What goes on in my shop

[vapremac]

Thought it was time for me to share a few pics of the custom tooling and work holding
solutions I machine for engravers , knife makers , jewelers , metal artists and blacksmiths.

 

[valleyboy101]

Yes I think maybe it was time to share. You do some beautiful precision work and must use a surface grinder to get that degree of finish. A surface grinder and MIG welder are the last 2 items on my wish list - the shaper came yesterday. Do you do it full time or as as a side job?
Thanks for sharing,
Michael

 

[12bolts]

Very nice work. What sort of tolerance do you have on the guide bars? And do the jig pins have any method of holding them in place?

Cheers Phil

 

[darkzero]

That is very nice! I've always admired those pin vises engravers use. I use a cheap import version for when I used to build light engines for custom flashlights.

 

[dave2176]

Very impressive work. Thanks for sharing.
Dave

 

[vapremac]

Thanks everyone for the kind words !

Valleyboy - Yes , I make my living from my machine shop .Always been a job shop but the
tooling I manufacture is fast becoming a large core of my business.
I have a mig welder but rarely use it .Tig, now that's another story my gas
supplier loves me.

12bolts. - Given what this tools purpose is I maintain as tight a tolerance that I possibly
can and still function silky smooth. As for the jig pins they are a snug push/pull
fit.

William

 

[markknx]

William, Man I could not have come closer to ripping of you design even if I had seen it. Wow!! The whole great minds thing comes to mind. Yours is much nicer though. I do like the pins on top. How deap did you dill the holes for the dowl rods? Thanks for sharing your photos that does take it to enother level. Mark

 

[Dave Smith]

William--thanks for sharing some super nice pictures of your superb quality work--Dave

 

[vapremac]

Mark and Dave , thanks for the compliments !

Mark , the hole depth for dowel pins is 0.265" ,flat bottom.

William

 

[Ray C]

Really nice work... I've got a CNC job coming-up in a few months to make a holding fixture that has a dedicated purpose inside of another machine. The holding area has an oblong shape. The tolerances won't need to be quite what yours looks to be but, it's a similar part and about the same size. It's a part of an automated mechanism and will need to be in Rockwell 55 range. Can't wait to start on this.

In any event, really nice looking work and thank you for showing us... We all like looking at these things.


Ray