Any tool & die men shed some knowledge?

C-Bag

C-Bag

Ned Ludd's bro
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I often work on smaller stuff and usually it’s one off’s. But this time I’m working on some linkage for a mechanism. I’m making two of them and each unit has 3 sets of linkage and while not microscopic they are awkward to hold safely while working them on the bench grinder.

What would a tool and die guy do when faced with this? Is there off the shelf solutions or being a toolmaker do they just make something? This is a sample of what I’m making.
 

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Not a tool and die guy but here goes. I take it that the grinding operation to which you refer is radiusing the ends. Why don't you take advantage of the existing holes and bolt the part to a larger bar?

It is also possible to do this on the mill. Use a dowel pin to provide a pivot point and rest the dowel pin on the top of the vise jaws. You can then rotate the part in the vise, cutting facets which can then be smoothed over with a file or at the grinder.

This will result in a very uniform radius.
 
RJSakowski said:
Not a tool and die guy but here goes. I take it that the grinding operation to which you refer is radiusing the ends. Why don't you take advantage of the existing holes and bolt the part to a larger bar?

It is also possible to do this on the mill. Use a dowel pin to provide a pivot point and rest the dowel pin on the top of the vise jaws. You can then rotate the part in the vise, cutting facets which can then be smoothed over with a file or at the grinder.

This will result in a very uniform radius.
Click to expand...
Similar.

Make a jig with a pin the size of the hole and clamp/mount it to the belt sander or surface grinder(preferably) and rotate part while advancing toward abrasive.

Or:

Gang then up in a milling vice backed up by a piece of scrap and mill cornerswith a corner rounding endmill.

Or:

Use the radius function on your DRO.

Or:

Get the wire EDM guy to cut them out.
 
What are you trying to accomplish on these ?
 
When hand grinding, little stuff gets hot quick, so I keep a long and a short pair of small vise grips right next to the grinding belt and wire wheel. But hand grinding parts like that are best done by ganging the parts together with two bolts thru. Your edges will be nice and square as a result, and your curves, if not perfect, will at least match. I've made plenty of shackles that way. On the mill, the RT would be my preference if the part needs to meet the ideals of critics with a perfect curve.
 
Thanks all. I guess it’s not apparent by my pieces but I was able to use an old vise guide as a pivot for the rounding operations and because it was long I was able to gang them. It’s still scary at the ends of travel. What is the most inconsistent is my chamfers. Should have done them with a file. But what is the most disconcerting is getting close to the disk grinder by hand. Ulma Doc sent me a link to a very useful hand vise that should do the trick. FWIW vise grips don’t really do it for me. Maybe the jaws are worn out but they seem to slip just when I don’t want them to.
 
Good advice so far, and for this specific project, assuming the rounded ends need do be kinda presentable, I'd expect that a dedicated holder might be a better idea. For general grinder or belt/disk sander stuff, finger plates are pretty useful. This is a link to a pretty nice one, but they can be any size, and fancy is purely optional, they can be as basic and "slapped together" as what suits the job.

www.clickspringprojects.com

Finger Plate Clamping Tool

If you're looking for a new project for your mini lathe and mini mill, then look no further; you've found it. Not only will it give both machines a good workout, but at the end, you will also have a...
www.clickspringprojects.com
 
 
C-Bag said:
Thanks all. I guess it’s not apparent by my pieces but I was able to use an old vise guide as a pivot for the rounding operations and because it was long I was able to gang them. It’s still scary at the ends of travel. What is the most inconsistent is my chamfers. Should have done them with a file. But what is the most disconcerting is getting close to the disk grinder by hand. Ulma Doc sent me a link to a very useful hand vise that should do the trick. FWIW vise grips don’t really do it for me. Maybe the jaws are worn out but they seem to slip just when I don’t want them to.
Click to expand...
Just get your knuckles and fingertips *****ed up enough times and it wont bother you no more.
 
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