# What Vise For An Atlas Mfc Horizontal Mill?



## spongerich (Apr 16, 2015)

I've started using my Atlas mill that I picked up last fall and none of my milling vises really fit it.
All of them (Including the Atlas one from my shaper) all seem to stick out the back too far and interfere with the column if I want to use an endmill or a drill in a collet    Was wondering what other folks were using?

I do have an old unmarked vise with a fairly large cast iron coolant try molded into the base.  I was thinking of just milling off the back of the base so I could get closer to the column but before I do anything drastic, I thought I'd check in with what others are doing.


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## Tool-in-the-Box (Apr 16, 2015)

If it were me I'd buy and original Atlas one. The bases for the shaper are different for both the vise and rotary table. In fact if I remember right shaper vices alway have 4 bolt points. Not sure what other vices people are using on them. -J


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## VSAncona (Apr 16, 2015)

I haven't used the vise on mine much, but if the Atlas shaper vise has too much overhang, I'm pretty sure the Atlas milling vise will too. I think the vise part is the same on both -- just the swivel base that is different.

When I've had to get the workpiece close to the spindle, I've clamped an angle plate to the milling table and then clamped my workpiece to that.


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## wa5cab (Apr 16, 2015)

I agree with Tool-in-the-Box.  The original Atlas M1-300 swivel vises are expensive and scarce but they will fit the machine.  If you can't find or can't afford an original, then get the dimensions and find a cheap one of about the same size or that with some machining, can be modified to about the same size.

My vise isn't handy to measure at present but from the drawings on the vise instruction sheet, it appears that the swivel base might stick out from under the vise proper by maybe an inch.  The milling cutter holders also stick out of the spindle about an inch.  So if the vise is swung around so that the drive end is to the operators left and the work piece is flush with the edge of the vise jaws, it would appear that you could run the workpiece all the way up and hit the cutter holder with it.


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## Tool-in-the-Box (Apr 16, 2015)

Wish I could send a pic of the vise mounted to the machine but my Atlas mill resides at my parents house which is over an hour away from me. I have both the vise and rotary table. As well as other neat things like the factory oil pump system.


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## wa5cab (Apr 16, 2015)

I'm still looking for the factory oil pump system.  Haven't turned up a sniffle in over a year.


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## Tool-in-the-Box (Apr 16, 2015)

I believe that, this is the only one I have ever seen. I have had a few of the square oil drip ones though. When I got it the pump didn't work but I cleaned it up real good and it now works fine.

The only part I am looking for now is the Marvin Slotting attachment. Personally I think my chances of winning the lottery are better.


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## oldboy1950 (Apr 16, 2015)

i had this vise given to me and so far it fits the bill so to speak but it is a bit tedious to adjust.


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## wa5cab (Apr 16, 2015)

Rots a ruck with the slotting attachment.  If you should stumble across two, let me know.


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## spongerich (Apr 17, 2015)

oldboy1950 said:


> i had this vise given to me and so far it fits the bill so to speak but it is a bit tedious to adjust.



Thanks.  I do have a small grinding vise similar to that one, but there's no  slots on the side to secure it (I'm assuming it's made for a mag chuck).
Maybe I'll slot it.  Then I guess my next project for the mill will be some hold downs for it.


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## 34_40 (Apr 17, 2015)

I haven't been around here much but I have what I believe are the original vice and a rotary table.  I can share pics if still needed..  Just holler!


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## spongerich (Apr 17, 2015)

VSAncona said:


> I haven't used the vise on mine much, but if the Atlas shaper vise has too much overhang, I'm pretty sure the Atlas milling vise will too. I think the vise part is the same on both -- just the swivel base that is different.
> 
> When I've had to get the workpiece close to the spindle, I've clamped an angle plate to the milling table and then clamped my workpiece to that.



I may just give that a try.

I have a piece of steel that's 7" long, 3/4" tall and an inch wide.
I need to face the 1" wide side that's got a bandsaw cut.

The widest straight cutter I have is about 3/8 wide, so I suppose could do it in a couple of passes.. just thought it would be nice to use an endmill and get it all at once.  It doesn't need nanometer accuracy, I'm just making some T-nuts for my vertical milling machine.


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## wa5cab (Apr 18, 2015)

spongerich,

To use an end mill to do that job, you can use an end mill on the vertical face by putting a sacrificial length of 1/8" or thicker aluminum on the table and the workpiece on top of that.and clamping the sandwich to the table.  Then use the endmill against the side of the work piece instead of the top.  If you have an endmill larger in diameter than the height of the piece, you can do it in one pass.  Actually, a face mill would be better.  If you have one.

