What are you using your 1-2-3 (or 2-4-6) blocks for?

[pinstripe]

In this thread http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/thr...e-fallen/page3 willmac said.

I have never really understood the attraction of 123 blocks. I know our US brothers rate them highly, but I just haven't found sufficient occasions when they they were an ideal setup solution. I do have a set and have used them as parallels but that is probably a marginal application. I might be convinced if there were lots of photos showing handy setup ideas in real situations but I just don't seem to come across them very often. My theory is that they are actually useful, but not for the kind of jobs that I do. Perhaps if I had a surface grinder they would suddenly become really handy?

I'm in the same boat. They are handy little spacers and work stops, but maybe I could do more with them? There is a 27-page PDF with lots of pictures and suggestions http://rick.sparber.org/123.pdf

I liked the one on page 14 where he uses it to help align the lathe compound with the chuck.

Do you have any interesting setups or uses for these blocks?

[chipmaker4130]

Look at the description in the ...rick... link above. With proper hole arrangement, the uses suddenly become much more clear.

[A.K. Boomer]

They are great for using under cylinder heads when milling - if you don't want to touch the valves or sometimes even the overhead cam to disassemble all the crap and strip the head down you can use 1-2-3 blocks in multiple positions that you need for the right right, clamp down the head and sandwich them with the table and off you go ---

iv also done a ford f-450 tranny main oversize and sleeve and used 1-2-3's to get that job done and a bunch of other odd stuff - when you need them you need them, they come in damn handy...

[mklotz]

To measure the taper of a tapered part it is necessary to measure the diameter at two points separated by a precisely known distance.

I mount the taper to be measured vertically, big end up, above a flat surface. Lay blocks on each side of the object with the 1" dimension vertical. Lay calipers flat on the blocks and measure diameter d1. Now lay the blocks so the 2" dimension is vertical and repeat the measure to find diameter d2.

Since the two measurements were separated by exactly one inch, the taper is simply (d2 - d1) per inch.

[demerrill]

Oops.

[Mcgyver]

I'm in the same boat. They are handy little spacers and work stops, but maybe I could do more with them? There is a 27-page PDF with lots of pictures and suggestions http://rick.sparber.org/123.pdf

If I wrote 50 pages of the all the things one could do with a round bar (keepin it clean folks lol), I wonder if it would be a best seller?

I agree you with you and willmac, they get used but so do parallels angle plates and other ground blocks.

[enginuity]

They add legitimacy to the look of my machine shop .


Thanks for posting that. There was some interesting stuff in there. 1-2-3 blocks are things you have to learn to use. And as usual there are many ways to get something done, so if a tool isn't in your current workflow, you may have to fit it in.

[JRouche]

I use them to line my drawer. The big ones in the back are 2-4-6 and heavy!! JR

[A.K. Boomer]

You got some serious issues JR, Your a hoarder dude,

what a bogart --- I bet we all had to pay a premium for ours due to shortage in the supply,

unbelievable

[Danl]

Yep, I bet that's what happened, A.K. All it takes is ONE hoarder to spoil the fun for the rest of us...

Dan L

[A.K. Boomer]

Yep, I bet that's what happened, A.K. All it takes is ONE hoarder to spoil the fun for the rest of us...

Dan L

ain't that the truth - half of em still wrapped in wax paper --- could not stand the thought of someone less fortunate having them so he bought em all up and drove up the price... again unbelievable...

[pinstripe]

I use them to line my drawer...

A few more, and you could use them to line your wall.

[A.K. Boomer]

Remember the Hostess Twinkie fiasco - they stopped production for awhile ---- really just a hiccup and if everyone would have paced themselves everyone could have had a twinkie now and then -- BUT NO! people FREAKED OUT!!! - started hoarding twinkies and then when the going got tough and you could not find any they were selling on e-bay for over 100 bucks a box,,, free shipping you ask? not a chance in hell something like 15 bucks to ship an air light package across the states...

the twinkie hoarders made a killing

Well my fellow board members --- seems to me we have something similar going on in the machine world --- and his name is JR!

[J Tiers]

One good use I had for a 123 block was when I had a drill press vise that came to me with a shaper..... The bottom of the vise was as-cast and rough as a cob, and it didn;t line up with jaws vertical.

So, I bolted a 123 block down on the table, clamped the vise on the 123 block by its own jaws, and used the shaper to clean up the bottom to be flat, AND perpendicular to the jaws. Worked well, I think I still have that same vise out in the shed on another DP.

[Mcgyver]

people FREAKED OUT!!! - started hoarding twinkies and then when the going got tough and you could not find any they were selling on e-bay for over 100 bucks a box,,, free shipping you ask?

seems to me we have something similar going on in the machine world --- and his name is JR!

I'm just saying right now, I do not want to see his twinkie

I missed that one AK, the twinkie fiascal. Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds needs a new chapter. Never fail to underestimate the general public

JR, what the heck are you doing with all those! you're almost as bad me