the dial indicator seen in the video measures the distance to the fixed jaw of the vise, and how it changes when i move the X axis of the mill table. i've adjusted the vise (with a little hammer) until that distance stopped changing (you can still see it move by about 0.02 mm in the video — you can get closer if you want/need to, but this is enough for what i'm doing)
that means the fixed jaw is now very parallel to the X axis of the mill, and therefore very square to the Y axis of the mill. this means i can put a workpiece in the vise, up against that fixed jaw, and any cuts i make (by moving the table) will be nice and parallel or square to the side of the workpiece. this makes it easier to make precise parts.
basically, machining is just high school geometry that has the ability to remove your fingers
i'll make that square into a round boss, which will be what bears down on the frame of the workmate, so the rest of the handle has some clearance and won't snag on stuff
update: threads don't scale well, so i decided to batch stuff up in only a few posts (or one), and add links between installments. continue reading here!
i'm using a tiny rotary table that fits in my vise, so i can rotate the part as the milling cutter does its job. still getting used to doing this, had to make sure i'm rotating the right way relative to the cutter rotation, so the cutter doesn't pull the part further along. i made some good progress, but i had to stop because it's getting late.
i was initially worried about how i could align the center of the curve i want with the center of the rotary table (this would be easy if i had a lathe to make a custom pin). but then i had an idea: i could bolt some plastic to the rotary table, and use the rotary table to mill a nubbin on there that fits the hole in the part. since i used the rotary table to make the nubbin, it's automatically concentric with the rotary table!
and i needed some plastic on there anyway so i can mill the entire side of the part without digging into the rotary table (which 1. i don't want to damage and 2. is made of hardened steel that would fuck up my cutter)
