Low Profile Clamps

I needed some low profile clamps to face mill some stock that was too big for my vise. I found some on the Littlemachineshop website and I thought they looked fairly simple enough to make.

With the help of the CNC, I made some M8 screw heads eccentric to give them the cam action, and made the t-nuts out of some scrap steel. Drilled and parted off some rings on the lathe and it's good to go. :)

Seems to have enough holding power for face milling so I'm pretty happy.

Sorry for the low quality pics from my phone.

They look like they could be a handy little kit. Might have a go at making some myself. Don't have a cnc, but might try putting the m8 bolt in the lathe and off set the centre and see if that works. Did you make the rings from brass/bronze.

Squirrel.

Offsetting the screws in the lathe should do the trick on the heads. I'm not sure on what the material is. It is brass/bronze looking stuff that I had lying around.

You may have to use a bigger SHC than 8mm if you are going to turn an eccentric and still give you a reasonable amount of movement.

Works just fine with the M8 screws for what I need. I used the button head screws as they have a larger diameter head than the standard ones.

Nice one John! I love it. I think ill make some of those myself.

John - good idea. Also I noticed your splash guards made with perspex with cupboard door magnets. Are they strong enough or maybe some stronger 'rare earth' magnets may be necessary?. If you have some comments on the success or otherwise and dimensions it would be appreciated as I am always looking for a better solution to keep down the splashing on the mill in particular.

Ta

Bill

Hi Bill

I made the splash guards up to put on the table when I have the vise fitted. It's not at the moment, but I have attached a photo showing the side and front left guard.

They hold no problems with the cupboard magnets, and you can see how I mount them so they are stable. They do a reasonable job of keeping the chips off the floor, but a few still sneak past. The height of the guards are limited by the clearance of the mill head (with the part I'm machining in the vise). Overall, It does cut down on the mess I need to clean up.

I don't currently use flood coolant on the mill, that will come once I build an enclosure for the whole lot.

Thanks John it looks like a great idea to try out and certainly the best I have seen to date. To keep the fluid in at the corners may be the next challenge but a bit of tape may do the trick although a vertical leak is easy to capture compared to a spray without any guards.

FYI if anyone is interested in a range of ferrite and the stronger rare earth magnets there is a great range of supply from Aussie Magnets http://aussiemagnets.com.au/
Bill

Dear John. A further winkle to your guards idea. A thin layer of Plasicene or I think its called Play Dough now between the perspex and the table will help to keep some of the coolant in when you start using it. the magnet are a good idea. Yours 4-6-4