Category Archives: Work Holding

Toenail Clipper

Posted on February 14, 2012 by dave49

I have made about a dozen reel feet by now, but alignment to cut a radius at each end of the foot has been a recurring pain. I made a simple fixture to help with trimming to the right length, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alignment, Foot, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Using the 4 Jaw Chuck as a Vise

Posted on February 7, 2012 by dave49

Sherline’s 4 jaw chuck was designed to fit on the lathe spindle, but can also be used on the vertical mill. This is very handy; when I make end plates for raised pillar reels I frequently move the work between … Continue reading →

Posted in End Plate, Fixtures, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Toolmaker’s Clamps

Posted on December 22, 2011 by dave49

A friend gave me this pair of clamps. They were made by Brown & Sharpe, perhaps 1950s or so, and have the part number 754-A-5/8. I believe the 5/8 in the part number indicates 5/8 inch jaw depth. The bars … Continue reading →

Posted in Tools, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Second Expanding Mandrel

Posted on December 6, 2011 by dave49

When I prototyped my aluminum frame reel (blog post of 10 Aug 2011), I fastened the rear bearing cap with two small screws. For the “production” reels, I did not want protruding screw heads, and so decided to secure the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bearing Cap, Fixtures, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Fixtures for Spool End

Posted on October 17, 2011 by dave49

After deciding that the expanding mandrel (previous post) was inadequate, I started thinking about ways to support the spool end blank at its rim. Axial runout must be minimized. This is what I made and think works well. Here you … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Milling, Spool End, Turning, Work Holding | 2 Comments

Expanding Mandrel

Posted on October 16, 2011 by dave49

I machine my spool ends (vs. spinning or forming) and it is something of a problem to hold them so that all surfaces can be cut. On seven reels to date, I have clamped the 0.75 diameter back side hub … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Spool End, Work Holding | Leave a comment

New Tool Plate

Posted on October 3, 2011 by dave49

When milling the profile of a raised pillar end plate, I screw the work to a tool plate. For the first two raised pillar reels that I made, I used a tool plate that I originally made for milling S … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Work Holding | 1 Comment

Using the Foot Fixture

Posted on May 28, 2011 by dave49

This post is of interest to anyone who bought my plan set at The Eclectic Angler, and will be making the foot fixture of drawing 1015. I started to use the fixture this morning and went through a “deja vu” … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Foot, Milling, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Milling an S Shaped Crank

Posted on October 4, 2010 by dave49

My first design for the reel crank (here in brass) was too “heavy” in the middle. So back to the drawing board. Here I have reduced the diameter of the center circle, and moved one small inside radius to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Crank, Milling, Work Holding | Tagged , | 2 Comments