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Group Project: Dividing Head - The Build
- Thread starter Flyinfool
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- Aug 3, 2017
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You can often find craigslist-deals for a somewhat loved Kurt reasonably priced. A buddy of mine picked up 2 6" kurts for $60 (total!). They need some love, but were cheap!
That said, you'll likely have trouble with a 4" vise. The Glacern is the only one I know of that still sells a 4", and it is $400.
For the 'import' vises, LMS has a good comparison: https://littlemachineshop.com/info/vise_compare.php
Note the "Precision Milling Vise" doesn't tick their "Precision" box
Thats because it is one of these chinese imports. 2 members of the forum just went through the lack of precision with these about 2-3 months ago, I think one spent a few weeks scraping his in.For whatever reason, the chinese "Screwless" vises seem to be way better/more precisely made. I suspect it is something to do with how easy they are to make/grind.
The 4" ones are a touch more expensive than the cast ones (https://www.amazon.com/HFS-PRECISION-GRINDING-SCREWLESS-TOOLMAKER/dp/B00NG15O1K), and use is a little tougher (to widen the jaws you need to move the pin in the side), AND are tougher to attach to the table (unless they have the hold-down slots, and even those can get in the way of moving the pin).
That said, the 3" ones are REALLY popular in small-mill land. Something like this Shars: https://www.amazon.com/SHARS-PRECISION-TOOLMAKERS-VISE-202-1212/dp/B07ZP9353K
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- Aug 13, 2020
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Can we get a definition around "pretty garbage"? Driving (and paying) for sub-tenths is kinda pointless on a round column mill.
I did test the face of the jaw, and it was as flat as my indicator could tell, but nothing other than that. That's much better than the vice I was using, and is all I need right now. I'll verify the other surfaces before I use them.
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A major feature I was looking for was a deeper jaw death. To mill the bottom of these 6"x6" angles, the only thing I've been able to figure out is to grab one side with the vice, and let the bottom stick up. Without a good, deep bite, there was just too much flex.
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Based on the work I did on the surface grinder, mine was out ~6-7 thou on the bed. The back of the jaw was out up/down about a thou. The 'clamping' jaw would lift by a surprising amount. Additionally, the 'bed' itself wasn't parallel to the bottom just about at all.
That said, I find with Chinese stuff that the 'smaller'/cheaper stuff has more corners cut. On the 6", the two threads I saw others post about were better on the bed, but only just. I'll have to see if I can find them.
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I bought one of the 4" screwless, too. It doesn't have a pin to move. The ratcheting fixture on the bottom moves from one groove to the next.
Hold-down is an issue. Just like you said.
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Ooh, nice! I've not seen a ratcheting one yet! I know a lot of the screwless vises end up having a version available with the hold-down slots in the side, otherwise making some sort of 'bar' to go through as the hold down is pretty popular. Can you share the link of the one you got? Maybe we can help him find something similar.
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I got the last 4". These are being sold on Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, and it looks like they are all the same seller, shipping out of the same warehouse in New Jersey, as the 6" vice that I also bought.
VEVOR Screwless Vise, 5" Precision Vise, Sine Vise Parallel Accuracy of .0002", Precision Grinding Vise 2" of Jaw Depth, Mini Vise, Machinist Vise, Mini Toolmakers Vise for Grinder Milling Machine - Walmart.com
Free 2-day shipping. Buy VEVOR Screwless Vise, 5" Precision Vise, Sine Vise Parallel Accuracy of .0002", Precision Grinding Vise 2" of Jaw Depth, Mini Vise, Machinist Vise, Mini Toolmakers Vise for Grinder Milling Machine at Walmart.com
www.walmart.com
[Edit]. I haven't used or measured this vice yet. Just checked it out visually and sat it on the shelf so I could get back to making dividing head parts.
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Ah, well, at least that one has the hold-down slots, so you can use a normal set of hold-downs. I'm sure someone can come up with some decent compact ones for that.I got the last 4". These are being sold on Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, and it looks like they are all the same seller, shipping out of the same warehouse in New Jersey, as the 6" vice that I also bought.
VEVOR Screwless Vise, 5" Precision Vise, Sine Vise Parallel Accuracy of .0002", Precision Grinding Vise 2" of Jaw Depth, Mini Vise, Machinist Vise, Mini Toolmakers Vise for Grinder Milling Machine - Walmart.com
Free 2-day shipping. Buy VEVOR Screwless Vise, 5" Precision Vise, Sine Vise Parallel Accuracy of .0002", Precision Grinding Vise 2" of Jaw Depth, Mini Vise, Machinist Vise, Mini Toolmakers Vise for Grinder Milling Machine at Walmart.comwww.walmart.com
[Edit]. I haven't used or measured this vice yet. Just checked it out visually and sat it on the shelf so I could get back to making dividing head parts.
I guess I don't know how to tell it is 'ratcheting' then. The one I've got requires pushing the pin out the hole on the side, then putting it in the new location. That said, mine is an old sine-vise, so perhaps they are made differently these days.
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The only way to tell was to buy one. You loosen the big bolt enough, the fitting drops out of the slot, then you can move it to another slot.