Shopsmith Forums

Dusty,

I have completed my OFT and am quite happy with it! Should have done this a long time ago. Pics attached.

Thanks much Dusty for all your help. You took most of the guess work out of the process for me.

Jack

Additional pictures

Jack

That really looks nice. I assume the upper end of the diagonal support is 'properly located:D'.

Jack, could you please explain what hardware you used at the outboard end of the support tube? Thanks, Hank

Excellent job.:) It makes mine look like a prototype.

hjlssfor1 wrote:Jack, could you please explain what hardware you used at the outboard end of the support tube? Thanks, Hank

Hank

I used a bearing from VXB.com "GE25ES-2RS Double Sealed Spherical Plain Bearing 25x42x20 Plain Bearings" on the bottom of the table. I built the mount from walnut I had laying around.

JPG,

The upper end of the support IS located properly thanks to you guys! Took Dusty's advice and laid the table and OFT on my workbench attached, found the center of the pivot on the table and transferred that mark to the OFT. No adjustments necessary and OFT rotates with the table in the same plane.

Thanks much guys,
Jack

claimdude wrote:Hank

I used a bearing from VXB.com "GE25ES-2RS Double Sealed Spherical Plain Bearing 25x42x20 Plain Bearings" on the bottom of the table. I built the mount from walnut I had laying around.

JPG,

The upper end of the support IS located properly thanks to you guys! Took Dusty's advice and laid the table and OFT on my workbench attached, found the center of the pivot on the table and transferred that mark to the OFT. No adjustments necessary and OFT rotates with the table in the same plane.

Thanks much guys,
Jack

Nicely done! The bearing is an original solution; I like it. There had been some discussion about the importance not only of lining up the pivot points but also also ensuring the pivot points were all at the same distance from the table tops in order to prevent them from rotating in different planes or heeling. Is that something you took into account in your build?

[quote="algale"]Nicely done! The bearing is an original solution]

Al,

I was just thinking about the distance from the bottom of the table post to the center of the pivot point on the table and that same measurement from the post bottom to the center of the bearing (vertical measurement 90 degrees to floor) and what I found is that distance is not particularly important, if at all. If the center of the bearing is lower than the center of the pivot point then all that changes is the angle of the support post. If the two points are identical such that they create a 90 degree angle then the support post will be at 45 degrees to the right angle. In my case the bearing is lower than the pivot which means the I no longer have a right angle and therefore my support rod is probably closer to 60 degrees or so. Make sense? If I had thought through that part sooner I would have built the block the bearing mounts in at a higher angle than 45 to better match the correct triangle. Either way the bearing rotates 360 degrees and side to side 360 degrees (probably moves about 20 degrees) so there is ample movement to allow for the off angle. Doesn't affect the plane of the table/OFT at all. Dusty made this clear in one of his posts that the only measurement that mattered much was that the pivot point must be horizontally in line and centered to one another. My OFT does not change planes at all through the tilt.

Jack

I fought the variable tilt feature of my OFT for many months and at least three iterations before I finally got it right. Actually, I never got it right. It was the discussion here on the forum that finally gave me a clue.

Once I located the pivot point on the underside of the OFT in the same horizontal plane as the pivot point on the main table, all went well.

There may be another iteration of my OFT but if there is it is for a reason of stupidity. I left the garage door open and the shop unattended. It rained with a wind coming out of the east (directly into the shop). That hardly ever happens here but this time, when it did, the OFT got soaked. Not too smart on my part.

Couple of additional questions:

Does the bolt captures the bearing or does it serve another purpose?

Is the support leg adjustable in length or is it fixed length?

Thanks, and, again, nice work.

Al