Adjustable stop member

An adjustable stop member for use with machines having a tool support structure, a tool mounted on said tool support structure, a work holder, means for producing relative movement between the tool support structure and the work holder, such that the tool mounted on the tool holder can be brought into cutting contact with a work piece mounted on the work holder, and stop means for limiting the relative movement between the tool support structure and the

• an elongate, cylindrical member having first and second ends and an elongate bore which is coaxial with a longitudinal axis of said cylindrical member, said elongate bore extending inwardly from the first end of said cylindrical member;
• internal threads along the length of said elongate bore;
• an elongate rod having first and second ends;
• a threaded section formed along the longitudinal length of said elongate rod, said threaded section comprising external threads which extend from the first end of said elongate rod along at least the major portion of the length of said elongate rod, with the threaded section of said elongate rod being receivable within said elongate bore in said cylindrical member for making engagement with the internal threads of said elongate bore such that the threaded section of said elongate rod can be adjustably advanced into and withdrawn from the elongate bore in said cylindrical member to thereby adjustably vary the effective, combined, longitudinal length of the cylindrical member and the elongate rod threaded therein;
• an elongate, relatively narrow, linear flat formed along the length of the threaded section in said elongate rod, said flat being formed at least as deeply into the surface of the elongate rod as are the deepest portions of the threads;
• an index line on said flat, said index line extending along the length of said flat and being parallel to the longitudinal axis of said elongate rod;
• a nut having first and second ends is threaded on the threaded section of said elongate rod such that the first end of said nut faces the first end of said elongate rod when the nut is fully threaded on the threaded section of said elongate rod;
• a circumferential band adjacent to the first end of said nut, said band being polished;
• and
• equally spaced markings along the circumferential length of the polished band on said nut, said markings forming a scale which extends around the length of said band,
• whereby, when the threaded section of the elongate rod is threaded into the first end of said cylindrical member, the scale on the nut and the index line on said flat of said elongate rod can be used to accurately adjust the overall length of the cylindrical member and elongate rod, and the nut can further be tightened against the first end of said cylindrical member to firmly secure the elongate rod and the cylindrical member in a releasably, fixed position relative to each other, and the stop member, comprising the elongate rod and the cylindrical member, can then be positioned in the stop means of said machine to limit the distance within which the tool support structure and the work holder can approach each other during use of said machine.