Making an adjustable vice stop

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

I recently fitted a Arc eurotrade precision vice to my milling machine. I decided to have a go at making a adjustable stop for it. I watched many video's on youtube. In the end i made one that i thought was best for my needs. There is also another video of anodising the part & other parts too. If you decide to watch both then i am sorry but it will be 1 1/2 hours of your life you will never get back.

Unfortunately i do not make drawings for parts i make. I talk them through on the youtube video's. Sort of ad lib. Always been like that. Brain in overdrive. Anyone deciding to watch then enjoy. I will wait to be told to grab my coat.

Steve.

Adjustable vice stop ,long video. get a cup of tea.

Colour anodising alloy parts without battery acid

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

To fit the Arc eurotrade precision vice

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

You've had some lovely results there.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Well made vise stop, will work very well. You are not the only one who just gets on with making something, exact dimensions are not always needed to get a project underway, all it takes is a bit of imagination. I only use a drawing if the job is for somebody else to their specifications.

That ARC vise is rather nice looking, how have you found it quality wise?

Edited By old mart on 15/06/2021 17:48:26

Edited By old mart on 15/06/2021 17:48:39

Edited By old mart on 15/06/2021 17:48:58

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Hi old mart.

The new vise is pretty good. I do not think it has the grip of my Abwood , but for what i do it will suffice. The jaws open up to around 6". Which for a 4" vise is great. The main screw is not acme, but hey for the cost !!!.

Steve.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

The 100mm Bison vises at the museum only open about 70mm, that is why I got one of ARC's 125mm with the swivel, not as nice as that one of yours, but it opens to 150mm.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Yes that was my main reason for purchase. The Abwood only opened 3 1/2".

Steve.

[Andy_GParticipant @andy_g]

On your anodising – I use sodium bisulphate and it works well. There's definitely something wrong with your early attempts (maybe the readout on the PSU was wrong??) I spotted that you were using a steel screw – that's an absolute no-no. I work on 6A per sq ft which means I need ~23Volts at the end of the process (less early on) which is roughly what you were using on the second attempts and it takes ~2 hours to build up a reasonable thickness.(Some examples here: **LINK**&nbsp

IME, if the part will take dye after anodising, then the colour should hold after sealing. Your poor result at the end is probably due to a bad electrical connection somewhere – maybe where the hanger rests on the busbar (better to use clamp screws, rather than rely on gravity) or if you're re-using aluminium hangers – they need to be sanded or stripped in caustic between uses (titanium hangers don't.). Mark Preisling did a good video on this.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Stevie, May I please ask where you got the Bristol Clamping Levers?

Cheers, Martin

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 16/06/2021 08:08:42:

Stevie, May I please ask where you got the Bristol Clamping Levers?

Cheers, Martin

Axminster tools, Arc Euro Trade, Ebay, they're common parts available all over the place.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Stevie, any chance you could post a photo of the finished item please, so we can judge if we want to watch the video?

[egaParticipant @ega]

Posted by Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 16/06/2021 09:06:21:

Posted by Martin King 2 on 16/06/2021 08:08:42:

Stevie, May I please ask where you got the Bristol Clamping Levers?

Cheers, Martin

Axminster tools, Arc Euro Trade, Ebay, they're common parts available all over the place.

Agreed, but there are Bristol handles and Bristol handles. The best I have found are by Kipp, the least good those made of weak plastic and which cannot be dismantled. EE's Acute kit came with some very pretty small handles that I have not seen elsewhere; perhaps they will be imported under the new trade deal!

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by John Haine on 16/06/2021 10:11:58:

Stevie, any chance you could post a photo of the finished item please, so we can judge if we want to watch the video?

Certainly. Just busy doing some work for a friend , but i will take some later today & post.

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 16/06/2021 08:08:42:

Stevie, May I please ask where you got the Bristol Clamping Levers?

Cheers, Martin

Ebay Number

284045170759

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by Andy_G on 16/06/2021 01:27:17:

On your anodising – I use sodium bisulphate and it works well. There's definitely something wrong with your early attempts (maybe the readout on the PSU was wrong??) I spotted that you were using a steel screw – that's an absolute no-no. I work on 6A per sq ft which means I need ~23Volts at the end of the process (less early on) which is roughly what you were using on the second attempts and it takes ~2 hours to build up a reasonable thickness.(Some examples here: **LINK**

IME, if the part will take dye after anodising, then the colour should hold after sealing. Your poor result at the end is probably due to a bad electrical connection somewhere – maybe where the hanger rests on the busbar (better to use clamp screws, rather than rely on gravity) or if you're re-using aluminium hangers – they need to be sanded or stripped in caustic between uses (titanium hangers don't.). Mark Preisling did a good video on this.

Andy . The 1st attempts were all wrong. I used steel screws & stainless bolts. Now i use just the alloy tig rids wedged into a hole . Yes i was not leaving the parts in the bath for long enough. Thanks for the comments , all taken on board.

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

As asked for . Some pictures of the finished product.

Steve.

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

Thanks for sharing the video Steve, if your results are anything to go by it's given me the urge to try anodising. And I didn't know of that alternative to sulphuric acid.

IanJ

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by Ian Johnson 1 on 16/06/2021 19:06:26:

Thanks for sharing the video Steve, if your results are anything to go by it's given me the urge to try anodising. And I didn't know of that alternative to sulphuric acid.

IanJ

Yes it works. I cannot tell you the ratio. I put an amount of S.B in the water & mixed it. It turned out not to be enough. I could not get any current to flow. I mixed some more & it worked fine. My 1st attempts were bad, because i had introduced steel in the bath. Once i had made sure i only had alloy in there it worked. Another thing i found was to give it plenty of time in the bath. Well over an hour at a low current. I did one with the current at about 6 amps on a small part & it just ate it away. Good luck. If i can do it anyone can. The great thing is once you have the materials . Lots of parts can be done for very little outlay.

Steve.

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