Making a Pair of HEAVY DUTY V-Blocks | Shop Made Tools
We need a pair of V-blocks that are heavy duty and easy to setup so we’re going to make them! This has been a project on our list for a while because the standard cast iron V-blocks just aren’t handling the setup of larger and heavier jobs that we do on the milling machine. In this video we show the step-by-step process of turning high tensile steel plate into a pair of heavy duty parallel V-blocks. First, we need to do milling and face cutting to get our surfaces machined true. We then machine a slot and drill holes for key steel that will be used to align the v-blocks to the bed of the milling machine. We also drill and counterbore the holes that will be used to bolt the v-blocks onto the t-slots of the machine. These shop made V-blocks are not only heavy duty and solid but will save so much time in setups!
In this video we are using:
- Hafco BM-63VE Milling machine
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Hey everyone thanks for watching todays video, always good to get another project off the list! Now that you've seen how these are made, who would have a go at making a set?! 😎👍 🛍Official CEE Merch shop: www.ceeshop.com.au 📲Follow us online here: linktr.ee/CEEAUS
I would give making any tool a go. Selfmade tools rock 😁
Being a ex-toolmaker, been there done a hole lot more, nothing better than doing " foreign orders " 😆😆😆
Must have been 2 weeks since you greased that drill press. Bearings are screaming for that 10 cents worth of grease.
@@stevenliberadzki9160 been about 3 days since I greased it 😂
DONT FORGET KURTIS SLIDE IT ON SLIDE IT OF . LOOK ARFTER YOUR BED ON YOUR MACHINE. HI OZEY GIRL AND HOMELESS. KURTIS GET YOUR ARSE BACK TO WORK. AND ENTERTAIN ME . 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣⚘⚘⚘
Can we just all take a minute and applaud Karen. That opening monologue was seamless! I'd like to think Kurtis did it all in one, but you know, this ain't my first rodeo 😅😅😅
haha thank you! Every now and then I like to go back and watch the revolving tailstock video when Kurtis first started talking just to see how far we've both come with making videos 😂👍
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering A long way. A long way for sure and in a very short amount of time. All three of you are getting better at it by the episode. Karen at making videos, Kurtis at not paying the swear jar every two other sentences and Homey at tearing open packages like a professional unboxer on his tenth year of video making. Chef's kiss.
The old saying, “if you want something done right…” definitely applies here. Nice job, Kurtis. And nice job, Karen, too!
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering HaHa I watched that yesterday while looking for when u let Curtis have his first lines, and he’s ballsed them up ever since 🤣😂. Makes for a bloody good viewing Karen 👍✌️❤️&🍀 too u both from the land of the Pom 😂👍🇬🇧
Karen is a true gem! She's exceptionally talented with the video camera, knows how to hold the audience's attention and to keep the whole process moving ahead and consistent. BRAVA!
I love how kurtis makes his own tools which turn out too be far superior and cheaper than the stuff you can buy in shop. Very smart guy!!
thanks mate, some of the best tools have definitely been shop made
"You either have a wallet or you have talent." Words my mentor told me. Most of his shop was self made tools. All of them were above grade, some far better than swiss made equivalent (which at the time when he'd made them, were the top of the world, nowadays, you can find good quality just about everywhere, if you look carefully enough).
@@aserta Except for China and Pakistan.
@@markfryer9880 I don't know about Pakistan, but China is a really big place, you can find just about anything there if you look long enough. Sure they make the cheap crap, but they also make a whole lot of high-quality stuff.
i mean yeah, anything you can custom make is probably gonna be better then the mass produced stuff
This is the most wholesome channel on the internet.... and also big machines go brrrr.
I love watching a flycutter work
Big shoutout to the amazing cinematography in these videos, which is part of what makes them mesmerising
Thank you very much
Her audio work is great now too.
Absolutely the best!
Somehow you guys always manage to pull a Crocodile Dundee when making your own tools. „Thats not a V-block, THIS is a V-block!“
Machinist Dundee 😂 I will have to get Kurtis to use that saying in a video.
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering Right in the intro. "You think that's a fly cutter? That's not a fly cutter. THIS is a fly cutter. And today we'll show you how, and why we made it"
They are bigger up in Queensland!
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering mach dundee at your service :P
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering He needs to wear some snakeskin boots and a few croc teeth round his hat too. Fair dinkum?
Aaaah yeah. The satisfaction of NOT seeing the dial move makes being a machinist worth it EVERY time. Nice job mate
“I don’t even think bananas measure that low” lmao!
