Simple work holding jigs.
Based on article in HJ June 88 by John Wilding
It is often necessary to hold arbors so that flats can be made on the arbor or a hole drilled through it. Using simple jigs can greatly reduce the traumas of trying to achieve this.
Making the jig.
- Take a piece of square of hexagonal stock, depending on how many faces you need to work on, and cut it off slightly longer than you require.
- In the lathe, face the ends of the stock and then drill a hole through the stock to suit the arbor.
- Remove the jig from the lathe and drill and tap a hole in one side so that a screw can be screwed in to clamp the jig to the arbor.
The jig is now ready to use. One bit of advice, after you have used the jig, don't through it away. It will be useful one day.
Using the jig.
The jig is very easy to use, you just insert the arbor into the jig, leaving the working area outside the jig. The screw in the jig is then tightened to lock the jig to the arbor. The jig can then be held in a vice, giving you a stable mounting area for any filing or machining. Possible uses are:- Filing a winding square, drilling a cross-hole for a taper pin. in fact anything that requires work in an arbor that needs to be central and possibly in a regular pattern
