Once in a while, i need to hold round objects. It would be either
thin, flat round things, or, conversely, tall things.
The axis of the round object would be parallel to Z.
What is the right way to hold them in a vise? With vee blocks?
Anything else?
i
Vee blocks will easily crush tubing etc. if used in a vise.
For low /medium production work usually I use aluminum soft jaws in the vise
and after placing a spacer between them I will bore at two places a few thou
oversize so as to accept 2 workpieces per station
--If I do this with 3 double lock vises on the table this nets me 12 parts
per cycle.
One possible solution flat round is what is called a finger
plate or finger vise. Nowadays these are generally shop
made.
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picture see
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If for end working, your best solution may not be a vise [in
the usual sense] at all, but rather a substantial slotted
right angle iron, with "pinch" clamps or cotters you can
make yourself. Drawback is that you will need a different
clamp or cotter for each diameter, but you can accommodate
tapered or threaded stock and machine the pinch clamp* to a
larger size to reuse. It is also easy to set up accurate and
repeatable angles. Magnetic sine bars are best [most
accurate and easiest to use] , but a good protractor is
generally adequate for home shop projects.
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* avoid the temptation to use a set screw. These will
generally mar the work and don't hold as well as a good
close fitting pinch clamp or cotter.
Most of the mail order mill supplies should have angle irons
in stock. Get one that is about max for your machine. For
some examples see
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-- Unka George (George McDuffee)
..............................
The past is a foreign country;
they do things differently there.
L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author.
The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).
I'd put small cylinders in a pin vise, large disks in
a four-jaw chuck (I have one suitable for positioning
under a drill press).
I guess V blocks would let me put the pin vise (or a spare
Jacobs chuck, for that matter) in a vise that clamps down
to the drill table or mill table.
I'm not a machinist, but the first obvious answer is the v-blocks;
but if you're holding something delicate, you could conceivably
make a pair of jaw inserts with semicylindrical notches that match
the OD of the part.
Good Luck!
Rich
I have a bunch of Beech blocks bored with different size holes that
are a hair undersized then band sawed in half. They've lasted for
decades and were free.
That's a nice vise! I just might bid on it, thanks. The hardwood
blocks won't mar a part and have a lot more gripping area. You should
see my pliers made from 4' long two-by-fours!
They are nice. If I ever use mine daily, I'll add a quick crank to
the front of the knob.
I believe you. I wouldn't believe anyone else, but I do you. ;)
--
The general effect was exactly like a microscopic view of a
small detachment of black beetles, in search of a dead rat.
-- John Ruskin
My Albrecht keyless chuck grabs bits with such tenacity I built the
"pliers", works great and won't damage the chuck. Works great for
tightening bits that you can't afford to have slip.
My 2 larger screw less vises both have V cuts in one jaw that work fine for
most round objects. Actually two V cuts. One horizontal and one vertical.
This allows my to mill on the end of a small round object or square off the
end of a long piece of tube or rod.
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