Hold parts in a vise by a thread

[WmRMeyers]

Especially when you are only able to hold onto a part with a small contact area, the grip can be greatly improved by placing a piece of paper between the part and the clamping surface. Think of this as a gasket that fills up microscopic surface irregularities.

One frustration is when the paper must be very small. At the moment I am holding a 1/2" x 1" x 2" block in my mill vise with only 0.050 to clamp. How do I ensure that the paper doesn't slip out? My solution is to use some self-stick labels. I stuck the label to the part, trimmed the excess, and clamped it into my vise. The paper can't slip around.

Of course, I'm still making rather light cuts but will have full access to almost the entire part.

Rick

Rick, that is called "cheating." OTH, there is an old military maxim: If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying! I've got a couple of much smaller machines now than even the small desktop stuff I had (and mostly still have) before. I'm stealing this idea!

Bill