This is the best video I’ve ever seen on squaring up a piece of stock on a mill. You’ll also see how a pro deburrs edges and see how quickly and smoothly he can turn the hand wheels (I don’t think he’s using a power feed). He also says you should start with a piece of stock that’s been cut so you’ll only need to make one rough cut and one finish cut on the mill. That sounds like a good advice if you have a Bridgeport but it’s probably not doable if you have a hobbyist-type mill because you may only be able take off .020 to .050-inches in those two passes. So your saw cuts (hacksaw, bandsaw, cold saw, etc.) would have to be very precise and square.
Great demo! As a novice, it’s always great to see the little things that pros pick up; keeping a brush handy to clean off the parallels between cuts, using a tig rod to clamp the part.
Great blog, thanks for sharing!
This is a great video to show those just starting off in the industry. It shows the simple things and how important they are.
Good video,I more or less have squared up stock the same way with one exception. I did not use a wire or other round stock against the moveable jaw. I will from now on as my results without the round were not always predictable. I imagine it is the same principle as using a dowel on a pipe clamp jaw for woodworking clamp ups. The dowel applies the pressure at the center. This helps to keep the stock from lifting as pressure is applied.On pipe clamps I sawed a 3/4″ wood dowel lengthwise ,then in 2″ pieces and hot glued them to the moveable jaw. This gives you a half 3/4″ round with a flat side to hot glue.
mike
Thanks for the demo, very helpful: thumbs up!
How to do this with a 1/4″ plate 8″ x 8″? I’ve got only 2 good edges and want the other 2 squared up. I’ve milled off the opposite sides but there’s a severe pucker factor with 90% of the material above the jaws and quite a bit of vibration. I sandwiched it with more alumimum and clamped it but it’s still sketchy.