Helical milling clamps

[Occasional machinist]

These are a copy of a clamp system more commonly found in Europe, but an interesting build anyway.

[nova_robotics]

That's great. I've never seen that style of clamp before. I like that way better than the normal table clamps that I'm used to.

[DIYer]

Thanks Occasional machinist! We've added your Helical Milling Clamps to our Clamps category,
as well as to your builder page: Occasional machinist's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Helical Milling Clamps by Occasional machinist

tags: clamp

[Improvised DIY]

Very well executed and educational.

[Occasional machinist]

Glad you enjoyed it.

A friend of mine predicted that a lot of people would find this interesting as there is not much helical milling content out there. Judging from the response so far, he was right.

[rgsparber]

This is a challenging and fun project.

In his last example, the regular step clamp faces the work and the bottom collides with it. One workaround is to use the large triangle step block plus a small triangle step block. Place the small step block, up-side-down, on the larger step block. You will have a movable horizontal surface. Face the larger step block at 90 degrees from the stock. Then rest the tail of the hold-down clamp on the small step block. Secure with a hold-down bolt.

Boring, but it works with the available parts in my hold-down kit.

Rick

[Occasional machinist]

I've used a small step block on large and some times that has gotten me out of trouble. These were made because I wanted to try them out (and I always find the 'how do you make them' question interesting), and I have a number of work surfaces (rotary tables for example) that haven't got the space for a more conventional clamping arrangement