by Phil Kerner | Jul 14, 2013 | Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room
Every single day, I'm forced with figuring out a way to hold a part in a way that holds it firmly in place while I'm checking it for flatness, parallelism, or even a ball dimension. Unlike my old "mold making" days where almost everything I worked with was flat and...
by Phil Kerner | May 7, 2013 | Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room, Set-Ups
As I split my time between toolmaking and short production runs these days, I have to say that I've learned a lot of new things over the past few years. Toolmakers build "one of a kind" stuff. That's my specialty, and what I was trained to do. On the other hand, it...
by Phil Kerner | May 5, 2013 | Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room, My Tools, Set-Ups
Here's a "twofer." I have had a few of these old Starrett clamps with me for most of my career. I don't use them often, but nothing takes the place of them when they're needed. Just another "one of those things" to add to your "wish-list" but I can tell you that I...
by Phil Kerner | May 5, 2013 | Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling
I was building a small fixture the other day and I really needed to get the depth of a few round pockets as close as possible...depth mikes are one way, but here's the "absolute" way to check a pocket depth. Or, any depth of cut, for that matter.
by Phil Kerner | Apr 28, 2013 | Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room, My Tools, Shortcuts and Time Savers
The other day, I needed to dig out my collection of v-blocks and find a matched set, at least as far as the height goes. Here's a quick video on how I put together a matched set.
by Phil Kerner | Apr 21, 2013 | Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room
What is this stuff? In the right hands, it's an invaluable tool for checking your work. In the wrong hands, it can get your lights punched out.
