X, Y Milling table use

Ted Robinson

Ted Robinson

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I purchased a mini compound table from Amazon to improve accuracy on making my parts.
Could someone with experience using these point me to the accessories I need to mount the parts to the table.
I'm excited to use this table to help overcome lack of skill and shaky hands.
Thank you,
Ted
IMG20250519062006.jpg
 
Ted Robinson said:
I purchased a mini compound table from Amazon to improve accuracy on making my parts.
Could someone with experience using these point me to the accessories I need to mount the parts to the table.
I'm excited to use this table to help overcome lack of skill and shaky hands.
Thank you,
Ted
View attachment 520622
Click to expand...
Get a decent vise....and if you plan on milling round pieces, a rotary clamp ( dividing attachment) helps....but you can just use mechanical clamps (stepping blocks)Screenshot_20250519-084141_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250519-084309_Chrome.jpg20250519_075311.jpg20250519_074425.jpg
 
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Hiya Ted.

I mounted a flat vise to it. It'll be a learning experience.

5sPyb2u.jpeg


regards

Mike
 
Here's a sample of the problem I have been having with the gouging.
I just had an after thought of trying the planking beveling holder I purchased that was too small in depth to work.
It shows promise as I can adjust it to fit snugly even on a tapered sparIMG20250519082339.jpgIMG20250519082406.jpg
 
For the small parts that we make, a good milling vise is essential. See the Sherline website. A vee block can also hold round objects. I have two: a larger one that clamps to the cross slide and a very small one that clamps in mt milling vise.

Look on EBay under something like “vintage machine tools” to find fascinating things for holding small parts, often home made by old time machinists. My mini vee block is one.

Having something come loose while machining is usually a disaster as the cutting tool ruins the part.

Roger
 
With your x-y table and the right cutter you can now make your own vee v groove holding board. Depending on the collet size of what you are using to rotate the cutter, since you’ll be cutting wood you can use a v groove router bit or possibly a Dremel cutting tool.

These home made jigs should be considered to be semi-disposable, and in this case that piece of wood that you are trying to shape should have a “ disposable end.” That way you can nail one end to the groove in your cutting board to keep the piece from rotating. When done, cut off the end.
Roger
 
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Can you perhaps tell us what you have in mind for the items you will be using it for?

It’s a bit of a general purpose tool, like a workbench. It can be used for all manner of things, often with adaptations specific to the parts being manufactured so it would help provide better advice if you had particular ideas.

J
 
Roger Pellett said:
With your x-y table and the right cutter you can now make your own vee v groove holding board. Depending on the collet size of what you are using to rotate the cutter, since you’ll be cutting wood you can use a v groove router bit or possibly a Dremel cutting tool.

These home made jigs should be considered to be semi-disposable, and in this case that piece of wood that you are trying to shape should have a “ disposable end.” That way you can nail one end to the groove in your cutting board to keep the piece from rotating. When done, cut off the end.
Roger
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Thank you
I'll see what I can come up with
 
Jim Fortnam said:
Can you perhaps tell us what you have in mind for the items you will be using it for?

It’s a bit of a general purpose tool, like a workbench. It can be used for all manner of things, often with adaptations specific to the parts being manufactured so it would help provide better advice if you had particular ideas.

J
Click to expand...
I have a lot of 3mm and 4mm spars to make in addition to 6.5mm masts.
The materials provided are 8.5mmdowels for the mast and 6mm for the spars.
I want to milk these close to size.
Some of the masts have squared ends and some spars have to be octagonal in the centers.
 
Ted Robinson said:
I have a lot of 3mm and 4mm spars to make in addition to 6.5mm masts.
The materials provided are 8.5mmdowels for the mast and 6mm for the spars.
I want to milk these close to size.
Some of the masts have squared ends and some spars have to be octagonal in the centers.
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Truth be told, that sounds like what you need isn't an X-Y table, so much as a lathe with a decent taper attachment (or a tailstock that you can move from side to side, although that's a royal pain to set up.) Turn the round sections to the desired length and taper, leaving the sections to be squared standing proud. The take the spar and mill the flats as required. Actually, once you've turned the round tapered sections, you can work the flats with a decent hand plane very easily. You might want to mount a plate or piece of wood to the side of your plane to ensure 90-degree angles, or whatever other angle you desire.

If you have access to a machinist's lathe with a #2 Morse taper in the tailstock, the below offsetting taper turning device is worth its weight in gold: https://www.ebay.com/itm/176398188759 About $70.00 on eBay.

1747704017294.png
 
Bob Cleek said:
Truth be told, that sounds like what you need isn't an X-Y table, so much as a lathe with a decent taper attachment (or a tailstock that you can move from side to side, although that's a royal pain to set up.) Turn the round sections to the desired length and taper, leaving the sections to be squared standing proud. The take the spar and mill the flats as required. Actually, once you've turned the round tapered sections, you can work the flats with a decent hand plane very easily. You might want to mount a plate or piece of wood to the side of your plane to ensure 90-degree angles, or whatever other angle you desire.

If you have access to a machinist's lathe with a #2 Morse taper in the tailstock, the below offsetting taper turning device is worth its weight in gold: https://www.ebay.com/itm/176398188759 About $70.00 on eBay.

View attachment 520756
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I agree. I don't have a lathe. Only a Dremel rotary tool with the drill press attachment and a battery powered drill.
 
Ted Robinson said:
I agree. I don't have a lathe. Only a Dremel rotary tool with the drill press attachment and a battery powered drill.
Click to expand...
You can glue a strip of sandpaper to a flat block and use that on your spar chucked in your drill to get a flat taper. You'll have to do it by eye and check your dimensions frequently to "sneak up on it."
 
Depending on what other tools that you have, I’d scrap the dowels and cut pieces with a square cross section from straight grained stock. It’s much easier then to taper these square cross sectioned pieces. Then put each piece in your homemade vee block and plain off the corners to get pieces with an octagonal cross section. Lightly plane again to get sixteenth sided cross sections. From this point you can sand it round with sandpaper on a block.

Roger
 
Roger Pellett said:
Depending on what other tools that you have, I’d scrap the dowels and cut pieces with a square cross section from straight grained stock. It’s much easier then to taper these square cross sectioned pieces. Then put each piece in your homemade vee block and plain off the corners to get pieces with an octagonal cross section. Lightly plane again to get sixteenth sided cross sections. From this point you can sand it round with sandpaper on a block.

Roger
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I'm kinda struck with the dowels. I don't have any flat stock.or a saw to cut it square. I'm going to figure out how to make a vee block though
Thanks for the advice
 
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