For a drawing of the original Atlas milling vice, go to Downloads.  Downloads is not by any means ready for "prime time" as the categories are not set up properly yet.  But it does work.  The instruction sheet should be currently at the top of the list of the few files that have been uploaded.


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## spongerich (Apr 18, 2015)

If I'm going to use the end of the endmill, I'd probably prefer to use my vertical mill for that.. much easier just to set it up in the vise.
Since I'm making T nuts, I might just chop the blank I have in half and face it on my shaper.... In fact, since the T nuts are going to get drilled and tapped anyway, I might do that first, then I can use those holes to attach the part to a fixture and go back to my original plan.

One thing is clear, I do need to make or buy some endmill holders.  I have a lot of them that are too large for the 2MT collets that the Atlas uses.


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## wa5cab (Apr 19, 2015)

The Atlas mills originally came with an end mill holder.  I have one but it's still in the crate with the mill and in any case, it probably only goes up to 1/2" shank diameter (maybe someone who has one handy can comment).  2MT end mill and cutter holders are available up to at least 3/4" shank.  But for some strange reason, all that I have or have ever seen are tang type, not draw bar type.  Which is dumb because probably everyone who has ever tried to use one has learned the hard way why that's a bad idea (they pull out of the taper at the most inconvenient time).  So you will probably have to cut off and drill and tap for 3/8-16 any that you find.


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 19, 2015)

My MFC came with a 2MT 1/2" holder with a 3/8-16 drawbar hole and no tang.  I'm not sure if it is original.   

Little Machine Shop sells them with drawbar holes: http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_focus.php?Focus=End+Mill+Holders 

Grizzly also sells them: http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2015/main/721?p=721


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## wa5cab (Apr 19, 2015)

Rich,

That sounds like what I remember seeing in a photo of my mill.  Looked like the same 1/2" holder as could be bought for the 19" and 12" lathes except that the latter was 3MT.  If you bought the larger holder new, it came with four reducing bushings, 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 7/16".  I'm sure that the 2MT one came with the same bushings.  

The LMS 4-piece set would be a good start.  It goes up to 5/8".  The other sizes are 3/16", 3/8" and 1/2".  Strangely, LMS doesn't list the other sizes in 2MT.


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## VSAncona (Apr 20, 2015)

Do have a plain (slabbing) cutter that you could use on an arbor with the support arm?


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## spongerich (Apr 20, 2015)

VSAncona said:


> Do have a plain (slabbing) cutter that you could use on an arbor with the support arm?



I do have one.  I think it's a little narrower than my part so I'd need to take 2 passes.
Naturally, it's got a 1" bore and the only arbor I have is 3/4, so I'll either need to make a bushing for it, or make another arbor.

Like most good projects, this one's turning into several side projects.


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## wa5cab (Apr 20, 2015)

Don't make a bushing.  You should have a 1" arbor anyway (not to use exclusively but because 1" cutters seem to be at least as common as 7/8", and with both arbors, you double your chances of finding a usable cutter specific width and diameter when you need it).  There are one or two ads for arbors on eBay most of the time.


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## ksierens (Apr 21, 2015)

You could look for a Palmgren low profile milling vise.


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## frank r (Apr 21, 2015)

ksierens said:


> You could look for a Palmgren low profile milling vise.


I have an original vise for sale, but you will not like the price.


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## wa5cab (Apr 21, 2015)

Even a Palmgren isn't going to be cheap, unless the seller is clueless.  I paid $250 for my M1-300 with crank, and thought I got it cheap.


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 21, 2015)

Got a few minutes out in the shop today.  Here are pictures of the vise and 2MT mill holder that came with my MFC.  I haven't had time to do any cleanup yet.


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## vintage iron (Apr 22, 2015)

oldboy1950 said:


> i had this vise given to me and so far it fits the bill so to speak but it is a bit tedious to adjust.


Hi oldboy. Is this the vise that you're looking for. If it is, let me know because I don't need it anymore and maybe we can make a trade with that grinder vise that you're now using.


