Have many people done this? Squaring a vise quick and easy

[Inferno]

My machinist's vise came with removable locating lugs for the bottom of the vise. I use them for quick and dirty setups where I don't need precision alignment. Mounting the vise takes less than a minute. For precise work, I sweep the vise jaws with an indicator.

Perhaps I'm just lazy, but having a quick on/off setup makes it less likely that I will "make do" with a less than ideal part fixture. The lugs also ensure that I'm within a thou or so of precise alignment which make the precision alignment much faster. The lugs are narrower than the tee slots and I use the front edge of the slot as my datum. I press the vise lugs into close contact with that edge by using a block of wood between the rear of the vise and the column to prevent it walking when I tighten the mounting bolts.

My vise came with locators but they didn't match up well with my table.

Remember, I only put the external locators for repeatability. The first time I put them on, and every time I need to remove them, I will tram the vise properly.
I won't need to take them off very often. Maybe only a couple times in the last 8 years would I have had to remove them.

 

[Inferno]

Cap screw are notoriously not concentric to any degree of precision and screw threads are not a good reference datum for precision alignment. Since the screws are semi-permanently installed, a small washer with slightly eccentric center hole could be placed under one screw head and indicated with a dial test indicator. The other screw would have a similar washer but with a concentric center hole. Make the holes for a close fit for the screw threads to prevent any wobble when tightening. If the eccentricity of the hole in the first washer is on the order of a few thousandths, it will provide a very fine adjustment for alignment. It should be possible to tram the vise to a few tenths.

To make the washer, I would turn the outside diameter and the put a shim under one jaw to drill the second hole. For a 1" diameter washer, a .0075 shim under one jaw would provide .010" of adjustment. If I were really getting fancy, I would use a flat head screw and countersink the holes. This will provide better alignment than the threads. I would also machine flats for a wrench on the top for a wrench to make the adjustment. Here is a concept model. The eccentricity is exaggerated for effect.
View attachment 442603

I was originally thinking about a locator like you're showing. My idea was a sliding tab but I like the eccentric spacer better.
Luckily the situation I ended up with has the tolerances so close that I don't need an eccentric, yet.

 

[Flynth]

Aligning a vice used to be a chore for me too until I watched one of Joe Pie videos where he shows his vice tramming method. Since then it takes me longer to pull the test indicator holder out of a drawer and attach it on the machine's spindle than the time to tram the vice.

The method is as follows:
Align the vice visually using a square to the table. Snug only one bolt, usually one on the right on two bolt vices, right low on 4 bolt. Zero your indicator on the right of the unmovable jaw with some preload. Start moving the table(usually under power) right so indicator moves left. If the indicator shows plus movement tap the vice from the left bottom, minus - right top. Usually I start tapping it after an inch of travel, by the time I get to the end of the vice I have it trammed to within 4 tenths. I usually traverse all the way back just to make sure. It takes about 1 minute once the test indicator is on the spindle. Then snug all other bolts.

 

[Inferno]

I've used that method a few times. Tramming off the spindle is a good way to go.

I just drilled the vise. My cheap mill bit burned up on the first 2mm of the counterbore so I brought out my carbide mill bit. Cut through it like it was butter.

Results are within 2mm on the counterbore. I wasn't too concerned with that part.

I don't know, yet, how I'm going to secure the other end. I'd have to drill through a hardened key on that side if I was doing it the same way.

Off to the bolt store to get a pair of M8x70 socket head cap screws and a pair of washers to go with them. I already have washers I think.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

I just put my vice on a 10" rotary table and use the rotary dial to adjust tram.

 

[Inferno]

I just put my vice on a 10" rotary table and use the rotary dial to adjust tram.

There's nothing wrong with that but do you have to square the rotary table if you remove it and put it back on?

 

[Inferno]

Well, I screwed up. Not in too much of a bad way.
Measure once, cut twice, they say.
I drilled to holes in the vise for an M8 bolt, and even bought M8 bolts, but the T-nut is M10. D'oH!
Won't be hard to chase the holes so I'm not terribly bothered by it. Having to deepen the counterbores would be the trickiest part.

Still need to figure out something for the jaw end though. Below is what I have to work with. As shown, there's a locator pin that blocks it so I can't just drill through the jaw end also.

And, don't dog on my vise. It will serve my needs and then some. It's a Vevor that has good reviews and for the price of a single Kurt vise, I can buy a half dozen of these. And nobody would think to drill through a Kurt vise (Well, I probably would)

P.S. My cats are shedding something terrible these days. Don't mind the hair.

 

[Inferno]

Today I finally got the right bolts for the T-nuts. Under the bolts are washers to keep the bolts from digging into the cast iron when tightening.
It's not a big deal but here's how it looks on this end, completed.
Even with just these two bolts, this vise doesn't move at all.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

There's nothing wrong with that but do you have to square the rotary table if you remove it and put it back on?

Only the setting of the dial--the last couple of thou.
The base comes on 2 keys that are snug fits in the slots of the table.