My toys just arrived
Yeah toe clamps are handy. I have the same set with a red holder. I find having a lot of different lengths of plain 1/2 X 13 threaded rod handy to have with it too. I have a whole drawer of that in my mill’s roller box.
Yes. I couldn’t believe the price. When I saw the price (like $40 on Walmart online/free shipping), I bought it on the spot.
@George_Allen I got mine from Harbor Freight decades ago. Back then they shipped any order that totaled more than $50 for free, so I would just buy a few things at a time.
Yes, I see Harbor Freight has the set pretty inexpensive too, only $49.99
I bought a 1, 2, 3 block online. Will that work with those clamps?
I need a precision vise, but they are pretty pricey
@George_Allen Blocks are often handy for setups. I never got 1 2 3 blocks but I have a collection of blocking that I use. As far as handy dandy items go thin parallels are way up on the list. Those I couldn’t do without.
@George_Allen Before I got a real milling vise I learned a trick about blocking work up in drill vises with a round. If you put a round cylinder in front of the movable jaw of a drill vise it can hold the work down. It is a strange thing. I use a cut off piece of a torsion bar as my round. I think it is somewhere around an inch and an eighth thick? Though I wouldn’t call the milling vise I have particularly “precision”. I bought it in distressed condition at a flea market, then fixed it up into usable shape. It’s a long story what I had to do to fix this hunk of junk up. Behold Frankenvise! http://i.imgur.com/pDAid.jpg
Terrific! Thanks for the idea & link!
@George_Allen with the round trick the contact of the round on the work has to be on the side of the work, and the center point of the round in order for it to work. I’ve also resorted to holding the movable jaw down with toe clamps too. But that’s a hassle to setup. With an indicator on the top of the work I’ve seen work raise a lot held in drill vises. When the work rises it is hard to get anything square and parallel.
I drew a picture to try to explain how it works https://i.imgur.com/J1bRZf0.png
Thanks. I bought a dial indicator and magnetic mount a few weeks ago to make sure my rails are level.
I wish I had access to a metal lathe so I could turn & thread some lead screws I have.
@George_Allen yes you need to use measuring instruments building a CNC machine. A CNC capable of precision needs to be built precisely. I used my Hoke gage block set when I built mine. Because tape measures don’t really cut it for this kind of work. http://i.imgur.com/wpXgLtq.jpg
Ok, I just bought a set. I might need your assistance with using it effectively.
@George_Allen You bought a gage block set?
Yes, an inexpensive one: Shar’s
Can you help me with that? I just posted the item in discussion for you to look at it
It’s not a full set, I don’t think
@George_Allen You have the traditional set. The set I have has holes through all of the pieces and extendable rods that can be built up and put through the blocks to make up longer lengths. If your set is good you can stick them together by wringing. There’s a way to rub the blocks together and they should stick to each other then. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lOOl3VxOtE