The Wonders of 1-2-3 Blocks

Anyone who’s seen my old tips column on Make:, reads my weekly maker newsletter, or seen my tips articles in HackSpace knows that I have a bit of a thang for 1-2-3 blocks. These precision-milled hardened steel blocks are precisely 1″ x 2″ x 3″ and weigh exactly a pound. They were created for machinist use but have now been widely adopted across maker disciplines.

You can use them as shop weights, for measuring and aligning, to hold parts in place for gluing, and a thousand other uses. As we speak, I am using one to hold down some new foam pads I’ve just glued into the crossband of my JVC sound-isolated headphones.

In this Stumpy Nubs video, James shows some of the things he uses them for around the woodshop and he clears up a few misconceptions about them.


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