A Small Milling Table

[Meldonmech]

Hi Guys
               It was on a visit to a car boot sale in late summer that I noticed part of an old vice. The seller wanted a pound for it so I
  readily bought it. I knew it had potential, but had no idea what it was going to become. It was not until winter that I had   some fiddly items to hold on the milling machine, that it suddenly occurred to me, that the old vice would make an ideal small milling table.     

[Meldonmech]

   Each end of the casting was as cast, and as sawn respectively, and needed squaring off.  So off to the shaping machine, a carbide tipped tool was fitted and the ends roughly squared.

[Meldonmech]

   One end of the casting was checked for squareness, and using a small blued surface plate, checked for flatness.  The high lighted blue areas were then  progressively scraped and blue rubbed until flat.

[Meldonmech]

The casting was setup on the milling machine, sitting the casting down on its squared and flat end. A square angle plate was clamped to the machine bed, and the casting clamped to it ensuring squareness of the casting. The casting was then skimmed using a carbide tipped fly cutter. The end was then checked for squareness before removing from the mill.

[Meldonmech]

 The top face of the table was drilled and tapped M6, and the sides marked out, for table clamps. These slots were positioned to enable it to be used on both the X and Y axis of the machine. The slots were cut using a 3/8inch dia. slot drill.  The casting was clamped to the machine table and skimmed using the fly cutter.The casting was then checked with a DTI, which recorded zero movement on the dial

[Meldonmech]

 The finished table has proved to be very useful, and I am pleased with the result.

                                                                                 Cheers  David

[Stilldrillin]

That's a handy piece of kit David! 

Well done, well shown....... 

I often notice the potential, in a piece of car boot dross. Unfortunately, most of them are still stored, in the Come in Handy pile! 

David D

[awemawson]

David,

An excellent bit of lateral thinking 

Inside every rusty old lump of metal is a nice shiny one trying to get out 

Andrew

[Meldonmech]

          David and Andrew, thank you for your replies.

                                                                                     Cheers David

[RadRod67]

Very neat, I love re-purposing

[Arbalist]

Nice job, handy getting it for only a quid as well!