How To Square Up Stock On A Mill

How to square up stock on the milling machine

 

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.

5 thoughts on “How To Square Up Stock On A Mill”

  1. 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!

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  2. 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

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  3. 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.

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