Just under .004" of a banana!😳
@@crackermcwhitey1364 Just under .0004 of a banana.
I see the comments have sorted it 😅
Sorry for the confusion folks. I thought I hit 3 zeros. Now where did I put the car keys. LOL
Said it before and I'll say it again, Kurtis is one machine shop genius and Karen is a fantastic camera woman, editor as well as supremely patient. 🤣🤣
Mother Teresa couldn't hold a candle to Karen. 👍
Well said, sir!
I always wonder how many chips she’s picking out of her clothes doing all the filming, mostly handheld.
Watching Kurtis make a straighter cut with an angle grinder than I could make with a CAD/CAM... priceless💯
@robbfisher2876 - agreed. Kurtis drinks that "calming" coffee.
How straight and flat he made them effortlessly is just ridiculous. 😮
@@joso5554 - agreed.
... and stopping each time at the exact spot that prevents falling while enables just picking it off as a cherry ....
I was pretty impressed by using a center drill as a scriber. Gonna have to put that trick in my playbook.
I really enjoy the milling machine content. Good work Kurtis and Karen.
Your house-made tool videos have been my favorites! Although I am no machinist, my father taught me 40-ish years ago that "if you don't have the right tool - make it!" My mechanic's tool box has an entire drawer dedicated to Frankenstine tools. Some of them only got used once - but they got the job done!
Cheers mate! Glad you're enjoying our videos! Thanks so much for the support 😊👍
Amen...like a throw out spring depression lever for the fingers to open and remove short trans axle . SAAB 900TURBO clutch plate replacement job... No tool, no job. No joke.
That cut groove with a starter drill was golden❤️👍
Kurtis I like the Sound of the rain in the background...and your bloopers are always funny....Thanks. 😅🤣😂
Cheers mate! Glad you're enjoying our videos! Thanks so much for the support 😊👍
I'm impressed how well those turned out without even grinding any of the surfaces. Nice work.
Good video to watch while getting a 2:00am chemo treatment. Thanks for posting. Never miss a video
Hey mate we hope your treatment goes well and you are back to full health soon!
2008 I spent 15 days in the hospital, all that I could do was sleep & hurt. Didn’t take very long to get real boring. Thank y’all. Have a good day
As soon as I saw homey running in that field I felt a smile spread across my face.
So pleased he turned the v blocks around when milling the angled faces rather than turning the head otherwise he couldn’t have guaranteed they’d be cut at the same angle, so they wouldn’t have been an exact pair
It's no wonder you're a success... Brilliant to watch, so impressive.
Greeting vom Germany Love your skills Nicely done
Nothing makes you happier than CEE Friday and seeing Homey just being, well Homey. 2 Huskies and 1 fan watching from the US.
Hey mate! Thanks for watching over there with your doggos 🐾😍
@Bijiont same here from nw Ohio, US, with my 2 Black Mouth Cur.
Dog loves you. Gotta be nice people. Hello from Canada. Enjoy your vids.
Hi Curtis. This shop made tool is pretty cook. I don't do what you do, but something like this would really help me my small shop. I just do light machining when I'm home from the Ekati Diamond mine. We have one of your mates working with us that. He's are drill doctor and I have to say he is the best drill doctor I have ever had work on are drill at site. Tell your wife, great job on all the behind seen work too. Take care and be safe. Thomas, All the way from Canada EH! lol
Gday Kurtis and Karen, these vee blocks will pay for themselves in no time, i don’t have any so this is something I should look at making for the Cincinnati, you got me thinking now, the boring head fly cutter worked a treat as well, super smooth finish, awesome job as always mate, have a great weekend, cheers
Hey mate, yeah now i'm actually looking forward to the next batch of big pins I need to make 😂 That fly cutter was actually taking a decent cut, handled it well! Chat soon, enjoy your weekend Matty 👍
Morning Kurtis, I'm sitting in a wood, in the dark, waiting to fix a truck based cherry picker, you are the thing to watch Have a great weekend. Richard 🇬🇧
hey mate sounds like a good way to spend time waiting 😂👍
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering could be worse i suppose, I left at 3am to get here and they have just turned up, i have an idea for a puller you might like, when i get a minute I'll draw it out and if it's an idea that will work, it's yours. Regards Richard
Thanks Kurtis for accidently giving me a great idea. As a handyman that needs to make a lot of precision cuts on different materials I've started using the metric system to measure and cut my materials. The best part is that it's incredible accurate and amazingly simpler to use than the imperial system. Thank You.
