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It is, but a bit more thinking time needed... I'll get there.

I hope it was intersting for you

Thanks Mark

Provided I get the pins parallel both to themselves and the axis of the hole, it should work. Balls could potentially be better though as it lessens that requirement. Perhaps a change after I get this working.

I'd like some length on the pins so that I can measure holes at the bottom of counterbores. My intial thoughts are that my problems are to do with the pivots though. I think that having a double link is causing the issue. I'm going to try using just one side and see if that helps.

Frustrating too!

@ I can see that :) but you’ll get there :) I think it’s a great idea.

Ideally, I would like it to be as good as the IRA-2A - the graduations on that are 1/2 thou. I could probably settle for a thou, perhaps 2 but the whole idea was to be able to bore on the lathe and mill accurately enough to get some really close fits.

Thanks. Check out the back issues too - there are other videos that you may find useful

I am intending to release drawings. So far everytime I've printed them off (4 times so far) I've then made a design change.☹

@occasionalmachinist I kind of assumed there would be some teething pains with the design. I look forward patiently to see where it goes. It must be a good feeling to finally manifest the tool you have been imagining for all this time. Thanks for sharing.

There are certainly better designers out there than me, but personally I've never managed anything greater than moderate complexity where in hindsight there is not something that could be different/ better. I'm certainly looking forward to being able to use this device in anger. The Interapid is good, but I regard that lack of clearance as the weak point in the design.

As my Uncle observed once - for an amateur I really knew the jargon!

You're pinching a revelation from the next video, but yes, they are. Not horribly so, but enough that I'm going to machine from solid. The fabrication effort was partly "might be good enough" and partly " let's see if this works first". Now I know the answers to both...

The original gauge has the balls and pins but I don't need them on this one. Anyone wanting to copy this project may wish to think about them though. You could do as you have said at 13:36, but you then rely on the jaw piece being parallel. As they are removable, I prefer to go with parallels for better repeatability

@@occasionalmachinist I see. I assumed that you are going to have pins on the new one so the gauge can lay flat with the top of the hole with protruding pins in the hole. As you say, the original one already has pins for this function. On your type of vise the base is parallel with the bed and the jaws are hardened and ground parallel so the tops are also reference faces. When the jaws are fitted it is essential that they are clean to sit flat on the base of the vise. There is clearance in the jaw holes so this can happen.

@@marley589 I will have pins that go into the hole while it goes flat, but that's a next video reveal!

It's been a while coming I must admit, but the idea of measuring to a zero dial reading is a good one - removes a heavy reliance on 'feel'

Not so sure about the brown snakes, but at 2m, the pole is long enough to keep them a decent distance away.

Thanks for watching

It works well for the plastic in the lake too.

No problems. Spreading the knowledge is why I post.

Thanks for liking

Nothing major - this time of year I don't sleep well (hayfever, transition between seasons), so I suspect it is mainly tiredness. Part two will be coming...

I've onbly been thinking of doing this for 3 or 4 years, so...

I do like finding alternatives I must admit. Sometimes they don't work as well as I think but it's all part of the learning experience.

Still getting used to it, but it works well.

Thanks for the comment. I have a set of stub drills that I've been using more and more over the last 5 or so years, mainly because as you say they wander less. It is interesting to see too how often you don't need a full length jobber drill for a hole. A stub is usually quite long enough.

Thanks for watching

Thanks

How cheap and nasty a vice are you thinking of 😁? I have only done a small amount of machining with this vice (there was a little bit at the end of the video) and it holds well enough. My biggest concern with it is that if you really lean on the screw, it might bend or break something. You would have to lean on it though. My mill at 4kW may be a little bit powerful for it as I tend to use large cutters and take solid cuts with them, but for a smaller mill I think it would be just fine. The other vices I use on the mill feel a bit more solid, but they are cast, heavier and larger. This style of vice was a common apprentice project and I'm sure that toolmakers of previous generations have used them for all sorts of things. Rudy regarded it as accurate if made carefully (mainly making sure things were square). If I was using a mini mill and that was the vice I had I think I would be fine with it. My plans for it are to use it on a small surface grinder I have, and also on the mill with angle plates for better positioning on slots and things

