Slot Blocks?

[jamby]

Hey

Back in the days before carbide inserts, we used flat ground slabs of high carbon steel that fit into the T-slots of a bridgeport mill to align fixtures or material on the mill table. Have they vanished from the earth or been renamed/replaced??
Your had to tap them in with a hammer and pry them out but I sure would like a set of the small (2 x 3-1/2) blocks.

Jim

 

[Tony Wells]

I was taught to call those tooling aids "feathers". I mentioned them some time ago in this thread and put up a couple of pics:

http://hobby-machinist.com/threads/how-would-you-setup-this-part.20696/#post-178433

 

[Andre]

Can probably use 9/16" dowel pins for a standard Bridgeport table, for a quick solution

Edit, rather 5/8". Whatever pin fits your mill table slot

 

[derf]

I use 5/8 dowels on my Bridgeport. I took an old screw driver and bent it like an "L" to pry them back out.

 

[Billh50]

I have a set of dowel pins in a small box that I have used for years on Bridgeports for aligning stuff.

 

[Uglydog]

Saw this thread yesterday morning.
Never saw this technique before. Certainly isn't in the texts I read.
Was asked to get a prototype tool out last night for the local auto shop.
Did a table set up using this technique. Saved me all kinds of time.

Thank you!!
Daryl
MN

 

[Silverbullet]

Yupp, me too. Taught many eons ago to keep a few sets of them in my tool box.,Mr Montgomery our tool and die shop teacher gave us all in the shop tips and other projects to use thru our lifetimes.

 

[Uglydog]

I'm eager about the possibility of hearing more about table set up tips!

Daryl
MN

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

sounds similar to the small spacer under my vice that helps set the alignment for the vice on the table. They were on the swivel base and when I took the swivel base off I notice they can be put on the vice alone. I then found that the vice was only off a few thousands and was easy to dial in true the x axis.