4" vise - help choosing the right one

[matthewsx]

I've done this for doing end machining on thin round parts or anything that is too tall for me to work on if it is sitting on top of 2" of vise. I have 10 inches of Z travel, so a 6" tall part + 2" of vise + 2" of tool gives me no room to work. Flip the vise on its side, lay the part directly on the table and clamp from the side, now I have 2" of clearance.

Just found it helpful for getting me out of tricky setups.

That makes sense, I have a lathe and am planning some pretty flexible sacrificial table tooling for this machine so I think I'm okay with the mounting ears.

John

 

[RJSakowski]

That's exactly the one I decided I didn't want... Is there a reason you prefer it to one of the others, or just what you have?

I'm actually leaning towards the 3" model since I have other plans for larger pieces.

RJ, would love to hear your thoughts. Even if they're snarky

John

I deleted my comment that a CNC mill doesn't need a swivel base as you have already realized that. When I bought my Tormach, I bought this vise: https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-Premium-Milling-Vise-4-/G7156
It has worked out OK for me but I have made some improvements so not a solid thumbs up. I replaced the screw collar with a more substantial collar to decrease backlash, I milled the mounting ear surfaces flat to prevent walking when I tightened the mounting bolts, and I polished the ball and ramp for more positive hold down.

From the size of your mill, I would recommend against getting a larger vise. It is tempting but a large vise actually reduces your positioning capability. The most common mounting of the vise is with the screw oriented in the y direction. My vise measures 2.5" from the front of the back jaw to the back of the vise. Your distance of your spindle to the column less the distance from the front of the back jaw to the back of the vise is greatest -y position you can reach. The greatest plus y position is determined by the where you mount the vise but ideally you would mount it so the spindle can reach further than the vise jaws. In my case, between the two, I lose about 1-3/4" of useful travel on my y axis.

Aside from size, there are issues like how parallel is the base of the vise to the floor of the vise jaws and how perpendicular is the fixed jaw to the floor of the vise jaws. Of the three that you are looking at, the two lower cost specs aren't that great. The highest cost vise is ambiguous in that a meaningful spec for parallelness or perpendicularity would give the distance over which the specification is valid, e.g. .0005"/4".

 

[matthewsx]

Thanks RJ, that's the kind of info I was looking for. It's good to know that these vises can be improved upon with a little work, I'm sure it will be miles better than the DP vise I have right now.

Think I'm gonna pull the trigger on the 3" model.

Cheers,

john

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I like my basic 4" Shars lockdown vise (no swivel base). Took a degree of fettling to get it working really nice, but it was functional out of the box. I stoned all the edges, cleaned up the rough of the lockdown parts, shimmed the moving jaw a little bit to get rid of side to side play and tapped the base for longer fixed jaw hold down bolts. The fixed jaw does still move a little bit when the vise is tightened, but it's only noticeable with thin stuff high on parallels - judicious use of a dead blow hammer solves that issue.

I think it's a good vise, opens really wide, has an oiling port and thrust washer on the screw and seems to be dimensionally on the money as far as I can tell. I wouldn't say no to a 4" Kurt, but until one of those falls into my lap for a price I can afford I think this will do just fine. I will be making a speed handle for it sometime soon though as the one that comes standard is always interfering with the Y hand wheel.

 

[stioc]

Mine came with a 4" swivel base one like RJ posted but I removed the swivel base from it.

I've often wondered about using a pair of 3" inch tool maker vises - like the one Stefan Gottenwinter has even on his big mill. With two you can clamp long pieces on both ends. Many CNC machines use the two or three vise setup. Just a thought.

 

[matthewsx]

I'll be using something like this



with hex fixture clamps



for serious setups.

I have several pieces of cast aluminum to work with and am learning how to make my own eccentric clamping devices. The vise is for simple/quick one off stuff.

John

 

[RobertB]

I milled the mounting ear surfaces flat to prevent walking when I tightened the mounting bolts

This is a problem with most sub-$300.00 vises. Not only are the tops of these flanges rough raw castings, but they also have the pattern draft angle to them. If you don't mill them flat it is a real adventure trying to tighten the hold downs!

 

[stioc]

I made a fixture plate with dowels, threaded holes and mitee bite clamps etc. I also made the bottom like a T so I can clamp it in the vise if I choose to. It's been pretty handy for a few things but I use the vise way more for everyday projects.

More pics here: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/thr...nc-conversion-the-cheap-way.67434/post-578707

 

[mickri]

I have the shars 4" vise. I bought it on sale for I believe $99 and it came with rotary base which I don't use. I have not had any problems with it. But then I am new to machining as a hobby. The vise is light years better than the HF drill press vise I was using. It fits nice on the table of my mill/drill. Not too big and not too small.

 

[stioc]

Oh yeah, there's no comparison between a cheap drill press vise vs. a milling vise. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you get one!