Float Lock Vice from Aluminium Castings Part 2

#shopmadetools #homeshop
Part 2 of machining the jaws from castings and hot rolled steel stock. Things went well enough but not perfectly. But, that's life in the home machine shop.
In this episode:
Update on the design of the original Wahlstrom Float Lock Vice
Machining the aluminium castings
Machining the hot rolled steel jaw blanks
Using a fixture to machine the perimeter of the jaw assemblies
Aftermath of a less than perfect setup.... sad face!

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

You are the third creator that I have watched make this tool. Everyone has a little different slant on it. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

[@Preso58]

Thanks Harold. I have watched a few of the ones on offer too. I think the one that Tom Lipton did was the simplest. It was just a regular drill press vice bolted to an arm that could be locked to a bracket on the back of the drill press table. I had already committed to building my version when I saw his version. Too late to turn back! Regards, Mark

[@outsidescrewball]

Enjoyed…great progress, thanks for the mention

[@Preso58]

Thanks Chuck. Getting those photos helped big time. Regards, Mark

[@leeroyholloway4277]

delightful presentation, lovely garden and interesting critters.

[@ccbproductsmulti-bendaustr3200]

👏👏👏👌your castings have improved from when you first started

[@Preso58]

Thanks. It's only taken about 10 years to get close to being right! 😁 Regards, Mark

[@Radiotexas]

Very nice mate! fixturing is the key! Love the roos -- and "Buffy!

[@patrickshaw7983]

Thanks for the video. I must be getting old but I have just now sussed how this device works. Love the wildlife.

[@Preso58]

Thanks. If you have ever had a small workpiece get snagged on a drill bit you will understand why a float lock vice is a big timesaver and finger saver too. Regards, Mark

[@Rustinox]

That's a very interesting project. A lot of different operations and setups. Nice.

[@Preso58]

Thanks Michel. I think this project has the highest number of specialised mandrels of any that I have done. Regards, Mark

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Preso, the parts are looking great, it’s not easy machine 2 separate parts to be exactly the same on all faces with multiple setups, brilliant job mate, cheers

[@Preso58]

Thanks Matty. I did fix the issue but lost a bit of material doing it. Luckily, there was enough machining allowance to make it work. I wish I could work out how I messed it up in the first place. Hope you are making progress with your treatment. Regards, Mark

[@robertoswalt319]

Nice build video and fascinating nature video. It looks like you have your own corner of heaven.

[@Preso58]

It is nice here. We are lucky to live adjacent to a large national park. Regards, Mark

[@ozrc1017]

Absolutely love this build, we are lucky to live in Australia.

[@Preso58]

Absolutely. Regards, Mark

[@MrFastFarmer]

"we are lucky to live in Australia" LOL!! The way this country is going he wont be able to afford to run that Bridgeport soon. Oh, and make sure you vote YES too 🤦‍♂

[@philmenzies2477]

@@MrFastFarmer We are lucky. And this is a machining channel. Keep the political BS out of it.

[@MrFastFarmer]

@@philmenzies2477 You must be one of those old farts who tinkers in their shed and pretends the world outside doesn’t exist. Well sorry to burst your bubble grandad, but I’ll say what I want.

[@howder1951]

All the Aussies I met travelling were always ready to have a great time, I consider them our British commonwealth cousins on the opposite side of the earth, bless them all, even the Kiwis!

[@mchiodox69]

Always enjoy your videos. Machining and wildlife....doesn't get much better than that. Much thanks

[@jonsworkshop]

Looking good Mark, those castings are fantastic, not a spec of porosity and very clean, well done. Looking forward to seeing your flycut setup for co-planar and to maintain equidistance as well🤔. Great wildlife update too. Cheers, Jon

[@Preso58]

Thanks Jon. One thing that I learned from Martin (Olfoundryman) was to stop melting scrap aluminium and just spend the money on new ingots. I bought some from a local foundry for $5 per kilo and the results were amazing. Porosity is now almost non existent, there's little to no dross and the surface finish is clean and consistent after machining. The alloy I bought can be heat treated to a T6 spec but I probably don't have the gear to do that. An alternative is a T5 which is a lot easier to obtain. Regards, Mark

[@kimber1958]

Great job , Great video

[@WalterEGough]

Mark - really enjoy your channel - I’ve learned a lot. Thanks for all the videos.

