What Did I Make For My Brother-In-Law? - Milling Side Clamps Explained

[@theundergroundesd]

I found some on amazon cheap. I bought 3 Steel Low Grip Edge Clamps to try. If I like them I will make a few more. I wanted to see one and use them before I attempt to make one. Good job, keep up the good work.

[@mrricky3816]

Thanks!

[@TheFallenAngel13524]

i've got 4 clamps like that that are mini size for my desktop cnc. They work amazing for biting into the aluminum and wood.

[@bobhudson6659]

Good to see you and the missus are enjoying life. Better outlook and mindset than you had a while ago. Keep smelling the roses.

[@stevebarnes766]

Thanks for sharing the mystery of the mysterious chunk of metal for your brother-in-law! I guess he's going to drill and tap the mounting holes for the master cylinder. Sounds like a good guy.

[@nyala4996]

Just checked online. J&S is still in business and has the clamps

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I see that now. Gonna be calling them.

[@kd5byb]

NICE!!! Always nice to know what a part is used for. 😀

[@bostedtap8399]

"Why didn't you ask", very true in all fields. Thanks for sharing

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Exactly!

[@PRRGG1]

Cool you did that for your brother-in- law.

[@BrucePierson]

That is really great news that you are very busy with work coming in. The videos come second to keeping your business going. It's really appreciated that you can find the time to make, edit and post the videos. Yours is a great channel to watch and I never miss a video.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Thank you so much! I don't want to stop doing videos for long breaks, but may have to cut back to every other week for a while. I have a bunch of stuff shot, just need to edit. May have a month or better of footage to work on.

[@stevenslater2669]

I’m glad you made this follow-up to your last project. It seems that most of the machine shop KZbin makers take on projects without knowing what the part’s for, how it works, etc. A lot of that is probably just a lack of enough hours in the day to leave the shop and see the job site in person. I’m a (now-retired) mechanical engineer and worked for a company with a prototyping machine shop you wouldn’t believe if you saw it. They machined prototype engine parts, including heat treating. They liked to keep the engineers out of the shop with “If you can draw it, we can make it!” Until they couldn’t make it. Then you better get your butt into the shop like yesterday! As a young engineer I got that call one day for a pre-prototype part I had designed and drew up myself. We called those parts SK (sketch) parts. The problem was actually my fault. The foreman started in on me about the tolerances were too tight, some areas were double-dimensioned, etc. He ended with “Well, what have you got to say for yourself?” He was expecting a big fight, like he got from all young engineers. I said - after looking over the areas he had issues with - “I screwed up.” That foreman went from ass-chewing’ bull-of-the-woods to mentor in a flash. He said, “I never had a young engineer admit he was wrong.” He put his arm around my shoulder and said, “Come on son, let’s sit down in my office & we’ll go over the print, help me understand what needs to be held tight, where you can give us some relief, and we’ll get this job knocked out.” After that, my jobs went thru the shop with a champion in the inside. And I learned that the best way to start a design was to sit down with the shop before starting the drawing. You knew your brother in law built transmissions and immediately assumed this job would need to be done with tight transmission tolerances. If he had said (better yet - written on the sketch “TAPERED SPACER to correct angle of brake master cylinder on firewall”

[@warrenjones744]

I do like those clamps. I have some cheep ones that do not work for crap. Thanks for the explanation. Now the clamp search is on! 🤣🤣 Me and 1000 other people! Cheers

[@normesmonde5332]

Good follow up 👍

[@iancrozier8068]

I'm happy to know what that piece is actually for, when you showed the placement picture, I thought " too heavy man " but then you spoke of " weight needed " ahh, lightbulb moment. Thanks for posting.

[@ronaldbrown2854]

Just wore my new Topper Machine “Tread on Those Who Tread on You” T Shirt. Pretty swanky shirt Josh. High Five!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@raymondhorvatin1050]

Thanks for the explanation impressive clamp

[@greglaroche1753]

I was wondering about those clamps too. Thanks for the video.

