Turntable for water grinder

Object description:

Whenever I had to lift my water grinder with its 13 kg weight to turn it 180° from grinding to polishing position and back, I thought of a relief in the form of a turntable with a locking mechanism. Well, here it is.

These are parts to build a turntable for a water grinder Tormek-8. It will for sure also fit to smaller grinders and similar products like Scheppach, Holzmann, Güde, Holzkraft, Triton. It depends mainly on the size of the bottom- and top plates.

The index plate is designed to fit on a Prusa MK3 and similar sizes. For this reason it is divided into two parts which can be inserted into each other with a puzzle lock. It ensures a latching function after every 90° rotation.

The axial ball bearing is originally designed for 8mm balls. A 3/8 Inch version is in the meantime also available.  The balls must be pressed into the cage window by hand. They should then be fixed in the cage but still be able to move freely.

>>> Please note that the drilling pattern for the top plate differs slightly depending on the ball diameter used. See drilling pattern in the download section “other files”. <<<

If you need it for other sizes, please leave a comment or send me a message. I'm open to provide different designs on demand.

The locking lever supports two springs. I simply used two springs from an old ball point pen. So this should be available in every household.

Finally, screw the base plate to the top plate through the pivot point. Leave a slight amount of play so that the two parts can still rotate easily.

A short video of how it works is in the download section at "other files".

Update from 2025-03-23:

Two index plates in one piece for larger printers added.

Update from 2024-07-24:

Comment to ball assembly added to the object description.

Update from 2024-07-20:

Ball bearing for 3/8 Inch balls and corresponding drilling pattern added.

Update from 2024-06-06:

I realized in the meantime that a 180° pitch makes more sense than 90°. That's why I added a index plate for a 180° pitch in the “Alternative parts” directory.

Update from 2024-03-29:

I suggest making the base and top plate from wood. This will be the cheaper option in most cases. But for those who can and want to print the base and top plate in the size 244x244mm, I have attached the models. The 3mf-files contain a modifier so that 5 perimeters are printed in the area of the drill holes. The height of the plates is 12 mm and can be scaled individually.

Material list:

• Printed parts
• 1x Hexagon Socket Screw M3x30
• 1x Hexagon Nut M3
• 1 or 2x Spring from a ball point pen. They must be shortened slightly with a pair of pliers.
• 29x steel balls dia. 8mm
• 1x Countersunk Wood Screw e.g. SPAX 3,5 to fix the upper to the lower plate. The length depends on the plate thicknesses.
• 26x Countersunk Wood Screw, e.g. SPAX 3x12
• 2x Plate, size acc. to your needs. I used size 244x244x16 which fits perfect to a Tormek-8 grinder.

Recommended print settings:

Material:  PETG, PLA

Resolution: 0,2mm

Infill: 25%

Perimeter: 2

Brim: no

Support: no