by Phil Kerner | May 24, 2017 | Bridgeport Lessons, Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Set-Ups
Back in "the day," most toolrooms were filled with Bridgeport mills, as this old photo from Kerner Tool & Die from the late 1950's would attest to; Even when I started my apprenticeship in 1979, Bridgeports were the staples of most tool and die shops. Because mold...
by Phil Kerner | Mar 31, 2017 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups
As you probably already know, these days I spend my time doing creative projects, revisions, and fixtures for Industrial Sales and Manufacturing here in Erie, PA. I really don't know why an o-ring groove on a 16" Diameter part has to be held to +/- .001" as my...
by Phil Kerner | Jul 12, 2016 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling
Occasionally I asked to hold some pretty tight tolerances on some very large parts. Unless you're running a very nice and almost brand-new milling machine, that can be a tough task...holding +/- .001" over 30 inches takes a bit of know-how. The reality is that most...
by Phil Kerner | Jul 12, 2016 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling
As you probably have already noticed, I build a lot of small fixtures for use in our own facility. Most of these blocks and plates are usually flame-cut out of a large piece of plate and have been ground "flat and parallel" on our Blanchard grinder before they arrive...
by Phil Kerner | Nov 2, 2014 | Fixture Building, Fixtures, Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling
Just this past week, I was handed 10 of these parts that needed the "teeth" milled into them. The center hole and the keyway were already machined, and the the location of the teeth are in relationship to the keyway. Here's a fixture I built in 10 minutes that got the...
by Phil Kerner | Sep 14, 2014 | Fixture Building, Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups
Because they count on me to a lot of different and oddly-shaped parts at work, I'm constantly challenged to come up with quick, creative, and consistent ways to locate and hold parts on my Mazak CNC mill. Here's one that's had some gussets welded to it before they...
