The Basics of Soft Jaws
Soft jaws are one of the simplest methods of customized workholding. Basically, you create an inverted version of your part within the jaws of your vise, and …
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Workholding
Fixture Plates and Why You Should Use Them
Machining parts is easy… work-holding is the hard part! Fixturing, part setups, and work holding is a never ending skill …
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Why You Need a 3D Printer in Your Shop, and Why You Don’t
Over the last decade, 3D printing has grown in popularity and decreased significantly in price. Even though 3D printing is a long way from bettering CNC machining in speed, materials, or reliability, additive manufacturing technology may have a place in everybody’s shop …
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Workholding of the Month: Precision Toolmaker Vises
Traditional vises use a screw to tighten the two jaws together and hold your work. This works fairly well in most applications, but sometimes a toolmaker vise …
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Workholding of the Month: Awkward, Oval Cast Iron Part with John Saunders
As part of a collaboration with Keith Rucker, John Saunders used some creative workholding to mill a cast iron part …
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Workholding of the Month: Chucks
While there are a number of ways to hold work, when there aren’t many (or any) flat surfaces, a standard vise can complicate things …
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Stop! Don’t Take That Part Off the Machine Just Yet!
Your G-code program has ended and all looks well with the part. What’s your next move? For most, the next move is to pull the part out of the machine and chuck up another blank to start machining the next part …
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A Guide to Selecting the Right Vise for the Job
A good vise is a fundamental tool for precision machining. In addition to choosing the right size vise for your machine, identifying the right types of vise for workholding is critical…
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