To add a little more. The needed accuracy of a vise depends on the accuracy of the work being done. If the fixed face of the vise is "flat" when trammed and also when checked vertically. Likewise is the bed of the vise (where the work rests) parallel with the work table. If so the the fixed jaw is a good reference for your work. But this question already implies what level of accuracy you are after - are you checking to 0.1, 0.01, 0.005, 0.001, 0.0005 etc - and is that in mm or inches? If made carefully there is no reason why this vise won't be good to use, and certainly as accurate as cheap vises. Also you can make two of them - and then you can holder longer work between them. Having two identical vises is a real help in this sort of situation - and in many cases helps overcome the need for a larger vice. Perhaps adding a slot guide (?) to the vices would be a good additional video. Using it on an angle grinder it depends on the use, however a good grinding vise I would expect would need to be tidied up a bit more by grinding the various faces so that they are indeed parallel and orthogonal (90 deg). Cheap grinding vises from what I have seen on YT are a parts kit that needs to be finished - and in many cases not as accurate a starting point as what you will likely have here.

@@ianloy1854 Having two 'identical' vices is a bit of a luxury, but it does make those long jobs a lot easier. I guess if you were careful you could make up one of these and space it to match your main vice, although I think two made with the idea of being the same would be a better move.

I don't think I could explain it any other way - I do a poor frantic!

rebate2 /ˈriːbeɪt/ noun noun: rebate; plural noun: rebates a step-shaped recess cut along the edge or in the face of a piece of wood, typically forming a match to the edge or tongue of another piece.

Making a milling vice without a mill to use it on. 🤔

Making a mill while only having a vise!

@@occasionalmachinist Actually apart from being facetious, I was thinking of milling setups for people who only have a lathe. Eg. Me ;)

@@gillywild Tricky, but I think I may be able to work something out that will help with that. What size lathe & spindle bore?

@@occasionalmachinist wow! Thank you for that :) Its a Boxford STS10-20 200mm swing 500mm centres 3ph motor. Grunty little thing :) Unfortunately I don’t have the space or the money for a mill (I live on a boat) I know most milling can be done on a lathe - sorta - but I’ve never seen much TH-cam content on the best way to set it up. I really appreciate your engagement on this :)

Thanks

You are right, and if I were doing this 'normally' I would use the TTA - setting up would be similar but here I wanted to show those without a TTA how to set up and cut on a less featured lathe. For the same reason I used a steady rather than putting the material down the spindle bore, just because some viewers probably have a smaller spindle bore that would not take diam. 32 stock.

No problems

Next week I hope to finish this vice. I can't think of any simple thing at the moment that I could add, so probably back to the semi-random items I do. If you (or anyone else) thinks of an item that could add to the set, please comment.

I think so. I have plans for the finished product that may help with other work holding challenges.

Thanks for that Gavin. You would not believe the amount of time I spent racking my brains trying to remember the name of it!

While we have adopted some Americanisms here in Australia, rabbit is not one of them. To Australians rabbits are introduced non-native vermin. Most Australian terms tend British rather than American.

@@occasionalmachinist apologies if mentioning those rodents caused offence, I should have just said I enjoy watching the likes of Matty, Max or Kurtis as your accents are a lot kinder to British ears 👍 By the way, did you know that there are now feral wallaby colonies in the UK, to show that Brits are able to mess up their own ecosystem as well other countries.

@@Paul-FrancisB feral wallabies? I had not heard that one.

I have two things I use. One is neat cutting oil that I apply with a brush. Usually that is used for tapping, reaming, drilling and similar things on steel. The other is WD-40 or similar stuff I use on Aluminium but also on Steel if I need to cool it. This is in a squirt bottle so no contact needed. That is what I use for 'coolant'. Quantity varies. If I'm tapping Al, I just wet the tap. If I'm milling I tend to give a couple of squirts until I can see the stuff sitting on the material (that is, it's not evaporating/ smoking off immediately). Whatever you use, arrange some ventilation so you don't breathe the vapours. Can't be good for you.

No problems

No probs. Glad it was of interest.

I try to show a little bit of machining, but it's the set up that's important. I'm usually pushed for time so the machining is the first part to go.

Depends a bit how you use your milling tools - I never try to get a slot size for size directly from the cutter, so the couple of tenths run out should not worry me. As for the lathe, thanks. It's been with me for a while. Had to rebuild a few bits of it but I can't imagine having anything else.

I did think about describing it as a milli-smidge, but that measurement is more usually associated with tuning musical instruments...

@@occasionalmachinist 😁👍

I hope so - or at least showing why it all does not have to be bought.

Thanks

Like a lot of things, once you have the hang of it, it becomes easier. This is probably the 4th or 5th I've made.

I have made tools to make tools that then make tools. Does that count?