1-2-3 File guide modification

Burton Harruff

Burton Harruff

Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
2,401
Well right now I didn't have the money for any of the more expensive file guides so I bought a set of the 1-2-3 guides. The threaded holes are to close together to be able to bolt a knife larger than 1". I put a mic on the inside of the holes and they were 23/64". I looked through my Fastenal catalog and they have 23/64" o-1 hardened drill rod. I bought a piece of this for I think around $6.00 and cut two pins for the blocks to ride on while tightening down onto the ricasso. It works great and I have less than $20.00 in it and they are dead flat when bolted together.:D
 

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Nice little mod Burton.

incidentally, not that I am advertising nor do i get commission for letting you guys know or anything but Fastenal has drill rod on sale all this month, O1 and W1!
 
Thats a great idea Burton, you wouldn't want to use your best, precision ground set of 1-2-3 blocks for it though ;) (some upwards of $75).

The budget 1-2-3 block sets that can be had very resonably would work great though. Excellent idea :thumbup:
 
Thanks, I bought a cheaper pair of blocks but when I filed the first tang it seated perfectly flush with no gaps at all.
 
Hey David, do you mean to tell me those three sets of 1-2-3 blocks I have, with a total investement of about $25.... are NOT the best?!?!?! :mad:


:p ;)

That's the kind of stuff where I would REALLY love to soak up even a tiny bit of all that knowledge you have from your career David. :thumbup: (in all seriousness, I did know the $7 Enco specials weren't the best.... but they probably are good enough for the girls I go with :D ;) ).
 
NickWheeler said:
Hey David, do you mean to tell me those three sets of 1-2-3 blocks I have, with a total investement of about $25.... are NOT the best?!?!?! :mad:


:p ;)

That's the kind of stuff where I would REALLY love to soak up even a tiny bit of all that knowledge you have from your career David. :thumbup: (in all seriousness, I did know the $7 Enco specials weren't the best.... but they probably are good enough for the girls I go with :D ;) ).
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Oh heck yeah they're good enough :thumbup: I've got several sets of the economy blocks too and they're all within a couple tenths of 1-2-3. Flat, parallel and square too ;)

In fact most of the enco "precision" tooling like 1-2-3 blks, parallels, sine bars & plates, angle plates, etc...... which I'll bet are mostly made in china, are suprisingly good these days. And much cheaper than the big names. I use them too :D
 
Okay, now I'm just confused. :confused: Did David Wesner just say Enco stuff isn't all that bad?

:p HaHa... just kidding :D

But it is nice to hear someone with your background feels stuff like that has a quality level acceptable for what we're doing in the knife shops.

I met an old timer tool and die maker and he has ZERO acceptions to any of this. He skoffed at my Grizzly 24X36X3 granite plate. Turns out he has a pink Starrett that is something like 4 FEET X 10 FEET X 10" thick INSPECTION grade in his home shop (he's retired and tinkers now).

I told him I would stick with my Grizz and buy another couple dozen grinders before I could justify an inspection plate like that! :D
 
Nick, I think you could use your eye and your thumb and it would come out perfect ..... :thumbup: One only has to look at your work to see that :D
 
I think I will eventually buy a set of guides from Pops with the carbide faces but for now I had to come up with something to file the few hidden tang blades I have had laying around. This setup seems to be working good and I have filed 2 blades with them without any problems. I will get some pics together of the blades asap.
 
Keith_H said:
uh... what is a 1-2-3 block?!
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Yes, like Jim mentioned, 1-2-3 blocks measure 1" x 2" x 3". Decent ones (like enco brand ;)) are exactly that(usually within a couple .0001), while also being perfectly flat, parallel and square on all sides. They work great for machining set-ups, layout and a host of other things around the shop..... like a file guide :D Many 1-2-3 block sets have equally spaced holes drilled on the faces some of which are tapped, again for different set-up applications of which are limited only by your imagination. IMHO they are an almost essential piece of tooling and super handy. You will also see 2-4-6 and even 4-8-12 blocks in machine shops.

And I wasn't ripping on you Burton, I think thats a great idea using them as an improvised file guide, in an unconventional, sacrificial kind of way :D :thumbup:
 
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jim moyer said:
... the blocks measurments in inches
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David Wesner said:
Yes, like Jim mentioned, 1-2-3 blocks measure 1" x 2" x 3". Decent ones (like enco brand ;)) are exactly that(usually within a couple .0001), while also being perfectly flat, parallel and square on all sides. They work great for machining set-ups, layout and a host of other things around the shop..... like a file guide :D Many 1-2-3 block sets have equally spaced holes drilled on the faces some of which are tapped, again for different set-up applications of which are limited only by your imagination. IMHO they are an almost essential piece of tooling and super handy. You will also see 2-4-6 and even 4-8-12 blocks in machine shops.

And I wasn't ripping on you Burton, I think thats a great idea using them as an improvised file guide, in an unconventional, sacrificial kind of way :D :thumbup:
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Thanks guys! I want a few for my high school now! Most people end up using scrap pieces of wood to set up the milling machine...
 
And I wasn't ripping on you Burton, I think thats a great idea using them as an improvised file guide, in an unconventional, sacrificial kind of way
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Some things (like the enco 1-2-3 guides) are worth sacrificing for a good cause.:)
 
Actually 123 blocks were the first place I looked when I needed file guides. I sure could have used the drill rod for pin guides. I got a pair from Wholesale tool for like 12 bucks or something like that. Those pins are definately cool stuff.
 
Yeah I was drooling over the more expensive ones and didn't have the money. I saw that all those had guide pins they were riding on and decided that would be what I would do for now.
 
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