Cigarette Paper Substitute
© Frank Ford 2007; Photos by FF
I like to use those thin ciggie papers to find edges when milling, but lately it seems they've gotten a bit expensive, and I've gotten a bit lazy about keeping them "in stock." So, this morning I hit on a way to ensure an endless supply of thin paper strips. Instead of recycling my old phone book, this time, I cut it into little paper pads of about the right size for my edge finding:
Admittedly, they are about twice as thick as cigarette papers but they seem to work just about as well for me. I measured these yellow pages at just a hair over .002" and that thickness suits me just fine for most of what I do.
By cutting the cover, I have a nice little tab so I can hang the papers right on the mill with a magnet:
My magnet is one of those 5/8" diameter Neodymium wonders, stuck into a copper pipe cap filled with epoxy. I have 'em all over the shop for little hangups like this.