2 way 5" Tilting & Swiveling Angle Machinist Vise

[nnam]

Can someone please share how important to own a 2 way Tilting & Swiveling Angle Machinist Vise? It looks very useful, but I don't want another toy not used much. Maybe save the money for a rotary table, although it can't tilt.

 

[Peyton Price 17]

they are good for pattern making and tapered parts. don't own one but want one.

 

[Braeden P]

I have one on my drill press impossible to tighten then nut that rotates it but others would be better but the angle part is useful on a mill no a dp

 

[JRaut]

I've had this Universal kicking around for quite some time. I think the jaws are 3", though I'd have to measure.

Cool piece, but doesn't get much use in my shop.

I've used it on the drill press a few times. But most of the stuff that requires real precision gets done with a sine plate on the Bridgeport.

I'd be willing to part ways with it for a reasonable price. PM me if interested.

 

[Chipper5783]

Used very seldom. In a pinch (for that one off job), you can usually work something out - it may be faster with a tilting swivel vise. Save your money. If something comes up, where a tilt/swivel vise is a game changer - you can buy it then (not like they are about to stop selling them).

 

[Dabbler]

95% of the time you want a solid, low profile square vise for your mill.

There are other ways of getting angles and compound angles.

My good friend spent $28000 on his 10X50 mill, ball lead screws, power feeds, the works. His vise is a 5" tilt/swivel vise (a very expensive one), and that only gives him only a small work envelope, only several inches high. He has no room in the ceiling for a riser, so he's hooped. Wasted money in his opinion.

 

[nnam]

Wow, thanks for many insightful replies. I probably do as Chipper said.

 

[Aukai]

I put one together for welding around a circumference

 

[Winegrower]

I have a swivel base on my 6" mill vise, and I find that pretty handy, especially for making insert tooling. For the tilt axis, I made a big cylinder (maybe 2.5" diameter) with a 8"x8" flat plate attached to it that I can hold in the mill vise and adjust to any vertical angle. This is a surprisingly flexible configuration...I have a smaller "drill press" vise that I can bolt onto the flat plate for smaller/quicker work.

The picture shows the tilt table held in the mill vise, and of course the vise swivels as well.

I have a few flats cut into the cylinder at specific angles like 0, 30 and 45, so it's easy to set up a very precise cardinal angle.

 

[epanzella]

I think those little vices are cool but I can't think of any capability that they would add to my shop. The part has to need a compound angle and be small enough to fit in that vice while being large enough to hold while you machine it. Then there is the rigidity issue. I have a smaller vice that will allow me to get one angle on pieces that will fit in it then I get the other angle by putting that vice in my 6 inch vice at an angle. How many times have I used this in my life? ONCE, and it wasn't even for me. A fiend had some weird cross bow pistol that needed a mounting block for the limbs. I have a home shop that does not have unlimited budget or space.