Holding small parts in a milling vise?

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Mr Ron
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Holding small parts in a milling vise?

Post by Mr Ron »

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I have a whole bunch of these pieces to make from 6061, along with a number of other pieces similar in size to the one shown. Due to their fragile size, I would like to know the best way to secure them in a milling vise. The pieces will be cut from 1/4" or 1/2" stock. I'm thinking to gang machine them and cut them apart later. I have to make 4 of this piece and from 2 to 8 pieces for the others. I would drill the hole first and use a 1/4" end mill. I'm afraid that when I use the end mill, the sides of the piece will collapse from vise jaw pressure.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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Frank Ford
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Re: Holding small parts in a milling vise?

Post by Frank Ford »

I reckon I'd start with 1.5" long stock, drill, round over, mill slot and then cut off to 1" long, stand the part upright on parallel and mill the bottom to exact .979 length.
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Frank Ford
whateg0
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Re: Holding small parts in a milling vise?

Post by whateg0 »

Frank Ford wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:09 pm I reckon I'd start with 1.5" long stock, drill, round over, mill slot and then cut off to 1" long, stand the part upright on parallel and mill the bottom to exact .979 length.
Or start with stock a little over 2" long and do the same, but making two parts at once, just to save some waste. edit: on second thought, see below.

@OP, does it have to have a square bottom? I don't know if this is a part that you have designed or if it's something that you don't have control over.

How thick is the bottom, or how deep is the opening? If it was me, and it has to have a square bottom, I'd rough it with a 3/16" EM to something like 0.225" so that whatever springing it will do is done when you make the finish pass. If it moves, that will affect your outside dimension, too, so if it does move, you'll need to start with oversize material anyway.

Dave
Mr Ron
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Re: Holding small parts in a milling vise?

Post by Mr Ron »

I have since come up with a way to make them. Starting with a longer piece of stock, 1.000"x.500", I will make a "holder" from hardwood that will hold the stock; then cut out the material between the 2 sides on the table saw using an aluminum cutting blade. A special wood block will be made for each size part I have to make. In all, I have to make 26 parts. A light finish cut on the mill will finalize the part. I have made other parts using wooden jigs and they have come out good. It takes some time to design and make the jigs, but well worth the time spent. I can spend an hour making the jig and making the part with the jig takes 5 minutes. Making the parts without a jig would take me an hour each part.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
whateg0
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Re: Holding small parts in a milling vise?

Post by whateg0 »

Mr Ron wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 6:43 pm... Making the parts without a jig would take me an hour each part.
Man! I work slow, and can't imagine it taking an hour to make that part on the mill. I'm glad you figured something out, though.

Dave
Mr Ron
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Re: Holding small parts in a milling vise?

Post by Mr Ron »

whateg0 wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:20 pm Man! I work slow, and can't imagine it taking an hour to make that part on the mill. I'm glad you figured something out, though.
Dave
True! I do work slow, but I'm not in any hurry. Working with small parts sometimes takes more time than working with big parts. Setting up the part for machining takes me the most time. I use a feeler gage to set the end mill to the work, do the math, set depth of cut, check speeds and enter into the DRO before machining. An hour may be an exaggeration, maybe 1/2 an hour.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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