Since there weren't any client parts to make, I spent most of the day cleaning and getting things organized for later work. I also started machining my new Duif Workholding clamp design today and got the first main portion finished!
The design is loosely based on others I found online, with a blocky style and a clamp piece to grip the dovetail stock. I've got two pins holes for pins to keep the mini clamp aligned properly and a spot in the center for a small spring to make it easier when screwing and unscrewing your workpiece.
I initially went with a 30deg dovetail angle at the top to match a cheap dovetail cutter I found on Harveytool. But after doing some more research, I found another 1/8" 45deg dovetail endmill that will work much better for this purpose, allowing for a more standard cutting size if customers already have them.
Because this was a quick one off prototype, I had to get creative with my workholding to prevent the use of soft jaws, which I was able to get the side pocket cleared out by using parallels and a block of plastic in the center of the dovetail to grip it enough to machine. I then probed each axis individually to find my work origin as there wasn't any specific place I could do a normal probing cycle.
I have two pieces left to make before I can start testing the design, and those are the small clamp piece and baseplate that the dovetail workholding vice sits upon. My goal with this whole system is to create a quick-change system for different vice work holding. Currently, I have the dovetail design already made, but I've got a self-centering vice in the works and some tombstone ideas for those who are doing production runs!
I decided to sandblast this piece, and I'm super pleased with the results! I plan to anodize the baseplates, either an orange or blue color, to make them stand out, but for the workholding vices, I will have the same satin finish to all of them.
For those who may be interested in purchasing the Duif Workholding vice, you can visit my website duifworkholding.com/ where I have all the product information and release dates.