 2018),

Neil Jensen (Jan 10, 2018),

NortonDommi (Jan 11, 2018),

odd one (Feb 20, 2021),

Paul Jones (Jan 12, 2018),

PJs (Jan 4, 2019),

SA MAKER (Mar 29, 2019),

Seedtick (Jan 11, 2018),

sossol (Jan 10, 2018),

thehomeengineer (Jan 10, 2018),

Tonyg (Mar 29, 2019),

Toolmaker51 (May 19, 2018),

Tule (Jan 4, 2019),

volodar (Jan 4, 2019)

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## DIYer

Thanks athomp! We've added your Rotary Table to our Machining category,
as well as to your builder page: athomp's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:















Rotary Table
 by athomp

tags:
rotary table

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## mudnducs

Nice job! How did you mark the rotary table tick marks with..out...a ......rotary.........table?

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## athomp

> Nice job! How did you mark the rotary table tick marks with..out...a ......rotary.........table?



Thanks. 
I printed out a 11" degree wheel off the Internet and glued it to the bottom of the table and then used a punch set to make the degree marks.

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Kevic (Jan 3, 2019),

PJs (Jan 4, 2019),

PTSchram (Feb 5, 2020)

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## NortonDommi

Beautiful repurposing. Looks like it could take a good load.

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## blkadder

I like this a lot. I have been curious about how to go about making one of these.

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## Toolmaker51

Sorry to have missed this first time around. Great job on a big project, not to mention effective design incorporating unmatched components. Have to mention rotary tables/ indexers are my first line answer to tricky contours and spacing.

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PJs (Jan 4, 2019)

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## Radioman

Nice work. Would love to see some of the worm gear turning? Also how you got the lawn mower ring gear mounted and in mesh with the home built worm?

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PJs (Jan 4, 2019)

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## bobneumann

Nice looking!. Where did you get the actual table portion? Did you machine it yourself? 
And how much rocking deflection do you get under a heavy load? It seems like three roller bearings mounted underneath the perimeter of the lower rotor would prevent it from rocking.

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