A piece of aluminum channel or square tubing can be used to make holders for the tools you use most often. These are shown mounted to the mill base. The mill is shown here with a P/N 1300 2" riser block under the mill base for extra Z-axis height. (Click on photo to view larger image.)
GM Engineer Steven Lang likes to keep his tools in easy reach and out of the clutter of chips on the workbench. A few pieces of scrap aluminum channel or square tubing can be easily machined on the mill to be turned into handy holders for your most often used tools like Tommy bars and chuck or hex keys. Steven has used countersunk screws to attach them to the mill base for a neat appearance.
The same technique was used here to make holders for the lathe, attaching them to the side of the tailstock base. Here, the two holders are attached to each other due to the limited mounting surface area. Note also, that as in Tip 30, Steven has shortened a hex key and glued it in place to make a handy adjustment lever for the tailstock. He used a plastic rod end cover to add better grip on the lever end of the hex key.
The small rare earth magnets like the kind used to hold a jewelry bracelet clasp together are very strong for their size. They can be glued to a spot on your machine (Steven chose the speed control housing) and will hold a hex key ready for use. Just grab it and go. Stick it back when you're done.
The above photos show the magnets glued to the speed control housing. The second photo shows a close-up detail. (Click on either photo to view a larger image.)
Return to the TIPS page