collet blocks

[kvom]

I learned a new "trick" yesterday (they always seem obvious afterwards).

A couple of times I have had workpieces chucked in a hex collet block where I needed to remove the piece and then replace it later. The first time I re-oriented the piece by eyeball and was a bit off, to my detriment.

One way to replace a piece in a hex block where a previously milled face needs to be coplanar with a side of the block is to place the block on a flat surface and use a height gauge to position the work. Then you can tighten the lock nut. With a square block a machinist'd square would work equally well.

If the alignment is against a point of the hex block then the block can be clamped in a small vise and set on the surface plate before using the height gauge.

 

[BobWarfield]

A planer gage is also a handy way to orient a part:

Being really good at relocating either the same part or a new part precisely offers many opportunities to save time. I always consider before I remove the first part from a setup whether I shouldn't place a stop or have some other way to put things back if I needed to.

Cheers,

BW