I still regularly use the few sizes that are too tall for my vice as they can also be used when setting up work on the mill table and even the lathe cross slide if I'm boring on that.

I bought a box of 1/16" parallels in about ten widths, probably made in India which are good, but have only rarely needed to use them in the five years since they were bought. They seem to be made from blued spring steel.

Edited By old mart on 10/07/2023 20:16:48

Some while ago in "Reader's Tips" in MEW, a contributor (sorry, I can't find the reference) suggested a simple solution to this problem. Basically, dig out those old Lidl or Aldi callipers you picked up for a fiver each and cut the scales into two halves and voilà, two thin parallels of the thickness you require. Of course, if you have more than one calliper you can have longer ones. I always found the cut up ones sufficient for use with my 100mm Arc versatile vice.

John