There are billions of ways to use 123 blocks. What's the 5/16 connection anchors all about for your intended use Len?
parallels
- Thread starter Janger
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There are billions of ways to use 123 blocks. What's the 5/16 connection anchors all about for your intended use Len?
What in the world are you intending to do with that?
I messed around with similar insert & fastener accessories for crazy clone 123 blocks. But my intent was to have all the surfaces remain flush like the Renzeti blocks. By crazy clone I mean the predominant offshore style where they messed up the through holes & drilled them with the same tap size hole, which of course the fastener cannot go through. I suspect they are probably still in production.
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You are correct @PeterT.
There are (5) 3/8” UNC holes thru the I” thickness of the blocks.
All the non-tapped holes are 0.350”.
I grabbed some 5\16” CRS Rod material and cut a few 2” Long pieces. After milling a little flat, 1/4” UNC tapped holes were machined into the 5/16” rod to anchor the screws and act as drawbars to pull the blocks together.
The 5/16” Rod will center in the 0.350” holes while the surfaces of the Blocks contact each other and create square corners and location datums for additional tooling.
These blocks can be assembled in dozens of arrangements to create tooling supports.
Very useful for assemblies and machining setups.
There are (5) 3/8” UNC holes thru the I” thickness of the blocks.
All the non-tapped holes are 0.350”.
I grabbed some 5\16” CRS Rod material and cut a few 2” Long pieces. After milling a little flat, 1/4” UNC tapped holes were machined into the 5/16” rod to anchor the screws and act as drawbars to pull the blocks together.
The 5/16” Rod will center in the 0.350” holes while the surfaces of the Blocks contact each other and create square corners and location datums for additional tooling.
These blocks can be assembled in dozens of arrangements to create tooling supports.
Very useful for assemblies and machining setups.
Thanks for bring this to our attention @PeterT & @LenVW.
Ive never tied blocks together before, so I've never hit this issue. What's really odd is that two of my sets actually came with 6 machine screws per set. Lord knows what they are for.
I also have two pairs of really old blocks. The holes in these blocks are all unthreaded. But most of the holes are just a wee bit shy of clearing the screws for the other blocks. I imagine if I took the points of the screw threads, they would fit fine. I may get a few screws to try that with before I molest the originals.
The only other solution I can think of with my new blocks is to get longer screws and turn the down the necks to the thread root diameter (which does not weaken the screws) on the screws so that they can pass through the first block and screw into the second. They would have to be screwed through before the blocks are stacked to avoid thread interference.
To be honest, I don't understand what either of you are doing with the 5/16 rod.
@Susquatch it kind of depends on what hand you were dealt. If you have 'real' 123 blocks the bolts or studs can pass through a clearance hole & thread into the threaded hole. So you can stack them to make step assemblies for whatever alignment / support structure is required. Very useful for fixturing. These are typically sold as pairs but you really have to read the fine print to be sure.
Now if you have the crazy clone from China which probably are in 99% of home machinist shops, chances are their so called clearance hole is the same diameter as the tap pilot hole Ie. somebody didn't get the memo & used the same drill for the whole block. Which I suppose reduces production costs, but the result is a rather useless block for aforementioned purpose. A small CNC tool change to clearance hole drill size would have given the blocks higher utility value for just a teeny bit more $. And these misfits have been faithfully banged out for years now. If it wasn't rather sad it would be funny.
The blocks are nicely ground & generally still useful. So some people have tried to figure out ways to work around the limitation, maybe more out of morbid curiosity. One day they might fix the issue. Rob Renzetti takes the real stacked block to a different level again, but best you visit his channel where he does a marvelous job explaining & then fabricating them. Others like Tom Lipton have also adopted the principle. They may be available but are probably spendy. So personally I'm waiting for the clones of these to appear LOL. I made a joke to just file a dummy patent & they will probably be on Amazon by next Tuesday.
Anyways, here is my fasteners & T-rod with the blocks removed from prior posted picture. Hopefully makes sense now.
Now if you have the crazy clone from China which probably are in 99% of home machinist shops, chances are their so called clearance hole is the same diameter as the tap pilot hole Ie. somebody didn't get the memo & used the same drill for the whole block. Which I suppose reduces production costs, but the result is a rather useless block for aforementioned purpose. A small CNC tool change to clearance hole drill size would have given the blocks higher utility value for just a teeny bit more $. And these misfits have been faithfully banged out for years now. If it wasn't rather sad it would be funny.