[@procyonia3654]

I love those and planer dogs that go in the round holes on some planer/boring mill tables or the slot blocks like you showed. Great for open table work

[@nigelroberson8911]

Great work Josh. I enjoy your channel because its grounded. Its not endlessly promoting stuff so you get more freebies. Best of all you dont bore us with CNC stuff which should be on a separate channel called Watching Paint Dry. Love your shop and the type of work you do.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I hate CNC videos. I agree, like watching paint dry. So boring, and really limited on skill. Having said that, it does have its place in the world, just not in my shop.

[@BrucePierson]

@@TopperMachineLLC Snowball Engineering in the UK has a CNC plasma cutting table that he shows in use when making custom parts for repairs and new jobs. In this case, it's interesting to see how he designs the part in CAD and then cuts it out with either plasma or gas. He runs the cutting at high speed quite a lot, so it only takes a short time to see the result. As it's only a small part of his overall video, it fits in nicely. His work is vastly different to what you do. He mostly repairs and upgrades farm machinery. It's a very interesting channel to watch. But I would agree that you don't have any place for CNC in your shop.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I don't have the room, nor the desire to have it. Funny thing with CNC shops is that they are all struggling, and I can pick and choose the lowest bidder. I farm a lot of stuff out that I don't want to do or is better suited for CNC. Most of the quotes I get back are at about material cost. Why would I compete with that, just utilize that to my advantage. It is smart business, why own the equipment when someone else will always make it for less than I can?

[@edwardhuff4727]

Mr. Snowball's automated flame and plasma cutting table is not one of those shiny big boxes with robotic tool changers, 5 axis control etc. that (after many days of programming) produce identical finished parts rapid fire. He uses it to flame cut thick sheet steel or plasma cut thinner sheet. He didn't even know he'd need the parts until a few minutes before, and he immediately welds them onto the machine he's repairing. Often he needs a bunch of identical parts, and cutting them by hand would be much slower and a lot more difficult, and sometimes they do need to be identical. He'd have to machine the hand-cut parts to size. For his business, the cutter is essential and not that different from the huge hydraulic brake he sometimes uses to bend those parts. Technically, it's computer numerical control, but it's not what Titans of CNC sell.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@@edwardhuff4727 I also have plate cutting capacity in house,but it is not computer controlled in any way. Rather it follows a pattern. Simple and extremely accurate for what it is. I've cut 4" plate with it and can cut up to 6". Again, no complex circuitry to fail, time wasted on programming, etc. Just hang a pattern or a sample part and start cutting.

[@tonyrifkin5849]

J&S TOOL is still open and sells some really nice tooling.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Awesome. Thanks for letting me know. I didn't look them up at all. Just guessed based on what I've seen of others.

[@ypaulbrown]

Outstanding.....thanks for sharing my friend....Paul

[@mikep1085]

Upcoming video.... a day at the racetrack watching brother-in-law's car make a couple runs! 😅🤣😂

[@TopperMachineLLC]

He is a long way from ready to race. But I agree.

[@wazzazone]

Hi Josh Topper a great channel and love your work and ethics.

[@randydobson1863]

Hi Josh & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks Josh & Friends Randy

[@copperlemon1]

I use those clamps pretty frequently for doing preparatory work on large-ish hot rolled plates (up to about 30x50 sometimes). Very good for getting things flat and parallel, but it takes some care, which a lot of people I work with don't apply. Important to use minimal pressure to prevent bulging, just needs to be enough to keep the part from sliding. Also helps a lot to shim under any dead space to account for cutting forces.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Sounds like a brother in law deal. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

[@frankerceg4349]

Thank you Josh!

[@johnmcanulty7341]

I am a patient man. But I don't matter. Please stay within your you comfort level. But, It is really kool to see your work and progress.

[@alanm3438]

What a great surprise to see you this morning!!!!! I just went to the race track at Three Lakes, WI. I sure wish that I was able to go to Hungry Hollow again but it is a long drive from Rhinelander. I remember when you were working on your water wagon. Thanks for the video and it is always good to see you.

