30°-45°-60° V-Block

[rossbotics]

I was making some new locking handles for the table and cross feed on my mill the other day and had a brain storm, these handles I’m making have a locking lever that requires a tapped hole at 30° to the axis of the handles screw, drilling and tapping these holes at that angle is not a problem if you had just the right size v-block with an angle plate under it, they could also be tapped with just an angle plate under them or a dividing head and several other ways, the jaws on the mill vise are only 1-3/8” tall so it was a toss up to make just the right size v-block with an angle plate under it or just make a v-block with some common angles machined into it, so I decided to go with a v-block with three different angles milled into both faces, one side of the v-block has a 30° angle milled into it and the other side has a 45° and a 60°, the v-block is ground to the same height as the jaws on my vise making it easy to setup, the degree marks are clearly stamped to their corresponding angles, I had thought about making one of these some time ago but never got around to it nor had I the need for it until now, just another little quick setup fixture.

This block is made from O-1 steel hardened and precision ground flat, square and parallel on all six sides, the vees were then precision ground true to the adjacent sides.

I have included some photos of the machining and grinding processes and some photos of the block being used.
As always thanks for looking and happy machining

Doug

[gatz]

nice workmanship, Doug

[ncollar]

Doug
Very nice with the mark of excellence. Always top shelf.
Thanks for the shot of the head cranked over for the V groove.
Nelson

[aphilipmarcou]

I very much appreciate this excellent work and the methods shown so clearly.

[rossbotics]

nice workmanship, Doug

Thank You gatz

Doug

[rossbotics]

Doug
Very nice with the mark of excellence. Always top shelf.
Thanks for the shot of the head cranked over for the V groove.
Nelson

Thanks Nelson

Doug

[DIYer]

Thanks rossbotics! We've added your V Block to our Measuring and Marking category,
as well as to your builder page: rossbotics's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

V Block by rossbotics

tags: V-block

[KickStart]

Doug, that is a well-made, useful, and beautiful part. I love it.

This is not a criticism, but a curiosity. I have a nagging concern over your surface grinder placement. Maybe you have defining reasoning that I can't know for placing your grinder like it is, but I saw that and it made me hesitate. It's common practice to turn the surface grinder so there's a backstop behind the wheel. That's so any broken wheels or thrown parts don't fly across the room and hit someone or something, but into a solid stop, like a wall. I've been using surface grinders for 20 years (before my wreck), ending my career working from a Jung CNC profile grinder making one-off and short run parts (it's most commonly used for jet engine turbine blades). I've knocked away parts and broken wheels a few times, and there's a lot power behind the projectiles. Your thin metal wall could be reinforced with an alternate material directly behind the grinder.

[ncollar]

Doug
Very nice and showing the set-ups to cut the "V"s.
Very nice.
Nelson

[hemmjo]

That is very nice. I do enjoy making things. Perhaps the most fun part, is making the tooling needed to allow fabrication of whatever it is that you needed in the first place.

Makes me wish I had a mill and surface grinder, etc. But, have to make do with what you have.. or can make.