The blocks are nicely ground & generally still useful. So some people have tried to figure out ways to work around the limitation, maybe more out of morbid curiosity. One day they might fix the issue. Rob Renzetti takes the real stacked block to a different level again, but best you visit his channel where he does a marvelous job explaining & then fabricating them. Others like Tom Lipton have also adopted the principle. They may be available but are probably spendy. So personally I'm waiting for the clones of these to appear LOL. I made a joke to just file a dummy patent & they will probably be on Amazon by next Tuesday.
Anyways, here is my fasteners & T-rod with the blocks removed from prior posted picture. Hopefully makes sense now.
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Yes, your usual wizardry with CAD shows through again. I get the idea now.
Edit - If I have REAL 123 blocks eh....LOL! That's a funny way to say it but I hear you and I get both your point and your frustration.
Apparently all of mine are fake - both old and new. All 12 of them. I wish they had not been hardened. I'd drill them out and make REAL ones! I see another carbide drill bit in my future.....
If you were gunna do this, how would you modify your fake parallels?
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OK, I understand your thinking.
The bigger question is which holes to drill/mill out, which to leave as is, which to thread, how deep, etc.
What do "real" 123 blocks actually look like!
Are there any "real" varients?
I have 5 threaded holes in my off-shore copies (green circles).
I would open up the other ones.
Here are Suburban Tool’s 123 blocks. If you zoom in, you can see the threaded and the thru holes.
Edit: at the bottom of the Suburban Tool reference, Don Bailey gives his thoughts on 123 blocks in a video.
I would open up the other ones.
Here are Suburban Tool’s 123 blocks. If you zoom in, you can see the threaded and the thru holes.
PRECISION TRI-BLOCKS / 1-2-3 BLOCKS by Suburban Tool, Inc.
www.subtool.com
Edit: at the bottom of the Suburban Tool reference, Don Bailey gives his thoughts on 123 blocks in a video.
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Today is not a good day for me. I think my age is interfering with good clear thought
Much as I despise YouTube, I watched both suburban videos. I hear his rant. But I don't get it.
So I got all my blocks out and stacked them in different ways. I could not find any ways that could stack blocks together with through bolts that would work. The only way that would work would be to offset them. Which in my view significantly reduces their usefulness.
A through bolt lengthwise doesn't reach a threaded hole in the other block unless the other block is "T" d with the first one. It won't work edge to edge or corner to edge or end to end or any of the useful combinations.
For example, this obvious and important example does not work. There is no threaded hole for the through screw to reach.
And yes, I know I can make a shaft like Peter describes. It's just that this seems so unnecessary.
I think they would have been better if each pair was composed of two different blocks with through holes and threaded holes that complimented each other.
Am I missing something?
Much as I despise YouTube, I watched both suburban videos. I hear his rant. But I don't get it.
So I got all my blocks out and stacked them in different ways. I could not find any ways that could stack blocks together with through bolts that would work. The only way that would work would be to offset them. Which in my view significantly reduces their usefulness.
A through bolt lengthwise doesn't reach a threaded hole in the other block unless the other block is "T" d with the first one. It won't work edge to edge or corner to edge or end to end or any of the useful combinations.
For example, this obvious and important example does not work. There is no threaded hole for the through screw to reach.
And yes, I know I can make a shaft like Peter describes. It's just that this seems so unnecessary.
I think they would have been better if each pair was composed of two different blocks with through holes and threaded holes that complimented each other.
Am I missing something?
I don’t think you are missing anything. The 23 hole 123 blocks are not designed to bolt together like you show. They can be held like that with T-bolts - ie additional hardware. You need proper Moore & Wright 11 hole 123 blocks for that. The green circle shows a set on Don’s desk. To the left of that is a “proper” set of 123 blocks bolted together to form a 90* angle as per design.
I see. I wondered why the blocks with fewer holes.
If this is so, then I guess I should try to patent a new 123 block with better interconnecting.
Just kidding.
Don't feel bad it happens, I'm 20+ years younger than you and that seems to happen to me all the time now. I'll be tickeld pink if I can get to your age and still think as sharply as you. Not likely with my genetics
.123 Lego blocks?