[@Preso58]

Glad to hear it Regards, Mark

[@charlesvanvalkenburg7592]

This is a great machining video! Please keep showing the wildlife.

[@matthewf1979]

I always love your casting projects. It’s so neat to see those Kangaroos just relaxing in your yard!

[@Preso58]

The kangaroos look relaxed as long as we keep our distance. They are always alert and their best defence is to just bound off into the distance provided they are not cornered. Sadly, a lot of wallabies and kangaroos are savaged by dogs. A full grown male kangaroo will often kill a dog by luring it into a dam and then drowning it. The big ones deserve some respect! Regards, Mark

[@RB-yq7qv]

Hi Mark The clamp is looking very nice.

[@TheDistur]

Cool project!

[@Just1GuyMetalworks]

It's coming along 😊. When I need to do a V-groove I measure off a dowel to the outside edges and adjust accordingly... or I guess you could cnc it lol. I'm sure you've got it figured 😉. Cheers!

[@greglaroche1753]

Looking good!

[@joshclark44]

New subscriber, love the channel! I love the machining from cast parts and designing your own tools and upgrades. Very cool!

[@Preso58]

Being able to make castings at home means that you can make things that would otherwise be very difficult to fabricate or to machine from solid stock. Castings can also be decorative. I always thought that foundry work was too difficult but it turns out you can get good results for fairly little outlay. It is definitely worth it in my view. Regards, Mark

[@billdoodson4232]

I've worked in Engineering all my life, over 50 years and had not come across these clamps before you started this series. Never too late to learn. I have some new to me machines arriving in the next couple of weeks, so I'm going to give it a go making a set, once its all setup. Vevor here in the UK have a twin burner furnace for under £200, so I might get one of those and try some casting as well. It'll be the first time I will have done alloy casting since I was 14 at school! Love the wildlife bit at the end Paul, we are lucky if we spot next doors cat, let alone kangaroos. Make it a permanent feature please.

[@Preso58]

I had not seen one either until Mr. Pete did an episode on the float lock vice. I think they are well known in the USA though. I have put the STL files on my Dropbox folder if you can use them. You just need to print two mirrored copies of the fixed jaw and the moving jaw and one of the table bracket. I usually print them at about 102% to account for shrinkage of the finished castings. I will add the working drawings later when I have made all the corrections. www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/vlmgzs99t2fj24ybsfex9/h?rlkey=vzsg37mlipizzlrjr8wsw3its&dl=0 Regards, Mark

[@billdoodson4232]

@Preso58 Many thanks Paul.

[@garychaplin9861]

The grass trees look really healthy Mark and it looks like the dinosaurs are still around.

[@Preso58]

Yes, they are flowering like crazy. Either they are very happy or they think they are about to die and want to get on with procreating. Regards, Mark

[@swdweeb]

What is it about your videos? How can I sit mesmerized watching an endmill going over material? 😂

[@Preso58]

It's not that glamorous when you are being sprayed with red hot chips and splashed with smelly coolant. Oh, and the joys of cleaning up afterwards. Regards, Mark

[@ronwilken5219]

Hi Mark, from Canada's banana belt. Great that youre using your Yt income to benift a local wildlife rehab centre. You certainly have some interesting alternative wildlife to the rest of the world. Regarding the milling of the sides not quite lining up I was sort of surprised that you only ran the two shcs up through the bottom and into the jaw face. Would it not have been more stable to use longer screws that would tighten the jaw to the fixture, then allow you to put a spacer over the upward protuding end into the counterbores and tighten the casting down with a couple of nuts. That way you had at least a three point mount, with the stub shaft in the middle, to prevent any movement of the casting in relation to the jaw and the fixture. Just a suggestion. 🤞🇨🇦🍌🥋🇺🇦🕊️🇦🇺🐨😁👍

[@Preso58]

I am not sure the fixing was the issue. It seemed like one face of each part was short by the same amount which suggests that there was an error with the offset I had set up in TouchDRO. As always, trying to film stuff at the same time as carrying out critical machining ops means that you are not really concentrating on either job properly. I did end up fixing the misalignment as you will see in the next episode. Regards, Mark

[@johnvaluk1401]

Thank you for the video and the update. Also for the charity work you do. If I remember I think Joe Pi did a video of setting up and cutting V grooves I believe. Cheers till next time

[@Preso58]

Yes, I should have gone back and looked at that but as it turns out I successfully cut the grooves today using a double angle cutter on a horizontal arbor. Regards, Mark

[@wrstew1272]

Analytical comment, your communication skills are wonderful! Fully understand each setup and rationale for doing so. And the unforeseen results are appreciated- the Boo Boo’s are sometimes as educational as the dead on events. Did I see window cleaner used as lubricant? The foaming at one point resembled such, and opened the question. Great video as usual!

