What Parallel set to start with?

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fishingreg

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Who would have thought something as simple as a parallel set would have so many options and every set I see has someone unhappy with them. I am brand new to milling. My mill is on the way and I am looking to get my first parallel set. I do not want to buy something I am going to throw in the trash in 6 months when I realize I bought crap but at the same time, I don't want to spend $300 on a parallel set if I don't need to... Help... My vise is a vice is a taiwan made 550V from Shars. My mill is a PM-833. The vise is 5" wide. You all were a great help when I got my lathe 8 or so months ago and I have progressed wonderfully on that thanks to you. Now I need some help on the Mill. I am sure this is the first of a series of questions.

Thanks,
Greg
 
I bought the Harbor freight set and they are plenty accurate and tough. They've all hit the concrete at least once and still work just fine. Actually, that may be the best thing about buying parallels that are "too big" for the vise, if you ding up a corner it won't be digging into your vise with the burr when you tap the work in.
 
I'd start with a set of 1/8" thick import ones 6" long. I have 3 set of them, never had any issues. My sets go from 1/2" up to 1 5/8" by 1/8" steps. One set is from Harbor Freight, one Enco and one CDCO Tools.

Then you can venture into others like thin parallels (have a set of 1/32" thick from CDCO), wavy parallels and adjustable parallels. The adjustables can come in really handy for other set ups. I have a set from Starrett, Enco and General. They all are about the same smoothness and accuracy.

Bruce
 
First go with 1/8 X 6" import parallels as Bruce says above. It will do with 90 percent of vise work. You can lay them down in vise over opening to make a bridge. Next go with some 1/2" & 5/8 HSS tool blanks 4-6" long. Sometimes you need some width under your item. After that go with some 1-2-3 blocks. Catch 22 here. It is cheaper to buy a set of 4 or 5 for $50 then a single pair. I bought the single set and now need at least one more pair for clamping to table. After that when you are feeling rich get a set of 9-12" long parallels. 1/2" X 3/4" or 3/4" X 1". Around $40-$50. If you throw in a set of 2-4-6 blocks, that is all I have been using for the last couple of years in the order that I listed them.

Go fully import or used. Save your money for better mic's and indicators
 
Thank you all, that is exactly what I was hoping to hear. I could not imagine as a hobbyist that I would be way off base getting the imports but I have been wrong before. I will get some ordered to get me started. Thank you again!
 
Greg, when you get them, measure them to be sure they match. They are supposed to be ground together but it best to check.
 
BGHansen said:
I'd start with a set of 1/8" thick import ones 6" long. I have 3 set of them, never had any issues. My sets go from 1/2" up to 1 5/8" by 1/8" steps. One set is from Harbor Freight, one Enco and one CDCO Tools.

Then you can venture into others like thin parallels (have a set of 1/32" thick from CDCO), wavy parallels and adjustable parallels. The adjustables can come in really handy for other set ups. I have a set from Starrett, Enco and General. They all are about the same smoothness and accuracy.

Bruce
Click to expand...
I quite agree on the 1/8 thick parallel set, I just don't like how they fall over so easy, but a spring in between cures that.
 
A chunk of open cell foam works awesome too, just be sure the work covers it or you get to find out what burning open cell foam smells like.
 
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