Atlas Milling Attachment Vice Jaw.

[David Pollard]

Hi Guys,
I have just purchased a milling attachment for my 10" lathe.
As appears to normal the Moveable Jaw is missing.
I have seen replacement jaws on eBay but they are made from aliminum.
This seems like the last thing I would make a vice jaw out of.

Can anyone tell me what the original jaws were made from?

I'm more inclined to make my own from high carbon steel and heat treat it.

What do you think?
David

 

[dgehricke]

Hi Pollardd
I have the milling attachment and both jaws for my attachment. They are made of steel low carbon is my guess as the upper jaw has marks on it from the bolts being dogged down and cutting into it. The lower jaw is thicker then the upper jaw the lower is 3/8" X 7/8" X 2.5 the V is not on center they are off set to fit in the vise itself. The upper jaw is
1/4" X 7/8" X 2.5" they are not heat treated. Heres a few photos
Regards
dgehricke

 

[roadie33]

I had to do the same for my Craftsman Lathe Milling Attachment.
I just used some 1/2" CR plate and milled the V in them where the screws dogged down on them.
That way they were in the correct line for tightening stock in jaws.

 

[wa5cab]

I have seen the originals for sale on eBay. You just have to wait until some turn up. The original set was as best I recall (it's been so many years that I'm not certain which of the ones that I have originally came with my milling attachment) three pieces, two with V-grooves (one thicker than the other) and a plain 1/4 " thick one with no grooves.

Addenda - what you don't want to do is try to clamp with the V-grooves towards the clamping screws.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

G'day pollardd,
making a vise jaw from aluminum is not that crazy of an idea.
the aluminum can deform slightly to actually give a better grip on a part in some cases than hardened steel can.
the obvious trade off is less life expectancy of the jaw.
there are some aircraft grades of aluminum that are quite tough, for example 7075
6061 is a decent grade to consider too, not as hard but a lot cheaper.
you can make tons of jaws for a few dollars yourself, even from milled or otherwise finished scrap.
i used a parallel and a piece of scrap aluminum angle, before i made my first jaw.
if you have the attachment, you may wish to try the same thing and save a bit of money

 

[David Pollard]

Thanks everyone, all great information.
This really is the friendly machinest place.
I'll post some picks of my slide and the jaws when I make them.
I didn't even realize there needed to be an additional jaw on the fixed side.
Every machine vice I have ever used had the jaws bolted in on both sides.
Learning all the time.

 

[wa5cab]

David,

If the work piece is flat, you don't need to use a spacer on the fixed side. I don't usually. If it is round, however, a V-groove on both sides will hold the work piece more securely and is less likely to squeeze a flat line on it.