when making soft jaws for vice

[CASTLEVILLE]

When you are making soft jaws for odd shaped parts do you clamp them together tight(no space between them) or do you put something between them like a small feeler guage so they have some clamping pressure on the part?

thanks
Eric

[Geof]

Clamp a strip of material 0.01" to 0.02" thick between them. Make the strip about as wide as the depth of the cutout for the part so the jaws are tensioned in the same way they will be when clamping the part.

[Delw]

what geof says + make sure any rad. that are bigger than 180º have either clearance or is on centerline, other wise if your part is out. 0005 it wont fit.
Make sure you have a very sharp corner endmill or run a relief around it with a smaller endmill or angled cutter

I mainly use a parrell for my spacer cause there all over the shop

[mfgbydesign]

I program the jaw using the part geometry and stack up parallels or bar stock or whatever's handy to clamp the jaws at the same position they will be at when the part is in there.

[Geof]

If you use parallels you cannot hold them at the same clamping plane as the part. Unless of course you don't mind machining away part of the parallel.

[CASTLEVILLE]

Thanks guys for the reply. I will make it happen tonight

[Delw]

If you use parallels you cannot hold them at the same clamping plane as the part. Unless of course you don't mind machining away part of the parallel.

Can you explain? I use parallels that are just a tad shorter than my vice jaws(ie bottom of part)

Fake edit:
forget it I understand now, in that case ( and if its critical I use a chunk of alum and cut it away)

Delw