[@Preso58]

No, the coolant was Isopropyl Alcohol. It is probably just the way the spray bottle delivers it that makes it look like it is foaming. Regards, Mark

[@Gumbatron01]

I have a Buff Banded Rail that spends the winter in my garden. He (or she) is a bit skittish though. Can definitely see how they'd pick up the Turbo Choock moniker though.

[@Preso58]

I have been told there is a Tasmanian species that is similar to the buff banded rail and it can claim to be the original TurboChook! But, it's an apt description for both. Regards, Mark

[@glennbarker222]

Nice work as always Mark.

[@Preso58]

Thanks for watching. Regards, Mark

[@silverbullet7434]

Ever think about casting extra sets of jaws to sell? They would be the hardest parts to make from scratch . I think I'd mill a small step in the top jaw or jaws to keep parts up off the table. Dont think ill ever be able now with my spine pain keeping me bed bound..

[@Preso58]

The jaws do have a step along the long edge and that part has already been completed in the latest video. Unfortunately, mass producing castings is a full time job and don't feel inclined to devote that much time to it. I only made castings because I can but a simpler form could be machined from solid stock and it would probably be stronger. Regards, Mark

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Its coming along nicely Mark. Bummer about the slight difference and having to fly cut the parts to get them co-planar. But, I'm sure you will show us a new and interesting setup when you machine those parts.

[@Preso58]

I did manage to fix it but lost a bit of material in the process. It's proper flat now! I wish I knew how I stuffed it up. Probably bad mathematics. I never was any good at numbers. Regards, Mark

[@simongroot7147]

I made a pin vice back at school and had exactly the same issue with the sides of the vice. The teacher explained that to put the pin into the jaws it has to be a sliding fit so there is always a clearance between the jaw and pin. He showed me a method which has seemed to work for me ever since. counter sink the hole in the jaw when you bore it. It does not need to be much, 0.5mm is fine and then use an equivalent taper on your location pin and pull the jaw onto the taper. The pin needs to be smaller than the hole. I guess you also got some clearance between the 5mm screws and the fixture which will also cause issues. Same deal but you only do one pin otherwise the part is over constrained. The design looks a little compromised to me, in that when you tighten the jaws, the floating jaw is pushed back into the part of the bar that has the slot for motion cut into it, creating two high load/wear points. I think it would have been a better design with the floating ratchet mechanism opposite the direction of force, i.e. on the other side of the clamp. I appreciate this would make the jaws thicker but it would mean the jaws would not become tapered when clamped with usage.

[@glennstasse5698]

I’m learning about the vice each week and glad to do so because I’ve had one for decades and didn’t know what it was for. As for the kangaroos, how close to them can you get before they run away, assuming that’s what they do? Most wildlife here in the US are really skittish and take off as soon as they see you.

[@gordonquigley2267]

Most of them will move away and keep their distance however drop bears will fall on you from a tree.

[@Preso58]

It's almost impossible to sneak up on a kangaroo. They are flight animals and will hop away as soon as they detect your presence. If they are cornered they can be quite dangerous. The big males will stand up taller than a man and they can kick hard enough to break ribs. We just give them plenty of space but they are definitely wild animals. Regards, Mark

[@matsbengtsson3756]

Mark you often mention that rust is a problem in your area. I can highly recommend this product if available in Australia "BOESHIELD T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection/Inhibitor"

[@Preso58]

I have heard about that product. I believe it was developed by Boeing? I do have another product called Lanotec. It is a lanolin based spray and it is very good for tools and surfaces that need to be stored but it stinks like a wet sheep and it can be very tacky. I can get the Boeshield here. I will get some to try out. Regards, Mark

[@iteerrex8166]

I was wondering how you’re gonna center the bore. Looking forwards to this build. Cheers Mark.