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## BGHansen (Apr 23, 2015)

I bought a 3" swivel vise from eBay seller "topqu0987" for around $75 delivered.  The vise has a coolant-containing ridge around the base, I band sawed off the overhang on the fixed jaw side and cleaned it up on my vertical mill.  Set the vise back on the swivel base and measured the distance from the edge of the swivel to the back of the fixed jaw side of the vise.   I wanted the swivel base edge to be flush with the fixed jaw side of the vise.  Set the vise w/base back on the mill table with the table at its limit of travel toward the column.  Slid the vise to within about 1/16" from the column and  measured (roughly) the distance between the center of the table slot and the open-ended slots in the base which is the offset for the locating blocks and new open-ended slots on the swivel base. 

Set the base upside down on my vertical mill, indicated in the existing slot on the bottom of the base.  Milled a slot along the base for the new location of the locating blocks & open-ended bolt slots.  Made blocks to fit the table and the swivel base slot.

The vise opens up to just over 3", jaws are just over 3" wide.  I have about 3 1/4" from the bottom of the vise surface to the center of the arbor.  The photos of the base with orange circles show areas that were removed to clear the column.

The vise is pretty true; indicates flat to my table within 0.001" across the top of the fixed jaw and the surface.  I'd prefer a little more vertical room between the vise and arbor, but that's the compromise with a small mill.


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## JPMacG (May 21, 2015)

Would this vise be suitable?
http://www.shars.com/products/toolh...ision-milling-machine-vise-with-swivel-base-1


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## wa5cab (May 21, 2015)

Vintage Iron,

The vise that you have does appear to be an original M1-300 (or Craftsman equivalent).


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## JPMacG (May 22, 2015)

OK.   After doing some research and studying BGHansen's photos (Thanks BGHansen), I can answer my own question.  The small "Shars" vise is sold under a variety of familiar brand names, and it does not fit the Atlas mill very well.


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## ogberi (May 22, 2015)

I have been eyeballing a 4" screwless vice for my Atlas MFC.  Mostly because it can be laid on it's side and clamped down, so it presents the work more like a conventional vertical mill.  Right now I use a regular mill vice, without the swivel base installed, and it's tedious at best.  Mostly I've found that I use my clamping kit and blocks to clamp directly to the table.  I really wish I could make a tooling plate for it, but the thickest metal I have on hand is only 3/8" plate.


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## wa5cab (May 22, 2015)

Who makes the screwless vise?


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## ogberi (May 22, 2015)

Saw it on LMS, been wanting to get it, but the hobby fund is a bit low.


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## spongerich (May 23, 2015)

wa5cab said:


> I'm still looking for the factory oil pump system.  Haven't turned up a sniffle in over a year.



One showed up on eBay last week.

I tossed in a bid of $200 since I knew that the chances of seeing another one any time soon were slim.

It ended up selling for $510!    That's nearly what I paid for my whole milling machine.


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## wa5cab (May 24, 2015)

Hah!  I bid $500 on it and didn't get it.  It is (for a prospective buyer, not seller) a sad fact that for any of the four serious hobbyist grade badges (Atlas, Logan, Clausing or South Bend), any significant accessory is probably going to cost you from 1/3X to 2X what the base bare machine cost.  I have an original rotary table for the mill in NOS condition.  I paid more for it than I did for the MFA.  And if I had only followed the auction more closely, would have done the same for the pump.


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## 34_40 (May 24, 2015)

And I couldn't compete at those prices also.  I couldn't believe what the little auto stop went for also!


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## Green Frog (Mar 30, 2016)

Tool-in-the-Box said:


> Wish I could send a pic of the vise mounted to the machine but my Atlas mill resides at my parents house which is over an hour away from me. I have both the vise and rotary table. As well as other neat things like the factory oil pump system.





wa5cab said:


> I'm still looking for the factory oil pump system.  Haven't turned up a sniffle in over a year.



I wonder whether we could get some detailed pix and even some drawings of the factory oil pump system, or even the drip (gravity feed?) system.  That would be a wonderful addition to the Drawings pages if we could get it.

In other things if an item becomes sufficiently valuable and in demand, it becomes worthwhile for someone to make it.  At the prices I'm hearing about, it seems like we are reaching that point.  A cottage industry for Atlas Mill accessories and parts could develop...

Froggie


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## frank r (Mar 30, 2016)

I have a nice little vise, about 3" wide, that is attached to a heavy 90 degree cast iron fixture from a grinder. One of these days I am going to set that vise up in a band saw and cut through that casting to release the vise. Milling the bottom will give me a nice vise for an Atlas mill. It even rotates.


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## wa5cab (Mar 31, 2016)

I wouldn't call them detailed but the photos of the system that I missed on eBay would suffice to make a copy I think.  Unfortunately, I didn't download them.


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