Having trouble keeping your Parallels in place during machining

[HelicopterJohn]

I know there are several products out there to do this, but I thought I would share at little tip that I use to keep my parallels in place during the machining process.

I use (4) little Neodymium Cylinder Magnets to hold the parallels in place. I realize they will not work in all your projects but will work well for most of them. They won't work with Aluminum soft jaws or if you are trying to hold very narrow parts. These little powerful magnets are avaiable in different sizes and shapes on E-Bay. They have lots of uses around the shop. I bought some because if visited fret's.com website and looked at his machine shop photo gallery. He has done some very nice stuff with magnets.

Attached are a few pictures for your amusement. Enjoy!

John

[BobWarfield]

Love the magnets!

There are so many great shop uses for those little magnets. Frank Ford has a bunch of ideas on his web site.

I don't have to worry about my parallels too much as they're milled into my vise jaws:



Love soft jaws!

Best,

BW

[AMCjeepCJ]

If you're cutting anything magnetic the chips stick really bad but if you want an option to get around this, try the following:

Use ejector plate return springs and place two of them in between the parallels to keep them snug against the jaws under tension at ALL times... It also allows you to open the jaws, blow out the chips, oil or coolant and change the part without the parallels moving even a smidge!!

It can't be beat for production work if you don't have machinable jaws~

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi,

Thanks for the valuable input.

What are ejector plate return springs? Do you by chance have a picture of them in action? With them installed how close can you squeeze the jaws and how far apart can you open the jaws and still have the necessary spring action to hold the parallels in place? I think my Kurt D688 vise opens about 7.5 inches.

I have seen a set a plates with rods that are on the outside of the vise jaws with a light spring that keeps pressure on the parallels. I know these are available but don't know where they can be purchased.

I machine mostly aluminum and delrin so the magnetic problem is not a real issue for me. I realize that most of you guys do a lot of work with steel so my solution may not work well for you.

I would appreciate any photos or links that you may be able to provide.

Thanks,

John

[AMCjeepCJ]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...3Doff%26sa%3DN

Google: "die springs"

put in quotes or copy and paste that... your compression will vary depending on your spring, it's important to have the right size for your part...

[Geof]

Originally Posted by HelicopterJohn ....I have seen a set a plates with rods that are on the outside of the vise jaws with a light spring that keeps pressure on the parallels. I know these are available but don't know where they can be purchased.....

One source is KBC Tools (kbctools.com) but I don't remember what they call them.

I had a set but they suffered an embarassing death; embarassing to me...death to them. For some idiotic reason I put them in the vise with the long rods extending past the fixed jaw. Then ran a program which at the end homed the machine. Unfortunately 'Home" was abot 3 inches closer to the back of the machine than the rods on the parallel holder so they proceeded to ram into the Z axis way covers. Which modified them well beyond redemption and led to me having to take off the way covers to beat out the dent.

The embarassment would not have happened had I been smart enough to remove the mangled parallel holder before my employees came in next day and found them.

Incidentally you don't need ejector springs, just nip down to your local Hardware store and pick up a variety of different length compression springs.

And remeasure your Kurt 688, I think maximum opening is about 8.7".

[AMCjeepCJ]

There is more or less no limit to how far you can open your jaws as long as it's NOT wider than your spring is long obviously...

As for compression, you'd have to look up the specs on the spring you're using, they can only compress so far before they've completely collapsed... The advantage to die springs is kind of two fold, they're strong as the dickens and they are built to contact their top and bottom surfaces as flat as possible... Also they are very very very stiff...

They are the bomb for this application though!!

Geof is probably right, any spring would probably work just fine but I've had trouble with a couple I picked up at the hardware store... However, the die springs work great every single time but they aren't very cheap and you can't just run down the street to buy them normally... It doesn't take but maybe five pairs to have an entire set though... You might want to buy some smaller diameter short ones too for those short parallels...

[Verfur]

I just use steel pallet strap and bend a little a viola. Its cheep and is every where.

it works great.

[ImanCarrot]

I can't remember if it was Geof or Frank who mentioned that those little magnets are that powerful you have to be careful placing them- they can nip your skin and rip out a chunk of flesh on your fingers if you aint careful!

[Geof]

Originally Posted by ImanCarrot I can't remember if it was Geof or Frank who mentioned that those little magnets are that powerful you have to be careful placing them- they can nip your skin and rip out a chunk of flesh on your fingers if you aint careful!

I had read that warning in a catalogue.

The pallet strap from Verfur is the most attractive solution; really, really cheap, goes right to the heart of a former Yorkshireman.

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi,

Currently I machine mostly Aluminum and Delrin so the magnets work well for my application. Yes, those little babies are strong for their size. I understand that in machining steel it may not be the best choice for obvious reasons.

Hi AMCjeepCJ,

Thanks for the information on the die springs. Another good idea.

Hi Geof,

Thanks for the information on the parallel keepers. I have posted a picture in case others may be interested. I did do a little research on the jaw opening and Kurt says it is 8.8 inches. By moving the jaws to the outside of the vise you can get even more. I bought (2) new ones for my HAAS TM-1P and really like them. I had to trim a little off the HEX shaft to ensure I have proper clearance on my TM-1P mill enclosure. Also made a special wrench with an "O" Ring to hold it on so that I don't hit the door or enclosure by leaving the vise handle in place. I have attached a picture for your amusement. I will probably install a second "O" Ring on the HEX shaft as a safety precaution so the wrench can't accidentally fall down into the chip auger.

Hi Verfur,

Another great tip on the pallet strap.

Thanks to you guys for all you valued input for a Newbie.

John

[Geof]

Originally Posted by HelicopterJohn Hi Geof, Thanks for the information on the parallel keepers. I have posted a picture in case others may be interested...John

See in the picture you must have pulled from the Kurt website; I had them backwards.

EDIT corrected post looked at picture wrong.