Which clamping set to buy ... - Printable Version +- MetalworkingFun Forum (http://www.metalworkingfun.com) +-- Forum: Machining (http://www.metalworkingfun.com/forum-5.html) +--- Forum: General Metalworking Discussion (http://www.metalworkingfun.com/forum-6.html) +--- Thread: Which clamping set to buy ... (/thread-446.html)

Which clamping set to buy ... - arvidj - 05-28-2012 I would like to take advantage of the current Enco sale and buy several clamping sets for my new mill. They have sets that have 1/2 inch ... .500, 14mm ... .512 and 9/16 inch ... .5625 T-nuts available. I measured the slots on my new mill and they appear to be between .542 and .556 wide. Being an imported mill the 14mm size makes sense. I took the obvious choice ... the 14mm set ... off the table as it has metric studs and I live in a non-metric country. The T-nuts in 1/2 inch set are .875 wide at that base but only comes with 3/8 inch studs. The T-nuts in 9/16 inch set are also .875 wide at the base but comes with either 3/8 or 1/2 inch studs. My instinct is to go with the 1/2 inch studs but obviously the nuts are too large for the slots. So the three questions are: ( a ) If I go with the 1/2 inch set what are the detrimental issues related to having a nut that is considerably narrower than the slot? ( b ) If I go with the 1/2 inch set what are the pros and cons of the 3/8 inch studs vs. the 1/2 half in studs? ( c ) If I go with the 9/16 inch set what is the possibility of being able to easily mill the T-nuts to fit the slightly smaller slot? This might be an interesting "first chips" exercise with the mill. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks, Arvid RE: Which clamping set to buy ... - DaveH - 05-28-2012 Arvid, Some of my thoughts, I live in a metric country so I buy metric in my case I bought a 10mm thread set. The T nuts I made, I think the ones that came with the set were too small. My mill is a RF30 So if I lived in an 'inch' country I would buy an inch set - just makes life easier sometimes The worst thing for the T slots is to have poorly fitted T nuts and using too much force to tighten them - results in damage and sometimes breaking part of the T slots. That's my bit DaveH RE: Which clamping set to buy ... - stevec - 05-28-2012 ditto DaveH RE: Which clamping set to buy ... - EdK - 05-28-2012 Arvid, If you're talking about import clamping sets than you should be able to mill the T-nuts without too much problems. I had to mill some T-nuts for my angle table and they milled reasonably well without too much problem so I think if you have a decent end mill you should be able to mill the T-nuts without a problem. Ed RE: Which clamping set to buy ... - arvidj - 05-28-2012 Dave, Steve and Ed, Thanks for the advice. I went with the 9/16 and 3/8 inch studs.