by Phil Kerner | Jan 5, 2014 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Set-Ups
The other day, I had to hang on to some plates that were plasma-burned, so of course I really had no square edges to clamp to in my milling vise. This is a fairly routine issue where I work, and of course I'm always a little concerned about the part moving. Here's a...
by Phil Kerner | Jan 5, 2014 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Set-Ups
About a year ago, I purchased a very cool electronic edge finder with a ball on the end. There's movement from side-to-side in case you bump your part a little hard, but there's no room for error when I want to use the bottom of it to pick up a surface. Here's how I...
by Phil Kerner | Jan 5, 2014 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Set-Ups
One of the common traits of most shops is in occasionally taking on work that's a tad too big for the machines they own. Luckily, I've had to deal with this problem a LOT in my career, so not too many things freak me out anymore. Here's an easy way to "reach" an edge...
by Phil Kerner | Jan 5, 2014 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Set-Ups
Several months ago, I recorded a video on the most versatile "stop" I own. I finally found them online, and they're around $130. So, I took one apart, and measured it up and drew it in AutoCad for you to build. Here's a short video on how it works, along with the PDF...
by Phil Kerner | Dec 16, 2013 | Fixture Building, Members Only: The Tool Room, Set-Ups
I have to say that I've never - in over 35 years - designed, built, and used a fixture on a saw. Sure, I've set a few "stops" but never had to produce a "finish cut" on a saw. Here's the why and how of this process:
by Phil Kerner | Dec 8, 2013 | Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Set-Ups
This week, I had TEN of these 500-pound cylinder heads to machine some new holes into. There were (6) existing 5/16" diameter holes that I had to pick up and tap a 14 mm thread into the same location. Here's a cool trick to make this go a little faster once you...
