Small parallels

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Is there a source of small parallels suitable for use in vises of 3″ and smaller? Or at least some ground square stock that could do.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Toolbits should suffice, sizes from 1/8″ up to 1/2″ square.

Howard

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

They certainly exist and I purchased a set from ARC a month or so ago. But probably no longer available from ARC.

Andrew.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I have just ordered 2×2, 3×3 and 4x4mm HSS in 200mm lengths which can be easily cut into useful lengths

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, yes Arc did have those that Andrew mentioned, and no, they don’t have any at all now. RDG have some 80mm long ones, but they may be more than you what to pay for them.

80mm Parallel set

Regards Nick.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I bought a set of those parallels years ago when they were about £40, very useful, but too big, except at the small end for what is needed at the moment. Now that I have a second look, the set I bought has more and they vary in thickness from 6mm to 3mm.

I have just ordered a box of parallels, ten pairs of 1/8″ thick from 1/2″ to 1 5/8″ by 6″ long on ebay which I couldn’t resist for under £25 to use on the mills in addition to the set of 1/32″ thick ones plus loads of bigger ones that have been donated over the years, we do have loads of tooling here.

[Andrew CrowParticipant @andrewcrow91475]

I have used small HSS tool bits as parallels for many years, however just a word of warning, they are not always absolutely equal size on each side. There is often a bit of variation in size so if you want exact squareness and parallelism just check before use.

Andy.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I just found a box of parallels identical to the ones I bought yearsago for £40 on ebay.

 

 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275747270836?_skw=parallel+set&itmmeta=01K63S7FGFQ7TF815ZQW79A3CM&hash=item4033d170b4:g:nAAAAOxybi9Rbq2R&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fuXq8l4x75XXsw0YuMBA%2Brbzfo7UeeG1n6aAhIyvCR5sjh2brfp2pYpG5eABf4k7iwAvMWC22Zl72xLMzX52Uf3rMxetmYleB47hBlHIC0cna4axesYtykaAUSiN4A%2B2sL%2FFKZiChdPaeQJi29OWI%2Bfd3HXhU3E%2BgbQWU02YPNMP5e8dtRQLTPoL871t3rD10oFbizcTW0QQVCi4YwKlbZ%2B4qiTY7QBAu8LWT4BECNeKE650H%2FTPRb169mIT%2FRcOb9il%2B68iuwmsDJCPtDGJH%2F%7Ctkp%3ABFBMrPmd-bBm

 

[cogdobblerParticipant @cogdobbler]

I use key steel cut into suitable lengths.

[VicParticipant @vic]

Most of mine are bits of Ground Flat Stock left over from other jobs. Old Bearing Races, particularly the inner, come in handy for some jobs.

Blast, that’s another job. I’ve just realised I’ve got some old races from which to harvest the inners …

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

The box of ten pairs of larger 6″  parallels from ebay arrived yesterday all 1/8″ thick and from 1/2″ up to 1 5/8″ wide and for £25 the set is a bargain for normal size mills.

[HuubParticipant @huub]

I mill my parallels out of mild steel. I chamfer the right corner so I can reposition them the same way they where milled. Any vertical misalignment of my mill or vice is reduced to zero. If I accidentally drill a hole in the parallel, the drill is not damaged.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

If using old races, check for any slight burrs on the edges.  First time I used one on my brand new mill table it embossed a narrow circle into the pristine surface. Easy to stone off the burr.

[VicParticipant @vic]

Good tip John.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As the usual holes in parallels don’t seem to get used it would be an option to buy a 6″ set and just cut them all in half. You could still hang them on a nail in the workshop wall if you wanted as that only needs 1 hole in each.

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

Also, if using old ball races, check the thicknesses if using more than one, even if they’ve come from the same application, e.g a pair of car hub bearings.

I once used some Land Rover hub bearing outer races as parallels to mount a large scrapyard-find faceplate on the standard Harrison faceplate to bore and thread a new mounting.

When I screwed it onto the spindle I found I’d basically made a swash plate – one of the bearing races was a few thou narrower than the other two; not noticeable when concentrating on getting the mounting register, etc. right, but when magnified at the edge of a 15 or 16″ faceplate – unfortunate. It was quite a bit thinner by the time I’d skimmed it true.

 

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