Hey mate, great to see our videos getting the ideas rolling! Cheers for watching! 😀👍
There are still 3 developing countries in the world using imperials. Libera, Myanmar and USA.
Bloody good mate.I have to hand it to you, you can make the most mundane project look not only practical but interesting and informative at the same time. Your explanations and commentary show insight as well as imagination and creativity. I certainly hope all of your customers understand the value of your service and pay an appropriate amount for what ever you do for them. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that KAREN does a great job with the video, and I love the dog and the birds. I do have a question, and a comment ,how often does the dog get metal chips in his paws, and I wouldn’t want to be a target of his mouth.
The way you take time to read and reply to so many comments is nothing short of astonishing nobody does that. You have my full respect if that means anything to you. Cheers.
hey mate, we enjoy reading the comments it's definitely motivating and good to see feedback or suggestions from viewer and we reckon if our viewers are taking time to watch & comment we can do the same 😁👍
@@CuttingEdgeEngineering you are both awesome people. And homie is one majestic pooch.
Best engineering/machining channel on KZhead. It's real world stuff, done to the best standards, and the videos are awesomely produced. Loved this one, if you can't tell!
Totally agree
Man, I dunno... Jason at Fireball Tool engineers some bada$$ stuff. And he would have made V blocks that Kurtis would have loved, I bet.
Definitely telling when their YT Channel is posted in remarks of others to go and learn from him. And, I'm starting to see his channel more and more, so people ARE coming over to learn and watch!! I think it's great!!!!
The fact that I just watched a pair of v-blocks being made beginning to end is a credit to both the master craftspeople responsible for this vid. Yeah, I said it - people
Thank you! We both appreciate it 👍
Adapt, improvise and make things better. This is a very good example :)
Cheers mate! Glad you're enjoying our videos! Thanks so much for the support 😊👍
I haven't heard you sing in awhile in the outtakes when you mess up your lines. Love the videos as always.
I'm taking a mental note for the next filming day 😅😎
75 years old now, taught fabrication & welding in NSW TAFE during the 80’s and 90’s. Love your work, and a credit to your partner for her visual skills.
Fit for purpose are words to live by in a machine shop or just about any other situation you care to mention. Well done, Kurtis! Retired computer programmer here who appreciates proper work and FROWNS upon crappy efforts.
One of my favorite things to watch is you making a new tool !!
Retired machinist here. We made a lot of homemade tools.
.01mm is equivalent to .00039in over here in Banana Land 😁🤓 Awsome job Feller and Fellett
thanks for the conversion 😂👍
Most excellent. Making your own custom tools is far better than store bought. Stay safe and we'll see you next week.
Agreed mate, and very satisfying being able to use tooling that you've made
I love shop projects. They make your work life better.
Thanks for taking the time to show us this Kurtis
20-30 years ago to be a good machinist you went to school, and if you got really lucky you ended up working under an old greybeard who had been doing it for most of their life. you learn a lot of little tricks and practices they just dont/cant teach you in school. now adays we just come on youtube and watch masters at work and pick up those cool little tricks. it really is incredible.
While your work machining the v-blocks is outstanding as usual I am very impressed with the shop that cut the blocks. The fact that you were able to match both parts with 'clean-up cuts" rather than needing to hog away 1/2" or more is a great supplier indeed.
The chamfer tool in the drill chuck tho ... hug your fur baby for me love you guys
i really enjoy watching true craftsmen/women at work !!!!!
So satisfying watching a good machinist do great work. I always appreciate seeing Kurtis take the time to break every sharp edge and corner, knowing that these parts will be put to good use and sharp edges / corners are nothing but a liability. I still have the scar on my wrist that reminds me frequently what happens when a machinist doesn't take the time to do this.
The best part was watching the dial indicator hardly move at all as it slid down the test cylinder. is precision work. Well done.
It must be so satisfying to have the means and know-how to produce precision tools to aid in doing new kinds of precision work.
Well done machinist Dundee Kurtis and super video editor Karen 👍
Every single video I learn something new. Thank you Kurtis for showing us the CORRECT way of doing a project and thank you Kurtis and Karen for all that you do. You guys make a great team. Love watching your videos !!! Andrew 🥳
And thanks Karen too for his great job at filming, always good angles, no shaking, etc...Gratz to both of you !
This channel is brilliant…..!
