Steph Dale
Western Thunderer
Guys,
Just thought I'd share this with you after seeing Rich (Gruntfuttock) using one of these at Camrail. I hope it's not a big secret and this posting allows me to acknowledge the passing on of a great tip; thanks Rich!:
It's actually sold as a 'Hand Tapping Fixture' http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Hand-Tapping-Fixture by Arc Euro Trade and comes as a flat pack for a shade under £50. I decided I'd want a decent vise to go with it and selected the one shown here, also from Arc, for £23 (see halfway down this page: http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Milling-Machines/Model-Super-X1L-Mill).
I have to admit that neither of these items are absolute 'must have' items, but if you need to do accurate drilling into soft (or 'grabby') materials like resins, plastics or whitemetal they're going to be very useful. It's also perfect for accurate tapping (of course) and would be a charm for any reaming required.
It's impressively accurate, and the shaft with the chuck on it appears to have a standard 'J' taper on it - so that opens up a whole host of possibilities for after-market tooling. The 1/4" chuck itself is among the best of conventional chucks I've come across and comes with the key (not shown).
The spindle passes through a couple of very well fitting bushes, which I suspect are either machined acetal or nylon. In either case they're going to provide many years hard work with anything I'm likely to throw at it.
Here's a closer look at the vise:
This is tiny (25mm jaw width) and fully ground - as far as I can tell it's square across all dimensions. One thing worth noting is the closure of the device is accomplished by a rack, rather than the usual screw. So the loose jaw is clamped down as it's tightened, giving good support to any item it has to hold.
It's such a lovely thing I'm tempted to order the other ones Arc do as they appear to be a bit of a bargain. Much better than any of the crud that usually comes with small pillar drills or similar!
Rich, if you're reading this, what vise/workpiece holder do you use?
Steph
Just thought I'd share this with you after seeing Rich (Gruntfuttock) using one of these at Camrail. I hope it's not a big secret and this posting allows me to acknowledge the passing on of a great tip; thanks Rich!:
It's actually sold as a 'Hand Tapping Fixture' http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Hand-Tapping-Fixture by Arc Euro Trade and comes as a flat pack for a shade under £50. I decided I'd want a decent vise to go with it and selected the one shown here, also from Arc, for £23 (see halfway down this page: http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Milling-Machines/Model-Super-X1L-Mill).
I have to admit that neither of these items are absolute 'must have' items, but if you need to do accurate drilling into soft (or 'grabby') materials like resins, plastics or whitemetal they're going to be very useful. It's also perfect for accurate tapping (of course) and would be a charm for any reaming required.
It's impressively accurate, and the shaft with the chuck on it appears to have a standard 'J' taper on it - so that opens up a whole host of possibilities for after-market tooling. The 1/4" chuck itself is among the best of conventional chucks I've come across and comes with the key (not shown).
The spindle passes through a couple of very well fitting bushes, which I suspect are either machined acetal or nylon. In either case they're going to provide many years hard work with anything I'm likely to throw at it.
Here's a closer look at the vise:
This is tiny (25mm jaw width) and fully ground - as far as I can tell it's square across all dimensions. One thing worth noting is the closure of the device is accomplished by a rack, rather than the usual screw. So the loose jaw is clamped down as it's tightened, giving good support to any item it has to hold.
It's such a lovely thing I'm tempted to order the other ones Arc do as they appear to be a bit of a bargain. Much better than any of the crud that usually comes with small pillar drills or similar!
Rich, if you're reading this, what vise/workpiece holder do you use?
Steph
.
.....amazing place
) but having assembled it, the shaft is rather resistant to turning. I'm having to hold the base in order to drill anything, making it not quite as a delicate procedure as I'd hoped. Has yours loosened up with use (same question to Rich as well)? Have you used any lubrication to reduce the friction or has it been OK out of the box?
Right, I'll strip it down and see if it can be improved then....