Deckel rotary table -is this genuine?

[Cycles]

I was looking for a Deckel rotary table for probably a year now. Either the price was extra spicey because of the Deckel nametag or the provider was too far away, shipping for these rotary table is usually too expensive.

So yesterday a rotary table in "very good, working condition" popped up for not only a good price (300€), but also only 20 miles away from me. I immediately responded and was at his place 2h later. Unfortunately I had no time beforehand to read the manual or gather information about these rotary tables.

I was visually inspecting the devise and cranked it by hand - everything fine. I also thought I remembered the worm gear could be swiveled out just like the dividing head by turning the indexing plate - but the worm was fixed in place. I also asked the owner and he said this wasn't a feature for these rotary tables.

Now that I got the thing home I want to do a disassembly and cleanup, but as I gather more and more information, there are some things seeming fishy, so before confronting the previous owner I would like to ask for help...

On the bottom of the worm housing there is still the split cotter visible for locking the worm gear I think. The locking lever on the bottom seems to be missing, instead the worm wheel housing is clamped with a socket head cap screw form above. Can anyone confirm whether this is the genuine condition or if things have been altered?

Also according to the Deckel manual there should be an arrow, indicating how far to turn the indexing plate for complete worm engagement. But the arrow is missing too so that part might have been altered too...

On all versions of the rotary table I found online there is an oil sight glass, but mine has a bung with a plug to release the oil I think, is this genuine or not?

 

[nihilistic]

So uh... if it locks then why do you care? If you buy used tooling you have to expect wear and tear. Maybe the lever was a bad design and broke so this is actually an upgrade. Or somebody mishandled it and it snapped. Either way why do you feel you were ripped off if you got a great deal on a working machine that can easily cost 5X what you paid. Yes it is going to have some scars.

 

[Cycles]

So uh... if it locks then why do you care? If you buy used tooling you have to expect wear and tear. Maybe the lever was a bad design and broke so this is actually an upgrade. Or somebody mishandled it and it snapped. Either way why do you feel you were ripped off if you got a great deal on a working machine that can easily cost 5X what you paid. Yes it is going to have some scars.

From my experience of buying used tooling I would say things on tools were mostly altered because something was damaged, broken or got missing and not to make it somehow better. So my first reaction is always to be suspicious...

 

[whateg0]

I'm not sure what you are going to confront the seller about. You saw it. You still bought it. It's yours now. Here, when you buy something used, "as is" is implied. All the things used to describe it like works good are subjective so the seller can say, well, it does work good! (Should be works well...) If they had sold it as NIB, that would be a different story, but it's just a used tool that you as the buyer should have researched more beforehand and if it didn't meet your expectations, you should have walked away.

 

[M.B. Naegle]

I have no experience with Deckel stuff other than just knowing it's high end, but in general, buying used is always a gamble. You might get screwed in a deal, but the only way the seller would be at fault is if it's obvious that they knowingly hid something from you or otherwise took advantage of you. Even if they knew there were problems and weren't entirely open about it, if the price was right for the condition of the item then IMO they are not in the wrong. Many sellers intentionally limit the amount of information they will give you because no matter how open you try to be, there's always going to be that guy who finds some "problem" and wants a bigger discount. When you're dealing with high value items, the same rules apply IMO, it just puts a greater burden on the buyer to know what he's exchanging his money for.

The same could be said if the roles were switched. If a seller sells something cheap because he thinks it's faulty or broken, but the buyer finds nothing wrong with it, how often does the buyer go back and give him more money? That would be fair, but all to often it's not the case because he "got a deal."

 

[AlfaGTA]

Looks like the original kit....All i have seen have the clamp to release the worm eccentric for adjustment for backlash and disengaged.
Have one that does not have a sight glass, another that does. Nor seen the oil fitting on any think its a shop mod....Think later versions eliminated the glass, can't say for sure.....Easy to add one of your own if its a "thing"

If its flat, rotates round, has no chipped or broken "T" slots and has minimal worm backlash, then i think you are golden....Time to move on and put it to work.
Cheers Ross

On edit, shaft end looks fishy. All i have seen have round shaft with a key to drive the degree hand wheel or dividing arm set....plus the end is finished as a male thread not tapped. Maybe its a a repair....no clue!

 

[HHollow]

This an awful lot of trouble and worry over something that can be bought for 300 clams. Shut up and buy it. If it turns out to be a dog then re-sell it for what it is really worth and move on.