Making a Set of Mini Pallet Toe Clamps for the Milling Machine

[Janderso]

i have made clamps form scrap to identified steels as well as aluminum
just about any steel would have sufficient mechanical properties to be used as a clamp
my favorite material is 303 for ease of machining and abundance in the form of scrap in my shop
aluminum has worked well too

Mike,
I was going to use cold rolled steel but saw someone post the clamps bent under load.
I can't remember where I saw that??
Good to know,
Thanks buddy!

 

[Janderso]

Tapping is no problem with HSS

John,
Would this material work harden even further? I know when drilling material that will harden up, you need to apply pressure (when drilling) get in and get out. No lolly gagging around.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Mike,
I was going to use cold rolled steel but saw someone post the clamps bent under load.
I can't remember where I saw that??
Good to know,
Thanks buddy!

Hardened materials can be bent too!

 

[Weldingrod1]

By the way, the commercial heat treat stock he's talking about is not "hard" like a drill bit. It's more in the high yield and tough as nails. It's probably in the 70-120 ksi yield.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[aliva]

I made mine from key stock. Cheap, readily available , since the clamps are short , around 3" flexing is not an issue. If you accidently hit it with a end mill it's not hard enough to cause problems.

 

[ericc]

I just use mild steel. It works fine if you make a little thicker and keep the deformation down. I tried making a couple out of spring steel, and I noticed it worked me a lot harder. They were made with hammer and anvil. The spring steel is a lot harder to punch.

 

[Janderso]

Right wrong or indifferent,
I’m on my way.
I must admit, working this material is nice.
Right off the mill, still full of burrs. (4) 1 1/2” and (6) 2” clamps.
Next step, clean up the edges and drill and tap 10-32 for the adjustable stand off.

 

[Janderso]

Looking for advise.
I watched Keith Rucker's video on his mini pallet and clamps.
It seems like the tapped holes are never in the right spot, in my limited experience.
I plan on laying this pallet out with tapped 10-32 holes every square inch.
The clamps are 1 1/2" and 2".
I'll cut the pallet down on the bottom to make a step that will fit in the vise. I'm thinking the pallet will go the direction of the X travel. What say you?
See any design ideas you would change? add?

Thanks,
I appreciate your thoughts!

 

[Tio Loco]

Looks like the one from Saunders (https://saundersmachineworks.com/products/machinist-vise-mini-pallet-fixture-plate) is layed out on .75" centers.

Little Machine Shop was selling one that I can't find on their site now. Blondihacks has one of them, so you can see it here (at about 22 minutes):

 

[tjb]

Looking for advise.
I watched Keith Rucker's video on his mini pallet and clamps.
It seems like the tapped holes are never in the right spot, in my limited experience.
I plan on laying this pallet out with tapped 10-32 holes every square inch.
The clamps are 1 1/2" and 2".
I'll cut the pallet down on the bottom to make a step that will fit in the vise. I'm thinking the pallet will go the direction of the X travel. What say you?
See any design ideas you would change? add?

Thanks,
I appreciate your thoughts!

That's pretty close to exactly how I made mine. I tapped 1/4-20 holes on 1" centers, made a step on the bottom front and rear so it could be mounted on my vise, but I also added a set of larger holes in order to mount and center it on my rotary table. My toe clamps are made of 1/2" CRS.

I've used it quite a bit on both the vise and the rotary table. Other than possibly making it a little shorter, I wouldn't change anything on it.

Regards,
Terry