[@donteeple6124]

Morning Josh, Great hearing you are getting alot done w the Mrs as well as in the shop. Exact same happening here. Looking forward to some saw mill and shovel videos. Hoping Connor is still hanging in there w you and honing his skills. Don

[@BrucePierson]

It was interesting to know what that part was for. Something I would never have guessed.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Me either!!

[@rexmyers991]

Thanks, Josh

[@adhawk5632]

Cheers again mate 👍👌🇦🇺

[@lapoint7603]

You live an active and interesting life. So more videos of your sawmilling projects, tractor show and steam engine stuff, bee keeping, etc. would be great to see. Even just a photo or a short video clip of your BIL's drag car making a pass would be great. Thanks for another interesting video. Hopefully you're not underwater in N. WI?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

He is a long way from ready to race, but maybe eventually. We are in Sand country. That rain just disappears. But I sure love the rain when we get it. Things are beautiful here.

[@2xKTfc]

@@TopperMachineLLC Rain is how we get blooming plants :) As long as it's not measured in feet, that is.

[@BrucePierson]

@@TopperMachineLLC We had so much rain this year in Queensland Australia that we are happy to see some dry weather for a change so we can get things done. Only problem is now it's really cold, down to single digits C (low 40s F) at night, but low to mid 20s C (low to mid 70s F) during the day. Our place has been like a swamp for months, as it's that type of soil and not that deep with clay underneath, so nowhere for the water to go,it just gets waterlogged.

[@StuartsShed]

Excellent. Maybe I’ll see you at Hungry Hollow. Unless you see me first, obviously. Editing the video is the real pain in the proverbial. It is a massive time suck - not sure very many people understand it honestly.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

You better come. I'll be there with my water wagon and f12.

[@slicedbread9003]

J&S was, and perhaps still, is for making fixtures to shape grinding wheels.

[@iandibley8032]

Good job. I think I would have made it from quality aluminium, easy to machine also. The weight in the front end makes sense though.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Had I known what he was doing before he did it, I would have gotten him the aluminum for about the same cost.

[@doncarpenter183]

One wisconsin guy to another. Do you remember Walter's beer?😊

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I am not old enough to have ever had it, but I remember finding piles of steel cans in the woods around my parents home.

[@Humanoid9277]

Are there video editing companies for KZbin channels like yours? No clue on how it works or the price, but if it’s low cost and the quality is there then it could help you create more content, and better work/life balance. Thanks for all the videos, very enjoyable.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I have looked into this, the problem is they would never do it the way I want it done. I have my standards and visions that I work towards, they would only work for the money.

[@BrucePierson]

@@TopperMachineLLC Absolutely right there Josh. If you want it done the way you want it done, you have to do it yourself. You are really good at video editing, the main issue being the time involved. I can barely do simple stuff with video editing, it's above my pay grade.

[@minigpracing3068]

This Old Tony made some clamps that that might be similar enough to get the same job done, he also made a two piece vise to attach directly to the table. People might want to check those out if they need something different to hold work.

[@prototype3a]

Edge Precision also made some similar-ish clamps though his are sort of "fancy" and maybe too complicated to replicate with all manual machining.

[@joell439]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@andreblanchard8315]

I was just talking with some of the steam engine people, plowing probably not going to happen this year. It's a bit wet.😢

[@southmaplegarage]

I guess he likes to overbuild his brackets.

[@larrymiglore7508]

Josh, Any maintenence on the locomotive coming up? You really knew your way around that EMD.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Unfortunately it is not likely I will do much more for videos of that. I received threats from the feds for my videos. It's is not worth it to me to get thousands of dollars in fines for a video.

[@larrymiglore7508]

@@TopperMachineLLC That's too bad. I really enjoyed it. Score another victory for the Federal Buttinski's!

[@BrucePierson]

@@TopperMachineLLC What are the feds on about?????

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Federal Railroad Administration. Basically, a bunch of railroad employees who got fired for incompetence and had to get a govt job. They are out to fine you any chance they get, and I have been involved in the fining side. Our current FRA track inspector was fired on national tv, he was on Railroad Alaska. Fired for being incompetent, so he is now a federal inspector. That is how it works here in the good old USA.