[@Preso58]

That part worked out well. At least in terms of getting the steel and aluminium parts to line up. I am just angry with myself for messing up the offsets for the outer faces. I was beating myself up about it and then watched a video by Keith Rucker where he screwed up a pair of very expensive looking bronze castings by machining too much off them. I didn't feel quite so bad then! Regards, Mark

[@iteerrex8166]

@@Preso58Lol yes Keith goofed up on that one. Though he said it didn’t matter much, but still gona remake it. At least in this case it can be salvaged.

[@jjbode1]

Ever tried chrome “paint”? Buffie is magnificent

[@Preso58]

No, I haven't tried it but there appear to be some good ones available now. Regards, Mark

[@georgedreisch2662]

When you said,”been around since the dinosaurs were here”, we’re you referring to, us old school manual machinists, or ancient reptiles, or is there a degree of overlap there?🤨😝 Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[@Preso58]

Well, sometimes ancient reptiles and old school machinists are indistinguishable from each other. 😁 Regards, Mark

[@mech023]

great videos love your yard. how close can you get to the roo' s or do you have to stay well back from them?

[@Preso58]

I use a powerful zoom on my video camera. They are probably about 20 metres away. If I were to get any closer they would hop away. We do sometimes see them closer but you have to stand very still so as not to spook them. The big males can be aggressive during mating season so it's best to keep your distance. Regards, Mark

[@markedevold1261]

👍

[@JMFuller227]

Another great video Mark! I can’t wait to see how this project turns out! Just out of curiosity, could you have placed some sort of spacer between the fixture plate and the parts in that final operation so that your long carbide end mill could have reached all the way to the bottom of the part? Or would that have introduced error or the possibility of chatter? I don’t have any machining experience or anything so I’m just trying to understand what is a good idea and what I should avoid if I ever do manage to get started some day 😂

[@Preso58]

Yes, a spacer is sometimes a good idea especially if you are using a non-sacrificial fixture plate. I was using a pretty scrap piece of plate so it didn't really matter if I milled into it. Adding a spacer does mean that it can be harder to square up the work though. Regards, Mark

[@JMFuller227]

@@Preso58 gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks Mark!

[@howder1951]

What was the coolant used for drilling, my text generator called it IPA, what is this? Great progress made today, this will make an excellent fixture to the drill press. Enjoyed the shop and the back yard, cheers!

[@Preso58]

IPA is Isopropyl Alcohol. I was able to buy two litres of it quite cheaply but regular methylated spirits or denatured alcohol works well too and it's cheaper. Because it evaporates quickly, it has a strong cooling effect and it also acts as a mild lubricant as well. Stefan Gotteswinter uses it on aluminium so it must be good. Regards, Mark

[@howder1951]

Of course I got distracted by the first impulsive thought of IPA for me is India pale ale, and yes it made me thirsty, ha-ha! Thanks for the quick (and serious) answer to my facetious question, cheers Preso!@@Preso58

[@howder1951]

My thoughts immediately went to India Pale Ale when you wrote those letters, and it made me thirsty, despite knowing it had to be something else, thanks for the quick reply, cheers Preso!@@Preso58

[@joell439]

👍👍😎👍👍

[@NiksSofa]

The IPA you use as a coolant, is that 100% ipa? or some mix with somethng? edit: asking because it looks like its foaming? or ist that the nozzle of the spray that does that?

[@Preso58]

It is regular 100% IPA. It used to be expensive and then mid Covid epidemic it all of a sudden became cheap enough to buy in large containers. Because of the shortage of hand sanitiser, distilleries and chemical companies ramped up their production and then there was an oversupply. It was probably the spray dispenser that made it look like it was foaming. Regards, Mark

[@NiksSofa]

@@Preso58 Thanks!

[@bignige42]

How wary of humans are the Kangaroos Mark……they looked fairly nonchalant about your presence to be fair…. 😂

[@Preso58]

Those kangaroos are definitely not tame. I was using a fairly extreme zoom on my video camera. They will generally not allow us to approach closer than 60' before they stand up. Once they detect your presence you will see them looking for an escape route. Once they decide to go they can clear a 4' fence in one bound. They are actually very well camouflaged and if they didn't move their ears you probably wouldn't see them. Regards, Mark