6” vice end stops made out of Fortal aluminum

[Uguessedit]

Started a project tonight I’ve needed an end stop for awhile and frankly don’t like to buy tools when I can make most of them here in the shop. And of course make them better suited to my needs. So I have some Fortal Airbus aluminum here and decided what better material it’s light and extremely strong. In fact when you take a NOGA to the edge it feels a lot like steel. A main factor it needed to be square and easy to square up for some of the parts I make. I decided to slot the end stop for additional features however during this process my Precision Mathews PM833t blew the gearbox. Guess it’s time for a belt upgrade and rid the gearbox once and for all. Here are som photos of the pieces and end stop installed to check for square.

 

[Uguessedit]

Well I stayed up near all night and rebuilt my mill and finally finished stage 1 of the vice end stop. Here it is attached to the front so you can see it well. Surely it can be used 4 ways. Kinda hard to see in the lighting but this Fortal finishes really nice. Anyone ever wants Fortal you can PM me for the supplier contact info. His name is Scott and he discounts direct to hobbyists. Lots of drops and various cut leftovers. Think it’s $4/lb shipped I’d have to verify with him. I usually buy priority boxes full at a time but it’s the way it machines and finishes. It’s really rigid compared to 7075 considering another grade aluminum that’s actually better and priced like 6061. I’ve made my own soft jaws and various other stuff out of this material I will try and post it. Funny I started buying it for consumer products and started using it for my own needs. When I make a set of angle adapter plates for the end stop I will post more photos to give you guys more ideas what you can do with these and the benefits if you want.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Interesting stop, though it seems limber more like a warning than a positive stop.