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7x10, 7x12, 7x14 Mini-Lathe Information

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SIEG X2 MINI MILL

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HOW-TO Hold Workpieces AKA Workholding

Sometimes you find yourself needing to hold down a workpiece that's awkward and/or larger than your vise. What to do? Use step blocks

we'll just go over a simple way of its use.
while this is how step blocks work, this is NOT the right way to hold down a workpiece.

the arm should be angled the otherway!

but how do we do this? the step block is too short and it's the tallest one from our set?
stack them up!
ever wonder what 1-2-3 blocks are for? well, since they're ground to fairly accurate dimensions, you can use them for dimensioning or creating offsets at 1", 2" or 3".

here we show that our bolt from the step block set threads through the block.

sometimes you need to lift the step block. here's one use.

the 1-2-3 block still needs to be mounted to the table!

in v1 of our cnc conversion, we had to get creative with our workholding. take a look at how we held down the Z-axis brackets.

here's another use.

step clamps are used here to hold a workpiece to a rotary table.

and another.

step clams secure v-blocks to the table and a leadscrew is held down to the blocks.

and another

there are other methods of workholding that use cam-action type clamps and a plate of tapped holes

 

Looking for mini-mill help and how-tos? How about lathe help and how-tos?

We're prototyping a benchtop CNC vertical mill using the DigiSpeed-XL interface card for Mach, Dart Controls and KB Electronics KBIC/KBMM 90VDC motor controllers, 1.5HP treadmill motor from Surplus Center and a R8-spindle head from the X2 mini-mill - not to mention Gecko servo drives and an entirely closed-loop system. Come take a look!

CNC 8x12 Lathe
Check out our newest developments like the CNC/DRO 8x12/8x14 lathe using Gecko drives, break-out board, NEMA 34 step motors, DRO and more!

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