Have a great weekend Kurtis, Karen and Homless you make Friday night that much better, never gets old and really appreciate the in-depth explanations and details 🙏🏻🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hey mate thanks for taking time to watch and give a comment we apprecite it!
You mean Friday morning (in England).
good morning CEE, It's funny. Vblocks are so common in the shop that you normally don't give them a lot of thought, but then, most of us are not working with material of the size and weight you are! Interesting and as usual superbly shot and edited. Great way to spend an hour at 4AM. Have a great weekend.
I need more than my Friday fix of CEE. Get with the program and get all of us our CEE fix at least 3 times a week!! Best vids on youtube!!!!! cheers, if only i had some VB to watch your vids with or some Bunderburg Rum!!!!!
No wonder Kurtis put off this rebuild! Lots of work and financial expense AND it’s still sounds the same with no increase in precision or accuracy. So frustrating but what a gain in understanding of how the machine works. Machinist life! Well done! Kurtis, wear gloves! :)
Love the split screen bits, don’t recall seeing that much before.
Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it 😁
I found this incredibly therapeutic. The cuts between the machining steps were seamless. I have no exposure to heavy machining in my life, but these are really enjoyable videos.
Working smarter not harder. Love it.
Another video full of perfection. That also includes the camera work ofcourse
To watch you work on these home made tools shows there’s more to it than just tool skill, could go so far as to say there’s a artistic talent here, and the way you could only just hide your grin at the end when the gauge didn’t move , you knew you’d done well, pleasure to watch a craftsman at his work
'Im going to use a boring head which I sort of converted into a fly cutter'. Absolute class! Your shop made tools are better than what the leading manufacturers turn out. That was a great video Karen and the audio was good too considering the torrential rain pounding the roof.
Thank you team . Perfect videography and machining. That milling machine is a dream .wow. Homeless is such a handsome boy.❤❤❤
Hi Kurtis and Karen 😊 great result mate, v blocks for life, so heavy duty, the through bolts to T nuts solid as a rock, and they need to be for those heavy pins. Loved the outakes Karen, I'm sure your pulling faces behind the camera to put him off, priceless,lol. Cheers guys, stay safe, enjoy your wkend, best wishe's, Stuart Uk.
I had to stop watching a live stream to watch these awesome vee blocks get made. Well done guys this was a phenomenol episode
Nice setup. Well done and thought out. Should give you a lifetime of quick setups!
cheers mate, i'm looking forward to the next batch of pins now 😂👍
$150 for material a few hours of work of a skilled tradesman. Great job Kurtis. Good video
I like the way you integrated the tee nut bolts into the vee blocks. The order of operations is foolproof.
Every good episode starts a with a good pup, err.. i mean, shop supervisor!
Roughing out the flu but this made my night about 10 times better 👍🏻
feel better soon!
I’ll try 😁
I would have loved to pick this field of study when I was younger. I would actually be motivated to come to work daily😂.
Well Curtis, nice to see craftsmen ship you possess, you know its not appreciated by any means by the public. Its the one thing that will keep us falling back to the dark ages, not the management peeps, its is , the guys and galls who know how to make stuf
I can certainly see the improvement with Kurtis's delivery since he started taking public speaking lessons from Karl. Again...Karl saves the day!
You guys just feel more like family every video!! To be so far away you guys just create such a warm friendly environment it's like stopping by for an educational, fun, entertaining quality visit. Love you guys tell Machinist Dundee I said hello! Gday Mates!
I very much enjoy your videos of making the special tools for the work others might find too challenging. Make your shop special.
As a professional woodworker of over 40 years. I could make them out of wood. There is a big difference in making them out of steel and to the tolerance you work to. I have always wanted to try turning wood. And now I would like to try using a lathe after watching your videos. A good friend used to be a tool maker. He was good on a lathe. He used to make the patterns, or whatever you call them, from which they produced Hornby model trains. He used to do a lot of spark erosion jobs. Haven't seen you do any of them yet. You can create some interesting shapes. Probably all done by CNC machines these days. Enjoying your videos a lot.
I've been waiting all week for the CEE team. I have probably re watched 30+ of your vids this week. ( That's the ups side of not being able to sleep ). Keep the great content coming, I hope you gett a couple of days R and R during the festive session.
hey mate thanks for taking time to re-watch our vids! We're looking forward to a good few days of downtime!
I would suggest you drill and tap a couple of holes on each of the V blocks, so you can use it for a positioning end-stop when you're doing repeating parts. Use a piece of scrap and a couple of bolts to cap off the end of one v-block. I was amazed by the surface finish left by the boring head, never expected that! Great Job!
