Bearing Ball with Flat for Vise work...?

I made this, from some 2" aluminum round bar , to hold tapered tubes for bicycle frame building, but you could use one half to clamp any uneven material in the vise. The V-groove is obviously not necessary for clamping flat objects.
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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.

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Aren’t those springs? In your pic, they look like screws? I have seen that thing for a while now. Always wondered about using it on a really angled project. And having the project squirt out of the vise. I’m like you and use the round aluminum rod. Using a steel bearing ball is OK I guess. But I would be concerned about the divot/dent it can leave in your work and or jaw…Dave
 
I made this, from some 2" aluminum round bar , to hold tapered tubes for bicycle frame building, but you could use one half to clamp any uneven material in the vise. The V-groove is obviously not necessary for clamping flat objects.
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I like that, but question, does it hold steady, being that it is round. Whenever I clamp round I wind up using a V block to steady it.
 
I like that, but question, does it hold steady, being that it is round. Whenever I clamp round I wind up using a V block to steady it.
It has worked well for me, but I haven't tried any heavy milling with it. I just use it to hold the tube for slotting or coping the end with a hole saw. Another framebuilder makes a set of blocks that has one flat v-block and the other round, but that forces the tube to be angled with respect to the vise jaw.
 
Awesome. I've seen ThatLazyMachinist use brass cylinders. Maybe putting a small flat on the cylinders may also work?
It's said that the ball bearings do indent the work, so maybe I'll try brass or bronze (if I can find bronze spheres).
In any case, the final result should be a nice square piece if work. The ScrewyBall set is sold out on Ebay. The set came in a fancy wooden box, 3 sizes. McMasters sells low carbon bearing balls that they say are machinable.

If you don't want your work indented, couldn't you put a piece of square brass shim on the work? or will this affect "squareness" on the vise?


How are these very hard BB's flat ground ? I don't have a surface grinder and I would like the flat to be, well....flat.
 
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There are many ways to hold your part/project. Yes, the vise is usually the first that comes to mind. But, think outside the box or the use of a vise. Do a workaround. I usually sleep on it and then come up with a better, faster, nicer and more accurate way. Works for me…Dave
 
I'm not worried about holding, I have clamps for rounds or balls. What kind of abrasive on Rockwell C60 bearing balls?
I don't have a surface grinder?
 
How are these very hard BB's flat ground ? I don't have a surface grinder and I would like the flat to be, well....flat.
I'm pretty sure your fingertips to elbow, along with the grinding device needs to be calibrated.:D

I think since we are holding a part that's uneven, just gripping the BB and holding it against a belt sander or flat sanding/grinding disc will produce the flat needed.
 
It's said that the ball bearings do indent the work, so maybe I'll try brass or bronze (if I can find bronze spheres).

... If you don't want your work indented, couldn't you put a piece of square brass shim on the work? or will this affect "squareness" on the vise?

... How are these very hard BB's flat ground ? I don't have a surface grinder and I would like the flat to be, well....flat.

The dent is just a consequence of applying thousands of pounds of pressure at a single point. If you use a ball, you are going to have a dent in the work. This dent is cut off when you square the face it's touching anyway so no big deal. On my little 4" Kurt vise, just 30# of clamping force (not much at the end of the handle) results in over 4,000# of force applied between the jaws - a dent will happen!

The flat can be ground on a belt sander and it is important if using a ball bearing. If you don't grind the flat you WILL dent your jaw face.

The balls that I have are very hard and trying to hold a little 3/4" ball in your fingers while trying to grind a flat on a running belt is ... interesting. If you like, you can make a simple holder. Find a piece of tubing or round rod and chamfer the inside of one end and just set the ball in it. Use the tubing/rod as a handle to push the ball into the grinding surface. Just grind the flat and turn the machine off before removing pressure on the ball. Voila - a ground flat and no meat lost.

The ball is useful when all the surfaces you're trying to square are rough and/or irregular. It allows the greatest amount of rotation to bring as much surface area into contact with the fixed jaw of the vise; that's all it does. If you're squaring stock with nominal square faces, such as square or rectangular stock, a round rod is more than adequate for the job and will not dent the work piece. It is wise to use aluminum for this rod; brass or steel is hard and may dent the work or the vise jaw. I suggest you NOT use wire for this; it is too small and soft and will likely be flattened against the work and there goes your round pivot.
 
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