Supporting > Tooling & Machines
Simple inexpensive tooling items you can't do without.
Gas_mantle:
Hi,
I thought I'd start a new thread where members could show some of the cheaper tooling items that they own and would recommend to other members.
Please keep it to fairly cheap items that most of us can afford and may be of use to beginners to the hobby who don't want to spend a fortune.
I'll start off with these metric 123 (or is it 321?) blocks, these are in mm sizes so are 10 20 40 and 20 40 80 blocks. The small ones are tapped at M6 and the larger ones at M8 allowing them to be bolted together in various configurations. Pretty much everytime I use my mill these get used for something, wether it be as parallels, spacers, packing pieces, mounting jigs etc.
At £15 for the small ones and £20 for the large ones I think they are a handy thing to have :-)
While typing I looked to see how much I paid for them and noticed a 15 30 60 has now been added to the range, now where is my debit card ;)
https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Workholding/Vee-Blocks-Angle-Plates/Stevensons-Metric-Blocks
steamer:
A corollary to the 123 blocks is a 4" x 6" or so piece of aluminum plate, 3/8" thick. Square up the sides , and tapdrill a grid of holes in it for the clamping studs you use, or for a convenient screw size. Can be any thread you want really. This little piece comes in so handy on irregular shaped pieces. You mount the work piece to the plate, and now you transfer the plate between machines or set it up in different vices or angle plates. Because it's aluminum, it's sacrificial. So if it needs a pocket, just cut one. Because it's square it's easy to locate the plate and there by locating the weird shaped part repeat ably and accurately. ( datum based on a straight known edge instead of a casting in this case)
The dimensions aren't critical, just the squared up size. and it can be rectangular, square or even round!...
Don't tap all the holes, just the ones you need, when you need them. Saves a bunch of work.
Dave
pgp001:
--- Quote from: Gas_mantle on July 10, 2018, 11:57:44 AM ---Pretty much everytime I use my mill these get used for something, wether it be as parallels, spacers, packing pieces, mounting jigs etc.
--- End quote ---
Peter
Strangely enough I thought I could never manage without a set of those 123 blocks so bought a set about five years ago. They are still in the box brand new and unused !!
Phil
ShopShoe:
Well, since you started with work holding.
I have V-blocks in different sizes. Don't need them often, but indispensible when I do. They are also useful sometimes for holding odd pieces for measurement or layout on the bench.
Also. Sometimes need clamping wedges for clamping odd-shaped pieces. Sometimes on sale, but cheap enough to buy "just in case."
An example:
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/86779964
Just starting to think this morning, but let's see what others contribute.
ShopShoe
Jasonb:
That's a lot of wedge for a wedge. I have a few tapered offcuts of Ali that I use and being soft ar ehandy to pack under uneven castings when clamping them down.
The other small item I use a lot is a vice stop, you can buy them even in fancy anodized colours but they all seem to leave a lot in teh opening so not much good for small/narrow work. I knocked this one up and the jaws can close down to 1mm. Often used when working on two or more similar parts or just to keep a ref edge on a single part that may need moving about.
No tapping guide - No problem. Just take a stub end of silver steel, put a 60deg point on one end and drill the other with a ctr drill. You can then hold in a collet or drill chuck and use it to guide the top end of your tap.
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