Bearing Ball with Flat for Vise work...?

EmilioG

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Has anyone tried using the ball bearing with the ground flat on it to hold rough saw stock in a vise?
I just read a machining tip where (it's also in a book), where you take a .750 or 1.00" bearing ball and grind a
flat on it. I've always used a piece of soft aluminum wire. Other's use wood, cylinders of brass, etc...
I'd like to try this. Of course, I would use a piece of brass to protect the flat against the vise jaw.
 
Has anyone tried using the ball bearing with the ground flat on it to hold rough saw stock in a vise?
I just read a machining tip where (it's also in a book), where you take a .750 or 1.00" bearing ball and grind a
flat on it. I've always used a piece of soft aluminum wire. Other's use wood, cylinders of brass, etc...
I'd like to try this. Of course, I would use a piece of brass to protect the flat against the vise jaw.
I haven't but I was watching a video a few days ago and they were also using a piece of round stock. I just haven't had the occasion since then to use it. Now I need to go find it to get the technical aspect down.
 
It's a good idea & I've seen a number of people using it, there was even one YT'r selling sets that he called Screwyballs.

I don't like how the ball puts an indention on the work piece though. I just use a small dia alum rod. The balls can be cumbersome to setup also if the ball is not that big or if you have fat fingers.

I have one of those Quadrallel things that are sold on ebay. I was going to make one but one day for some reason I threw a bid on one. It never showed up & I was glad cause I didn't want it anymore. I started the return process & it turns out there was some crazy storm where the seller was & they lost power for a while. I verified they were telling the truth, I felt bad & decided to keep it.

Come think about it's not too expensive for what it is & how it's made, hardened, ground, black oxide, etc. Plus it's made in the USA & I'm happy to support the small toolmakers. I haven't even taken it out of the box yet.

Pretty cool though, check em out, shouldn't be hard to make.
 
All the aids mentioned do about the same thing if used correctly. They allow clamping rough, uneven and/or not parallel work between rigidly parallel vise jaws. All of the ideas listed will work OK, some better or worse in specific applications. Soft, cylindrical, spherical, or combinations of those will work. Having more than one choice is best. I also use the pulled pins from Pop rivets, steel and aluminum.
 
I use either a BB or aluminum round to square a piece in the vice. The BB is a 3/4" Stainless ball with a flat ground on one side; it goes against the moveable jaw (no shim to protect the jaw) and the round side touches the work. This works well but will leave a small dent on the work. If the work is large and the BB won't fit, I use an aluminum round rod about 3/8" OD X 6" long instead; this does not dent the work. Both work very well.
 
Ok, I just took it out the box. I take it back, it's not ground. It's made for 6" vises so on my 5" vise it sits above the vise jaws slightly. One day I'll take it apart & mill it down so it sits below my jaws. Pretty cool idea but I definitely could live without it especially for the price it sells for. Oh well. I'll keep using the alumn rod that I've always been using.

Img_2238.jpg
 
I have been using a ball in vise jaw on uneven sawn parts for years.It allows the surface against the solid jaw to sit as flat as possible. Of course only light cuts are recommended. But it does allow the vise to hold more than 1 spot against the solid jaw. I find the ball works better than a rod.
 
Made a clamp similar to Darkzero's post above years ago. I'll have to dig through the drawers to find it, made it for one project. I used a couple of pieces of 3/8" thick x 1 1/2" tall by 3" long pieces of cold rolled. Plunged a 3/4" ball end mill into each about an 1/8" deep. Drilled/tapped a couple of holes on either end of one plate for a couple of guide pins, milled corresponding slots in the other end. Put a 3/4" ball bearing in the two divots for a pivot. It worked pretty well but do recall making passes to "drive the wedge" of the cutting forces into the small end of the taper. I was worried about machining toward the large end of the tapered wedge and driving the wedge out of the vise jaws.

Bruce
 
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