Here’s a set of plans for a handy Die Holder that fits any lathe with a #3 Morse Taper tailstock.

The aluminum body of the die holder holds the die perpendicular to the axis of the spindle rotation and rotates freely around a steel shaft firmly inserted into the tailstock. This ensures that your part is threaded perfectly.

Here’s a picture of the Die Holder with a 1.5″ die inserted:

Here’s a picture of the Die Holder flipped 180 degrees with a 1″ die inserted:

I got the idea from Steve Bedair’s Die Holder and I adapted it to look similar to a smaller die holder sold here by LittleMachineShop.com.

I created the plans myself using Autodesk Inventor. It was my first attempt using the software, and my first time drawing up plans for the machine trade – so if there are any errors please let me know and I’ll do my best to fix them.

Here are the plans (in PDF format):

  MT3_Die_Holder_-_1.0_to_1.5_Inch.pdf (999.4 KiB, 246 hits)
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I found this nifty little vise over on the Prints and Plans Yahoo group, posted by “SterTrak”. The design allows for the vise to be as large as the length of your mill’s table – which makes it great for holding larger parts.

But as you can see from the pictures, it works just as well for smaller items.

If you decide to make your own please take a few pictures of the process and post them to the forum!

  Versatile_Mill_Vise_Plans.pdf (844.6 KiB, 263 hits)
NOTE: You need to be a registered member (and logged in) to download this file. You can register or log in using the "Log In" section located in the upper left corner of the site (don't worry, it's free to register and your email address will be kept private). Please note, subscribing to the RSS feed is not the same as registering. Also, registering for the site will grant you forum access, allowing you to log into the forum using the same username and password you used to register for the site.

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Mike White, an instructor at the Franklin Technology Center in Joplin Missouri, shared a set of student plans for a machinists ball peen hammer. While his students typically make the hammer out of metal, Mike decided to make his out of something a bit more striking …

Mike also shared a set of plans for a nifty machinists scribe that nests inside it’s own handle when not in use.

Thanks for sharing your plans with us Mike!

If you’re an instructor like Mike and you’d like to share your student plans with the site, please feel free to submit them using the “Submit Your Plans” tab at the top of the page. I’ll provide a link (and thus free publicity) back to your school or website. Every submission helps this site grow. Thank you for your support!

  Machinist_Hammer_From_Mike_at_Franklin_Tech.jpg (438.3 KiB, 140 hits)
NOTE: You need to be a registered member (and logged in) to download this file. You can register or log in using the "Log In" section located in the upper left corner of the site (don't worry, it's free to register and your email address will be kept private). Please note, subscribing to the RSS feed is not the same as registering. Also, registering for the site will grant you forum access, allowing you to log into the forum using the same username and password you used to register for the site.

To leave a comment join the forum discussion on this post - (5) Posts