Cutting Big Sheets on the Mill

By "big" I mean 6" x 6".  Too small for me to clamp to the shop saw and cut safely; too big to fit in the mill vise.

I mentioned several days ago using the Sherline hold downs and some parallels to lift the sheet off the table so I could cut through it.  I tried that but I could not get it to hold steady and normal to the table.

So next I used the mill vise hold downs.  By cutting in the Y direction, I did not need to elevate the plate.

But using two mill hold downs did not hold it securely enough and they really are not 0.5" tall.

Next, I used the Sherline hold downs but the long studs that come with them stick up far enough to be an obstacle to the milling head, so I replaced them with shorter, conventional 10-32 screws short enough to not run into the milling head.  This let me cut a 1.5" wide piece in the Y direction adjacent to the table.

The next step was to put the workpiece back in the milling vise, square the piece and cut the needed length.  The clamps holding the mill vise to the table kept failing to hold it in place.  I need to remake these with a bit taller L shape to clamp down more tightly.  Good enough for now