Metric Spacer/Gage Blocks

[rmwarren]

My current obsession is finding affordable spacer or gage blocks in metric. I have a set of Woodpecker blocks I bought second hand, and I'm aware that iGaging and others sell complete sets for ~$60, what I'm looking for are inexpensive blocks where I can get 4-6 of each thickness and not break the bank. Already searched the usual suspects, Amazon, Alibaba, Banggood, etc.

Another requirement is a thickness of < ~6mm. I want to be able to use them to set up references for cuts on 1/4" material under the guide rail, amongst other uses. Using the MFT holes I can start with a spacer that gets me within 32mm then I want to be able to stack them down to a final increment of 0.5mm. This requires 16/8/4/2/1/0.5mm blocks.

I can make them down to ~4-5mm thickness by ripping stock, it's the thinner ones that are more of a problem. Any warp in them would negate their usefulness.

I've been looking for metric AL stock in thicknesses I could cut down for the use, the closest I can find in the US are various imperial thickness. I could grind and lap them down to tolerance but I'm hoping to avoid a trip down that rabbit-hole.

Appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

RMW 

 

[guybo]

hi, might find them cheaper elsewherehttp://www.igaging.com/page83.html

 

[Cheese]

Richard, Orange aluminum sells flat bar in 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, & 20 mm thicknesses.
https://orangealuminum.com/shop-by-shape/flat-bars/

For the 1 mm and .05 mm thickness, I'd buy feeler gage shim stock in sticks or in rolls.

 

[rmwarren]

Richard, Orange aluminum sells flat bar in 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, & 20 mm thicknesses.
https://orangealuminum.com/shop-by-shape/flat-bars/

For the 1 mm and .05 mm thickness, I'd buy feeler gage shim stock in sticks or in rolls.

Dang, I didn't check their site. Thanks!

FWIW, I may have stumbled upon another solution... sitting in my toolbox.

[attachimg=1]

I'm going to order up a selection of the Orange extrusions.

Thanks again.

RMW

 

[rmwarren]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] for the win!

Not bad, $44 for material, $36 to get it here. Really missing 2019 shipping...

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I have some 0.20 shim stock, close enough to 0.5mm for my purposes. Somehow, it seems too easy now.

Thanks again. Let me know if you need a set of shims, I should have a few feet extra.

RMW

 

[Cheese]

Good score Richard

The only reason I know about Orange is they offered 10 mm x 20 mm flat stock when I needed to make 10 mm aluminum Dominoes.

 

[Packard]

I don’t use metric often.  I went to Michael’s Art store and bought 1/8; 3/16”, and 1/4” square brass tubing.  The seem to be accurate within +/- .003”, which is accurate enough for any woodworking I might encounter.

 

[rmwarren]

I'm kinda screwed up, as usual. I design/work in metric but still mostly think in Imperial, & just never know what will pop into my mind.

Was doing pretty well with 18mm ply and then they went and changed the scale on the new TS back to Imperial. I haven't gotten around to replacing the scale sticker yet.

Thanks all.

RMW

 

[woodferret]

Do dominos count as a cheap reliable alternative?    Smaller than that I'm using european window plastic shims.

 

[rmwarren]

Arrived today which was all the excuse I needed to knock off early to putz around in the shop (70 & sunny).

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

I didn't bother to check the size tolerance before ordering even though they called out the ANSI spec. Ended up everything is undersized by 0.05 to 0.12 mm. When I checked my Woodpeckers blocks using the same caliper they varied from 0.02 to 0.05mm under.

Close enough for my use. If I'm stacking several together, it can hit 1/2 mm under pretty quick, but I'm my world a 50th of an inch is darn good.

Thanks again [member=44099]Cheese[/member]

 

[rmwarren]

If anyone else is looking for metric gage blocks, this is the best deal I've seen:

Hooked On Wood link

Credit where due, his review is here @ 5:24:
=324s

Ordered 2 sets, anybody need 6' of metric AL bar stock...

RMW

 

[ChuckM]

Banggood is a site that I'll never touch. Maybe they've changed, but my last experience was horrible. I created an account -- luckily with a seldom used email account -- and ever since they had never stopped bombarding me with ads and offers. "Unsubscribing" from their mailing list did nothing. (Yes, I could (and do) filter all their junk mails into the spam folder, but my point is that I refuse to deal with a business that doesn't care about customer privacy.)

 

[Banana]

Lol,  I love how most of this guys videos show the 'Paid Promotion' banner and then at the end of this latest video he's got the gaul to say "Well that was my double 11 edition of China Tools ...it's way too commercial for my tastes."  (Clearly not enough.)
=984