Holding a cylinder vertically for milling

SilverWorker said:
Hi, I'm new to machining and I'm trying to hold steel drill rod (diameter between 1/4 inch and 1 inch) vertically for machining the ends to make embossing dies. The machining will be done with very small end mills (about 1mm diameter) so there is not a lot of force on the workpiece. I'm wondering what you would recommend to hold these cylinders? I don't currently have any tools for holding them (or even know what tools to use!) beside some nuts and bolts. I do have a small table top TAIG mill and lathe, so I can face the ends of the drill rod as well as machine aluminum fixtures. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!
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Hey Silverworker,

Here's a fixture I made to do exactly what you are describing. Just a squared up hunk of 1 x 2 6061 T6, with a couple of v-grooves, and tapped holes. The clamp strap fits both v-grooves. The end v groove is pretty close dead center of the width, and marked with the dimension. The spherical washers are a really nice touch, but they aren't really necessary. Has come in really handy for small work many, many times!

Regards,
Bob

IMG_20130821_094457_380 (Medium).jpg IMG_20130821_094844_180 (Medium).jpg IMG_20130821_095207_935 (Medium).jpg
 
george wilson said:
NO!! NOT like the Enco pictures!!!! Those are laminated V blocks. They have stacked layers of steel and aluminum. They are for setting on top of a magnetic chuck. The magnetic flux is carried up through the laminations to hold a piece in the V groove while it is being ground in a surface grinder. Get SOLID STEEL V blocks. Those laminated ones would fall apart if used in the vise and subjected to the much more severe pressure of the vise. Their layers are only riveted together as you can see in the pictures.
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I rather think that he was posting a picture to illustrate 'V' blocks, rather than specifically selecting those for use with a magnetic chuck.

And of course, for his purposes regular steel 'V' blocks would be much cheaper too.

M
 
It is better to be more exact in pictures or words when making suggestions to newbies. He can't read someone's mind. churchjw has admitted he did not know better than to use those blocks in a vise. That should illustrate my point about being more exact. It's just as easy to link to the correct tooling as it is to link to incorrect. Perhaps the person who replied didn't know any better?

Good jig shown above!

Machining is,after all,an exacting occupation.
 
bjmh46 said:
Hey Silverworker,

Here's a fixture I made to do exactly what you are describing. Just a squared up hunk of 1 x 2 6061 T6, with a couple of v-grooves, and tapped holes. The clamp strap fits both v-grooves. The end v groove is pretty close dead center of the width, and marked with the dimension. The spherical washers are a really nice touch, but they aren't really necessary. Has come in really handy for small work many, many times!

Regards,
Bob
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That's another item on my list of things to make! Thanks for posting the photos of this useful accessory.
Jack
 
bjmh46 said:
....The spherical washers are a really nice touch, ....
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Bob, Is there some detail I cant see in the picture? Are you referring to the thick washers? What makes them "spherical"?

Cheers Phil
 
Spherical washers have a hemispherically concave side so they can tilt to fit in a position that is not square with the hole the bolt is in. I can't really say they were necessary in this application.
 
george wilson said:
Spherical washers have a hemispherically concave side so they can tilt to fit in a position that is not square with the hole the bolt is in. I can't really say they were necessary in this application.
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George hit it right on. I'll add that each pair consists of a concave hardened washer, and a mating convex hardened washer, allowing for off axis clamping without bending. The advantage is you don't need to be anal about equally tightening the screws so that the clamp strap is parallel to the body of the fixture. That said, I still tend to be anal!

Bob
 
Well,if you wanted to be REALLY anal,you could use 2 real small sprockets and a teeny chain between the 2 screws to keep them closing parallel!!:)
 
You can buy a cheap drill press vice from Enco tools , that has a v slot built into the vice jaws to hold round parts horizontal or vertical.

jimsehr
 
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