I love watching machinists drill these largeish holes in solid metal when I dull my 1/8" drill bit in wood, lol. Great content!
i just said to myself, its 2am here in bananaland and i wonder if CEE's video is out, and yes, yes it is
Hey mate! Thanks for taking time to watch our videos we appreciate it 😎👊
Great to see that you are making your own tools for your work i think that the more business do this makes more sense to me
some of the best tools are shop made!
Problem is, most firms would just go out and purchase the tool then pop the cost of the tool onto the customer, then end up with the tool for free. I admire Kurtis's honesty.
@@chattonlad9382 The cost of tools may be covered in the overhead. Not sure how this is handled.
Aside from milling the v-blocks, all I can say is LMAO!! The stumbling over words and the giggling behind the camara is sure to bring a chuckle🤣 Thumbs up to you both I know it can be a challenge to get the words out clearly and to continually show patients.
Sometimes I watch past viewed videos just to relax. This randomly selected one is perfect, Great videography, well spoken, and wonderful design.
It’s all about shaving time off the jobs but still producing a quality job, these V blocks as you say are going make setting up quicker. Outtakes brilliant, the minute the camera gets pointed the sync between brain and speech just turns to mush😂
He gets there in the end, Kurtis just re calibrating sometimes 🤣
@@lastguy8613 all part of the fun
We had to put our dog down today so it was a bit tough watching the old safety officer doing his thing, saddest bloody day of my life and Im 67. Curtis, I'm pleased you have to make a lot of your tools as it always gives me ideas for my own shop and your comment about not machining surfaces is so practical, I think I need to take notice as so much time can be lost doing the unnecessary. Karen, your video quality is really awesome. Have a good weekend
Sorry to hear about you pup I put my forth one down a couple of years ago and decided not to get another hurts to much and I did not want to outlive it.
Sorry for your loss 😪
The out takes are hilarious. Thank you for sharing this great video.
Karen, you need to start filming for the BBC Blu Planet or National Geographic. Awesome work.
Shop made tools and fixtures! Got my sweet tea and pork rinds. Let the good times run.
Nice one mate, enjoy!
K,K &H, sensational effort as always and the outcome - I'd say better than a bought one! 'Little things' like Kurtis using the mill to mark the cutting lines always catch my attention - what a smart use of the information that you have already put into the machine. Thank you 👍
The outtakes are pure gold!
At 12:37 I found myself muttering "fuçk off train!" as Kurtis was chamfering. I love shop-made tooling. You always get what you need, exactly how you want it. No doubt these will be a huge time saver. Cheers you three! Have a safe weekend. #WatchOutForDropBears
Love your attitude, of If I can't buy what I need, I'm gonna make it myself.
some of the best tools are shop made 👍
I had a bet with myself to see if Kurtis would face the bottom side sequentially or simetrically. I am glad that he did it simetrically... I got the OCD chills.
I'll need to look up those words
@@jaygee9249 Tis symmetrically ...........
Watching a CCE Aus video is both inspiring and humbling.👍
However many times I watch it, and however many times I read about it, I don't think I will ever understand how that 'two spinning magnets' edge finding thing works.
Yes I have often wondered the same thing, but am afraid to ask... :-)
@@rhiekel you'll notice he knocks the bottom spinner off centre. then moves the machine head in, so the bottom spinner touches the work piece. when the bottom and top of the tool are spinning exactly together. he has the edge of the work. displayed on the machine read out. do the same on the other side. read that number. you have the width of the work piece. half that number gives you the exact centre of the work pice. very clever bit of kit.
It's a simple, yet effective tool that's indispensable in the machine room.
no magnets involved. There is a spring inside that keeps the pieces in retraction. the join line is a lapped flat surface, and whenever the nose piece is disturbed from flatness by being nudged over, it grabs and causes the piece to track over.
Lol
Hey Kurtis, another great and interesting video as per normal. Keep em coming. Stay safe. 👍 Edit: Did you see/hear Auto Expert John Cadogan gave you a nice plug in one of his videos the other day?
Good morning, just finished breakfast with the weekly video from CEE, now I’m ready for a good friday. Thx 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
nice one mate have a good Friday 👍
Couple of hours to do all that work? Probably I could do it in a couple of days. Always the best.
And another project hits Frank's to do list!.. Very nice Kurtis, and yes it is shiny..:)
TGIF what a way to start a Friday here watching a video from CEE ..
Great way to start a Friday 👍