Newbie Question about workpiece holding

[cropwell]

I'm not sure if i'm missing something, but couldn't you just fix the block of wood to the spoil board with double sided tape and machine it. The tape usually holds well. A vacuum holder I would imagine would work but be expensive.
Cheers
Andrew

Double sided tape is OK if you have a large contact area, but the efficacy diminishes rapidly on small bits. It also doesn't do well with aggressive machining.