Slick vise-jaw fixturing idear?

Question

Awl --

Luckily, I found a set of jaws I had made, for milling multiple 5/8'ish round rods on their ends -- facing, tapped holes, etc.

These jaws are not so easy to make, so I'm glad I found them, but it dawned on me how closely they resembled the rack part of a rack and pinion gear. If the rack could be fastened to a vise jaw, wouldn't it make a fantastic fixture for multiple small rounds?

The moveable jaw uses wood or something compressible to apply reasonably uniform pressure to all the pieces. The jaws ( for 6" Kurt, but about 8" wide) I have can hold about a dozen rounds. A rack could hold many more smaller pieces.

Proly more useful for the cnc-lathe-less peeple. I do many "lathe-ish" operations on a vmc, if I have the psychological wherewithall to make the fixture. In some cases, the right set up might rival a low-end cnc-lathe ito parts rate, but always at the price of a significant set up.

Half-nutz · Accepted Answer

For those small parts, I've used a block that was bored and brass tipped set screws to hold the parts. Relying on the wood for consistant "crush" and thus the grip might be iffy after a few hundred pieces. I used 1/4-28 set screws for 1/4" SS pins I was making, they had some pretty aggressive cuts on them, so the fixture held up very well. Especially since the milling cuts were offset, and trying to spin the parts out of the fixture.

But we've gone over this subject before for these exact parts of yours.

Existential Angst · Answer

For those small parts, I've used a block that was bored and brass tipped set screws to hold the parts. Relying on the wood for consistant "crush" and thus the grip might be iffy after a few hundred pieces. ==================================

True. You gotta replace the wood after a while.

I used 1/4-28 set screws for 1/4" SS pins I was making, they had some pretty aggressive cuts on them, so the fixture held up very well. Especially since the milling cuts were offset, and trying to spin the parts out of the fixture. =================================

Yeah, these multiple part-ditties are not for heavy milling.

But we've gone over this subject before for these exact parts of yours. ===================================

Yup.... STILL struggling, but not as hard. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for discarded rack/pinions, tho. Not absolutely sure the idea would prove entirely practical, since I haven't actually tried it, but I'm pretty sure it would work for at least a few rod sizes.

stans4 · Answer

A fairly stiff urethane block might substitute for your wood with a longer life. I've got a set of "soft" vise jaws for holding gun parts that barely show lines after holding threaded parts. Lots of racks on the surplus market, fewer mating gears, though that's not important to you.

Stan

Doug White · Answer

"Existential Angst"  wrote innews:4b424753$0$4990$     I think Snap Jaws has something like that, only they have multiple pistons linked by hydraulics.  That ensures every part gets the same pressure.  Very slick (but expensive): White

Slick vise-jaw fixturing idear?

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