by Phil Kerner | May 25, 2017 | Fixture Building, Fixtures, Members Only: The Tool Room, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups, The Basics - Milling, The Basics - Workholding
As most of you who might find themselves in a manufacturing environment these days can attest to, there is a lot of chaos in the industry right now. Customers flipping orders from day to day, suppliers not delivering material on time, and the demands of running a...
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 | Mar 17, 2017 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups, Shortcuts and Time Savers
During my first 25 years in the trade, I very seldom used my edge finder, as most injection mold drawings are dimensioned from the center line of the plate to be machined. Usually I just used my dial indicator and digital readout to sweep both sides of the block and...
by Phil Kerner | Oct 21, 2015 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Set-Ups
Every time I do a lesson on "edge finding," I always believe that this HAS to be my last one. But - because of the variety of work I do - I seem to get challenged a lot in this area. So, here you go: yet another way to find an edge to seems to be hiding from your edge...
by Phil Kerner | Oct 21, 2015 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups
Some people look at things and think "how can I do this?" I look at things and think "What's the easiest way to do this?" One of the reasons I've become a set-up wizard in my later years is that I always believe that there always HAS to be a simpler and easier way to...
