Machinists jacks
Machinists jacks are handy tools that can be used for a number of tasks. I use mine mainly to help setting things up on the mill but they can also be used for levelling up irregularly shaped castings on the lathe face plate.
The item on the left in this photo is a long M12 nut that is sold for joining lengths of threaded rod together. They are readily available from outlets such as Screwfix or Toolstation.
They are commonly available in sizes of M6, M8, M10 and M12.
They are commonly available in sizes of M6, M8, M10 and M12.
With the addition of a screw and a nut they can be used immediately as machinist jacks. It is best to machine the bottom of the nut and the top of the screw flat on the lathe.
The one on the left is M12 and that on the right is M6
The one on the left is M12 and that on the right is M6
The pair shown in the header photo were made from The M12 long nuts.
The base portion was tapered to a 15 degree cone section and shortened to 20 mm in length.
The nut in the centre is just a 5 mm thick slice taken from the long nut.
The screw was made from a standard M12 screw. The head was turned to a circular cross section and knurled. It was then thinned down to be 3 mm thick.
The base and nut were blackened by heating up to red heat and then dropping them in engine oil.
The base portion was tapered to a 15 degree cone section and shortened to 20 mm in length.
The nut in the centre is just a 5 mm thick slice taken from the long nut.
The screw was made from a standard M12 screw. The head was turned to a circular cross section and knurled. It was then thinned down to be 3 mm thick.
The base and nut were blackened by heating up to red heat and then dropping them in engine oil.
The screw was been drilled out 5 mm to a depth of 15 mm. The hole is for adding additional shaped tops to the screw such as points, cups, vee grooves that may be required for special purposes.