Angle Milling & Grinding - A hypothetical question

[Bi11Hudson]

First off, let me state that I have neither sine blocks nor a sine plate/vise. This is a hypothetical question at this point. I do intend to acquire both pieces in the undefined future but don't have either right now.

The question I have is thus: The smallest sine block seems to be (Imperial) 0.0500. (50 thou for those old timers) When a sine plate is aligned to an angle, the opposite side of a right triangle is set with the sine blocks. What do we do when the angle desired is so small that the 0.0500 block is too thick.

I figured out how to make a larger angle, up to 60 degrees or so. But that small angle has me stumped. Granted, 0.05, when multiplied out the 4 inches or so is a very small angle. This is purely theoretical from the aspect of self taught trigonometry. Just something I would like to know.

Any help?

 

[arvidj]

Assuming your sine block looks like this ... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_bar ...

I would raise one end of the sine block .0500 and the other end .0501, or something along those lines ... what ever you can manage with the combination of blocks you have available.

It is the difference that defines the angle, not the actual value itself. It is just a lot easier if one of the two 'HEIGHTS' is zero, like in the picture. Then the 'difference in height' is simply the one end.

To validate this idea think about what the angle would be if you raised each end 1.00000 inches from the surface plate. Difference would be zero and the angle would be zero.

Arvid

 

[easymike29]

In addition you can use Gage pins and/or feeler Gages.

Gene

 

[RJSakowski]

You can also mill a spacer to desired thickness and check it with an accurate mike. If you don't want to mill a custom spacer, you can make up the height with a stack of shim stock. Finally, in a pinch, you can use a stack made from a thickness gage. For convenience, I disassemble the gage and select the required leaves to make my stack. It is a good idea to verify the stack thickness with a mike because of tolerance stackup.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

A big thanx to all of you. The feeler guage would be the optimun solution, I think. As it stands, I cut angles using a carpenter's square. The feeler guage, well DUUHHH. That much precision work is really out the ball park anyway. My abilities are more a matter of maintanence gang work, git it running, yesterday. Accuracy is for rebuilds. That slight an angle is from a theoretical perspective, anyway. I doubt I'll ever face it.