Just To Say Hello From Canada And Also To Ask A Quick Question

Ken from ontario

H-M Supporter - Silver Member
H-M Supporter - Silver Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
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Hi all, just joined this site , worked in metal fabrication field for 35 years,mainly welding /fitting/fabricating parts , did some basic machining but I'm not a machinist .

bought myself a mini milling machine a couple of days ago, LMS 3960( Canadian Busy Bee equivalent).
It c/w a brushless motor,very excited to start using it making whatever ,don't have a specific project at the moment.
My question today is, I'm looking to buy a parallel set for my 3" milling vise(inexpensive /imports ), all I find is the 6" long sets, I am wondering if I should settle for a 6" st instead of searching for a 3" or even a 4" .

Is a 6" going to interfere with clamping or machining if used in a smaller vise?
Could I just cut them to the size I want?
What's your opinion, please share your thoughts.
Thanks very much.
Ken.
 
Welcome to this great site Ken.

I have a small milling vise 2 1/2", I have one set of 3" long parallels and a much larger 6" set. I ended up cutting some of the 6" ones in half with a cut off wheel.

David
 
I got a set of 4" thin parallels from Tormach for $29.95 + shipping, wooden storage box included. LMS has some 3" and 4" sets as well.

Tom
 
Hi Ken welcome to the site!

I had to look up Selwyn, but Lakefield comes up in google maps.
Is it the same place? (Just North of Peterborough.)

I grew up in the Belleville area and still have family there.
My brother went to Trent University.

-brino

EDIT: never mind I found it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selwyn,_Ontario

Selwyn is a township in central-eastern Ontario, Canada, located in Peterborough County. Formerly known as Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield, the township passed a by-law changing its name to Selwyn in 2012.[2] The change became official on January 15, 2013.
 
Hi Ken.
I had a great little 3 inch vise from LMS when I first started.
Used 6 inch parallels from the get go. On the occasions that they were in the way of other clamping, just slid them out the other side.
They are actually a great help squaring the vise. Clamp one in the vise and use that for your indicator surface and you have twice the distance to square up.
Jim
 
Welcome Ken, HSS blanks make excellent parallels. The chinese ones from Busy Bee are cheap and can be used for you guessed it a cutter in a pinch.

Greg
 
Hi again,I'm sorry I didn't get back to you all sooner, just came back home from my shop, I spent the last 3 hours cleaning my mill , removing the oily stuff (I think it's called Cosmoline?) from the CI surfaces, I still smell like Kerosene lol.
Thank you all for your replied and your warm welcome, as far as the 6" parallels vs 3", it sound like most of you see it not being a big issue, I kind of like the idea of getting the 6" and cutting the ones I use the most in half.
I like Jim's idea of using the long ones for squaring up the vise.
Brino, you are right, this whole area north of PTBO used to be called Smith,Ennismore, Lakefield, changing to the new postal code wasn't fun .I just edited my loction to Peterborough.
Thank you all for your help and your comments,I will order a set of 6" from Amazon tonight.
 
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Welcome Ken, HSS blanks make excellent parallels. The chinese ones from Busy Bee are cheap and can be used for you guessed it a cutter in a pinch.

Greg
I wish I knew this before,I was there two days ago, the blanks are only $8.99. ,thanks all the same though,I never would have thought of using Hss blanks.
 
make sure you measure your hss blanks if you use them for parallels they are not always the same size but if you find a matched set they do make excellent parallels at one time enco had a 4" vise that should fit your machine if its still avail. bill
 
Thanks Bill, We don't have Enco up here ,I have seen their flyers a few time and some of their stuff is really inexpensive when on sale,the only similar type stores we have is called PA(Princess Auto) which is more like your Harbor Freight.
 
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