Check out this V-Block Trick 

I like this idea in the sense that it makes one think about how to creatively use whatever tools one has to accomplish tasks they're not really equipped for.

1940s Era doctor giving stress advice; "Here Lloyd have a cigarette, clear your mind, and head back to work at the asbestos plant " We have come a long way baby 😁🙃 Loved PM magazine when I was growing up. Cheers

This trick seems like it belongs in a book and nowhere else. It is just absurdly fiddly, I don't understand why there is necessarily a gap between the two shafts? Could you not use smaller pins to close this gap? In general, it's interesting theoretically, but it's just not practical. It's like trying to put a marble in a vise. Perhaps a brass pad between the rollers would function as a chock to prevent the rolling? I agree with your assessment, if you own a v block and dowel pins, presumably you already own the means to take accurate measurements

Fascinating trick - although as you say, in this day and age of ubiquitous mill ownership and DRO use, it’s unlikely I’ll ever need it. But still cool to know!

If they were able to get that setup to work effectively they were truly the "Greatest Generation."

thanks for the tip. I would probably not do this vee block thing if I needed a hole made I would file a flat on it and mark it with calipers or a height or surface gauge, etc. I know your average guy didn't have a lot of precision tools back then so this might have been more usefull.

I can think of less awkward ways of drilling holes but its a great apprentice tease. Using square pieces rather than dowel pins could help a bit if you should ever use that trick in anger.

Using thick-walled parallels, as thick or thicker than the diameter of the rods to be drilled, would work better than dowel pins. The parallel faces would effectively replicate the V-block face angles for the upper rod to sit in.

So basically it doesn't really work. I guess if you had a V block with Vs cut in the faces to hold the pins that might work, maybe. But that asbestos trick sounds great, I'll totally use that...

I have the same book. You need to build the drill press next.

That trick requires juggling lots of pieces. I would think just putting the parts in a vise and using a transfer punch would be easier.

It might be handy to transfer a flat feature rather than a hole.

Good to know.Thank you.

Definitely earned it. Thank you 👍

Can’t you just stack them in a vice and Clamp both of them at the same time..??

I think the dowel pins should be the same diameter as the stock. I "think" then you would get some clamping action from the pins on the bottom piece of stock. What do you think?

Couldn't they just be placed one on top of another in an ordinary vise? Maybe a strap of leather on the non-locating side to make sure they're both rigidly affixed?

how about a video on adding a vfd to a clausing metosa lathe

in your description i would delete the word "nifty" and substitute "useless" and close the book on this one.

Been using vee blocks for decades, and this seems rather more difficult to tangle with than necessary. I wouldn't recommend it. Must have been written by someone with very little experience.

Not a good idea.