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CAM - the toothpick/skewer trick .. or the poor man's stock fixture

rumpelstielz
Collaborator

CAM - the toothpick/skewer trick .. or the poor man's stock fixture

rumpelstielz
Collaborator
Collaborator

this is not really a Fusion tip but just wanted to share this for the people here who like me might not have a serious clamping or vacuum table setups.

 

I developed this odd technique out of necessity since i don't have the budget for proper clamps/machinevise and my machine has problems precisesly returning to the same position after a shutdown .. i almost exclusively do 3d objects machined from both sides and in the beginning i had a lot of problems with offsets from one side to the other .. this problem has several reasons, first as mentioned above i do not have a precise way of clamping down parts, then i often use stock which is not precisely squared, and then my machine just has a tiny ofset from time to time when used on a different day ... so when i switch over to the second side there would always be a tiny offset.

 

the purpose of the toothpick trick is first to hold the stock down tightly without the need for clamps and also to not be encumbered by the clamping fixtures so i can approach the stock with the tool from any side without worrying about collisions.

 

So basically what i do is to drill a couple of reference holes into the stock and then into my spoilboard. I'm then using either wooden toothpicks (2mm diameter) or bamboo skewers (3mm diam) from the supermarket. Of course the toothpicks/skewers are not precise so i usually choose those which are a tiny bit bigger that the drill bit i'm using so that it's a really tight fit. Since the wood is quite soft i can then press the stock into the 'toothpick holders' which makes for a surprisingly solid fit. to machine the backside i just switch the stock around without having to worry anymore that the other side won't be perfectly aligned.

 

here's some examples:

 

IMG_3081a.jpg

 

it's really usefull for holding stock that's too flat to clamp and/or doesn't hold down well on vacuum tables (i have a pretty weak vacuum pump which often does not manage to hold the parts in place properly. Sometimes i use a bit of double sided tape underneath as well with very thin stock to hold it down and prevent chattering.

 

IMG_2847b.jpg

 

it's especially usefull for parts where when cut there isn't any stock left to be clamped although it does leave some holes in the finished part .. but often i can combine this with other features, in this part for example the holes you see are used to mount another part onto this part with .. you guessed it: toothpicks:

 

IMG_3079c.jpg

 

the advantage in my case is that i can now stop a project and pick it up at any time without having to worry about offsets .. all i need to do is to drill the reference holes into the spoilboard anywhere i like, cut some toothpicks/skewers into bits and i'm golden Smiley Tongue Also don't need to worry anymore about tool collision with my 'fixtures', if that does happen it's just cutting through very soft wood.

 

just thought i'd share this since other DIY'ers have found this usefull, maybe some of you will too.

 

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GENERAL DISCLAIMER: if there isn't a file attached to my posts then there is a reason for it. wherever i can i will attach a file for troubleshooting.If no file is attached i will always try to explain as clearly as possible with illustrative screenshots. when i have an issue that can only be helped by attaching a file which i cannot share publicly i won't ask about it here.
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