Author Topic: Adjustable angle plate - any good?  (Read 14712 times)

Offline sparky961

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Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« on: May 26, 2011, 10:14:45 AM »
Does anyone have one of these, and can anyone offer an opinion of quality and usefulness of such a thing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350465796588&ssPageName=ADME:B:FSEL:US:1123

It would seem to me that this would add setup possibilities for those of us that don't have a tilting head on their mill... but maybe they aren't as useful in practice as they are in theory?

-Sparky

Offline AdeV

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2011, 11:21:58 AM »
I don't have one of those, specifically, but I do have an adjustable angle plate. It comes in handy when milling large areas at an angle:



I would be a little concerned about the rigidity of the one you linked - it mentions 2 screws to hold the angle, but you could be putting some fairly hefty forces in there. Mine has two honking great big bolts to do up, I have to use one of my biggest spanners on it. The downside to the style I have is, it's a bit of a pig to set to a specific angle, one has to get it about right, partially do up the bolts, then do the fine adjustment with a mallet; all the time hoping the bolt doesn't suddenly loosen, trapping your fingers & nose between workpiece & mill table...
Cheers!
Ade.
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Offline Bogstandard

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2011, 01:12:13 PM »
Sparky,

I use one exactly the same as that.

I subjected mine to a little work on the surface grinder to get it spot on true, but for a bit of general purpose work, it would be fine as is.


Bogs
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Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2011, 02:32:07 PM »
There are several free plans out on the web for smaller sine type plates. I was just looking at one that I think I am going to attempt making.

Link HERE. Check out the rest of his stuff... a lot of cool THINGS

Eric
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Offline Ray

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2011, 02:32:30 PM »
I also have one from ENCO that I have had for years.  Only used it about 12 times but it serves it's purpose when called for.
Ray
Waco, Texas

Rob.Wilson

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2011, 03:00:56 PM »
Hi Sparky,


I have a couple of adjustable angle plates in my shop ,,,,,, very handy bit of kit to have in the shop  :dremel:

Rob 

Offline sparky961

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2011, 04:30:22 PM »
Thanks for all the input, and that link with all the fun toys to make..... oh boy, my wishlist just doubled. :P

-Sparky

Offline John Stevenson

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2011, 05:30:43 PM »
Got a similar one but mine doesn't have the rack and work, you move it by hand. Again like bogs i had to flash the botton on a suface grinder to true it up but in all fairness this must have been one of the earlier Chinese imports and the quality has improved no end so in all probabilty the ones being brought in now are better than mine was.

I use angle plates a fair bit as none of my CNC's can tilt the head.

John S
John Stevenson

Offline Ned Ludd

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2011, 07:42:10 PM »
Hi Sparky,
They can be useful but it is frustrating that they only go to 45 degrees each side of horizontal as there are many occasions when the full range of movement is needed. Ok, you can bolt them to an angle plate, but if you buy the other kind, a swivel angle plate, there is no need.
Ned
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Offline sparky961

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2011, 10:31:09 PM »
Swivel angle plate?  Please, do tell...

Offline AdeV

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #10 on: May 28, 2011, 06:55:24 AM »
Swivel angle plate?  Please, do tell...

Like the one I posted, it swivels around a pivot & will go from 90 degrees to zero (beyond, actually, but there's no graduations).



That's very like mine - the top piece tilts away from the viewer, it will go as far as being vertical (i.e. 90 degrees), just like a fixed angle plate.
Cheers!
Ade.
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Location: Wallasey, Merseyside. A long way from anywhere.
Occasionally: Zhengzhou, China. An even longer way from anywhere...

Offline JHovel

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Re: Adjustable angle plate - any good?
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2016, 11:22:17 AM »
Old thread, but I really think the Shars one is upside down. The T-slot plate moves far too much from side to side to be really useful. If you imagined it upside down, the top would only move little:
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/SRgAAOSwv-NWY692/s-l300.jpg
Maybe a T-slot plate bolted to the bottom and a new way of holding it down (upside down) would make the Shars (and similar designs) much more useful....
Cheers,
Joe