Holding vice to table advice

[mekanik]

To be honest the clamp shown in the photo you provided is a far better option and just needs on hole drilling in a piece of plate that can be done on a pillar drill. The type i described are so easy to make also, i have 4 that i use in conjunction with various lengths of stud iron to clamp stuff to my lathe cross slide when jig drilling holes ect, pack the ends with some coventry die chasers.
Regards
Mike

[irving2008]

Mike / Irving thanks very much for replying guys, its all good advice.

I emailed Arc to see what they said and they were kind enough to give me a call to try and explain their solution involving the stepped angle blocks from the kit. To be honest I didn't understand what they were saying. I would happily recommend Arc to someone. They seem like good people who don't mind giving advice over the phone and their stuff is very well priced, but I got the feeling that although there maybe some way of using the kit, I'm not sure if its a particularly good one. They did suggest that I could mill my own clamps at one point - chicken and egg type situation, a little frustrating - can't make something like that until I have a vice that clamps down!

Irving... I was dubious about the paper thing. I'll try it without the paper and only go down that route if I find the vice slipping. And yes, I am a proud owner of a very heavy set of parallels and a dial indicator :). I bought the machine and then slowly purchased the extras as my bank balance recovered... part of the reason I've yet to cut anything!

Bit of a tangent when you mentioned parallels, but its seems to me that metric based equipment is in the minority?! Arc was one of the few places I could find selling metric parallels and the only place I could find selling the metric equivelent to 1-2-3 blocks. Most of the world with the exception of the states is on metric right?! So silly.

Thanks again,
David.

You could use a stepped block, I'd hazard a guess they were suggesting something like this, though you'd need to experiment and you may need something under the back edge of the upturned stepped block to force it to rotate down onto the vice.




If the vice and table are clean, and that means no oil/lube/coolant residue, and securely clamped it wont slip.

Metric parallels aren't essential, what's critical is that they are parallel. you don't use them for measuring, just for supporting stuff in the vice or off the table. if you want to measure, you use gauge blocks.

[lateAtNight]

you don't use them for measuring, just for supporting stuff in the vice or off the table.

Lol, ok, got it... might need to buy some gauges then. Is there any end?! But you still need to know how much stock is above and below the vice jaws right? I guess what I'm saying is I just don't / can't think in imperial measurements at all. I can look at something and say 18mm parallels will hold that nicely... can't think 1 and 3/16 or whatever.

[irving2008]

I've never needed gauge blocks and they're expensive beasts. Unlikely ever to need them with CNC

[lateAtNight]

Just looked them up... yes they are expensive!

[EddyCurrent]

It's 22 hours since mekanik posted the right solution, you should have had them made several times over by now

[mekanik]

Thanks for that Eddy
Irving
You don't use the stepped blocks like that, you would just use the one on the end set to the appropriate step height.
regards
Mike

[mekanik]

Hi Guys
me again
Just thought i would add before i get corrected, re stepped packing blocks.
they are actually designed to be used as a pair leaving you with a parallel surface to clamp off and so they are usually used on tall jobbies so are not really suitable for your application, was not being pedantic.
Regards
Mike

[m_c]

Another option would be original MiteeBite clamps, and they can be used for other work holding aswell.
They're not cheap, but they are a very versatile low profile clamping system!
50642 is the kit you'd most likely need, or you could buy a pack of just the cam clamps 50206 (come in a pack of 10) and make the other bits yourself. But having just checked the catalogue, I've just realised you can get packs of 2 t-slot clamps, which for 8mm slot is 50422.
WDS is the only online UK stockist I'm aware off, and you'll need to add '590-' in front of the mitee bite part no.s.
If you're interested and willing to wait, I'm on the process of designing a jig that'll use some of the 50206 clamps, but I won't be needing the full pack, so would be willing to sell you a couple.
.
Sticking with what you've got, you could grind/machine down the top side of the end of the clamp fingers so they fit in the vice groove. The grinding/machining doesn't have to be pretty, as long as the underside is still flat.
As a temp fix, get some longer bolts and use the clamp set to clamp on the top of the vice, be that either on top of the jaw(s) and/or on the top of the main body provided there is enough room behind the moving jaw.

[irving2008]

Thanks for that Eddy
Irving
You don't use the stepped blocks like that, you would just use the one on the end set to the appropriate step height.
regards
Mike

Yes I know, I wouldn't use them like that either, I'd have just made some new dogs out of 10mm plate. I was trying to second guess what arc had suggested to the OP!