[@larrymiglore7508]

I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. We've got a whole congress fulll of them.

[@bcbloc02]

Not every part is a vise part. 😎

[@carlbyington5185]

Oh, oh, oh... "lotta stupid comments!" now I gotta go back and read them all to see, lol

[@TopperMachineLLC]

The nasty ones get removed, but there is a lot of stupid in the comment section of every video.

[@ron827]

Stupid people post stupid comments. Being stupid is like dying, you do not know it but makes it difficult for others.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Stupid makes life almost impossible for the smart. I just had to work with a group of stupid yesterday. Made the job take 3 times longer.

[@MarkLatham-xr7xi]

J&S is still out there ...

[@scottzink3455]

Remember Josh, you can educate ignorance, but you can't fix stupid. Don't waste your time.

[@rayp.454]

Not sure why he wouldn't be concerned about extra weight in a race car. Thanks for the update Josh.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

He will need more weight to keep the front end down. Too much torque to the back wheels. Think Wheelie

[@BrucePierson]

It's pretty hard to steer a car when the front wheels are off the ground.

[@daleolson3506]

If he’s worried about the front end lifting and adding weight to eliminate it he’s going about it the wrong way.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

He has his reasons besides that

[@Ekrano_Plan]

Interesting working gay, but I start working all day's with clean maschine's. exause me, but try it also...

[@tedanderson463]

Duh....... For every 100 lb of extra weight on a drag racing car you lose 1/10 of a second..... It probably covers several different classes and weights.... But unless that car is a drag. Racing entertaining type of car.... And not so much trying to beat the other guy..... Then who cares if you lose 3/10 of a second by adding 300 lb of weight.

[@gofastwclass]

I remember doing all sorts of stuff to cars to make them heavier for class rules. Sometimes weight placement was the goal. If he's bracket racing, weight doesn't matter as much as consistency.

[@tedanderson463]

Interesting thank you..

[@stevenslater2669]

I’m glad you made this follow-up to your last project. It seems that most of the machine shop KZbin makers take on projects without knowing what the part’s for, how it works, etc. A lot of that is probably just a lack of enough hours in the day to leave the shop and see the job site in person. I’m a (now-retired) mechanical engineer and worked for a company with a prototyping machine shop you wouldn’t believe if you saw it. They machined prototype engine parts, including heat treating. They liked to keep the engineers out of the shop with “If you can draw it, we can make it!” Until they couldn’t make it. Then you better get your butt into the shop like yesterday! As a young engineer I got that call one day for a pre-prototype part I had designed and drew up myself. We called those parts SK (sketch) parts. The problem was actually my fault. The foreman started in on me about the tolerances were too tight, some areas were double-dimensioned, etc. He ended with “Well, what have you got to say for yourself?” He was expecting a big fight, like he got from all young engineers. I said - after looking over the areas he had issues with - “I screwed up.” That foreman went from ass-chewing’ bull-of-the-woods to mentor in a flash. He said, “I never had a young engineer admit he was wrong.” He put his arm around my shoulder and said, “Come on son, let’s sit down in my office & we’ll go over the print, help me understand what needs to be held tight, where you can give us some relief, and we’ll get this job knocked out.” After that, my jobs went thru the shop with a champion in the inside. And I learned that the best way to start a design was to sit down with the shop before starting the drawing. You knew your brother in law built transmissions and immediately assumed this job would need to be done with tight transmission tolerances. If he had said (better yet)- written on the sketch “TAPERED SPACER to correct angle of brake master cylinder on firewall”, you would have had a better mental image of what he needed.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Most of the time, I am never told what something is. I like to know on some things because it helps me determine strategy and better cost. I like your story. I had a similar thing with a company I worked for. New part I had to make that was not possible. I marched right into the engineers office and threw it on his desk and told him this was crap. Then I pulled up a chair and spent an hour with him working through it. He came into the shop the next week and thanked me for helping him understand better what was needed. After that, I would take a handful of drawings once a week to him and we would spend a couple hours going through them. We became pretty good friends over that experience and he became a great engineer.