More Estate Sale Machinist Crap

[bborr01]

I always find it perplexing the lengths guys will go through to get around having to re-tram a vise.
Totally ridiculous. It's not that hard.

-D

Maybe they don't have power feed on the table and don't feel like cranking the table. I wouldn't probably do it that way but that doesn't make it wrong. Thinking out of the box isn't always a bad thing.

[Paul Alciatore]

Back in the Apr-May 2020 Machinist's Workshop I had an article, "Easy Mill Vise Alignment". It details my favorite method of aligning the mill's vise. It uses two DTIs, one on a magnetic base on the table and the other in or attached to the quill or head. It saves most of the back and forth motions of the table. For +/-0.001" you can just move once and a second trip back and forth improves that number to about as good as your mill and vise will allow.

Basically you zero the two DTIs on one side of the fixed vise jaw and then move the table so they are on opposite sides. Then you just MATCH the dial readings and you're done. No particular dial reading is needed, just MATCHING readings. A trip back and forth would mostly be to be sure that nothing moved. For maximum accuracy you should lock all movements at each table position.

This method was inspired by those fancy and expensive devices that sit over the mill's vise and use two DTIs.

https://www.shars.com/vise-square

It uses the same, two indicator method without the expensive device to hold one of them. And it is easier and faster to set-up.

I don't think Doozer is a professional machinist either. Niether am I, and like him I don't own any device to make tramming easier, but like you don't get the vehemence against them.

Perhaps its religious?

[754]

Dont know about you guys but about 4 times back and forth with a single dial, and i am done....

[Fasttrack]

I always find it perplexing the lengths guys will go through to get around having to re-tram a vise.
Totally ridiculous. It's not that hard.

-D

I don't get it either; I routinely check the tram on my vise before any fussy jobs just to make sure nothing has moved unexpectedly so removing the vice and re-tramming isn't really a big deal. But, to play devil's advocate, for some retired guys who might be getting up there in age, maybe they find the vise rather difficult to move off the table? I've got spaghetti arms and I confess that my 9" vise is a real gut buster to move. I try to leave it on the table or just slide it out of the way. 6" is about the limit of what I find easy to handle. I.e. it's not so much about tramming the vise as much as it is about moving the vise.

[TRX]

The blue-handled pliers in one box appear to be crimpers for putting connectors on RJ45 (Ethernet) cables.