Mill Hold Down Step Block Set

[stevemetsch]

I bought a TECO set at a local Ind Supply. USA made. Excellent fit and finish. Flimsy holder. Buy USA and local if you can.

 

[4GSR]

Still have the same TECO set dad bought back in 1979. The basic set is still there. It has been added to over the years with odds and ends.

 

[M1200AK]

Te-co is about the best, but nowhere in the same ball park as $50. Gibraltar makes very nice hold down sets, still nowhere near $50, but way less than Te-co.
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=730

Does anyone know if the TE-CO clamping kits are made in the United States?

Based on just the much higher price of their clamping kits it would seem so, but looking at their website I can't find any references to any of their products being made here in the states.

 

[Bob Korves]

I don't know if TE-CO clamp kits are US made. They are very high quality. So are the Gibraltar kits, and they are world sourced. Quality goes down fast with imports priced below those two brands, but they still are quite usable with a bit of chasing threads, etc., and they are not reported to hold up as well to heavy usage. This is not all first hand knowledge, I am repeating some of what I have read and been told...

 

[coolidge]

By the way Teco makes a vise hold down kit that includes 2 short studs, T nuts, washer, and nut to clamp down your vise, this frees up the short studs from your main Teco hold down set. $15.65 on sale at Enco.

 

[M1200AK]

By the way Teco makes a vise hold down kit that includes 2 short studs, T nuts, washer, and nut to clamp down your vise, this frees up the short studs from your main Teco hold down set. $15.65 on sale at Enco.

I just recently ordered one of the scratch & dent vises from KURT and didn't realize at the time that they didn't come with mounting hardware, I'll just throw that on my next Enco order.

I actually haven't even seen my new vise that's arrived at my house, I've been out of town on a job assignment, so I'll be looking forward to getting back home to take a look at it and other accessories that I've purchased separately via Enco while I've been on this trip. Heck, I still need to go pick up my new mill after I get home too.

 

[catoctin]

I bought the Gibraltar set from Enco a year ago with no regrets. It is hard to believe that a manufacturer could screw up something as simple as hold downs. Not exactly rocket science.

 

[Charles Spencer]

I highly recommend using a thread chaser on the studs and run a tap through the nuts. I do that to mine all the time just to clean the chips out of the threads. They work much better.

I also bought a cheap import set - Shars, I think - and did the same as Jim. They were more than adequate for the size work I tend to do. Later as part of a tooling lot purchase I got some very nice ones that were made in Dayton, Ohio. They do look a lot nicer. However, unlike the difference between many import and USA tools, the functionality is pretty much the same.

Maybe if the work I did was heavy duty I'd have a different opinion. But based on performance up to this point, it would have to be much larger work to require just the made in USA ones.

 

[george wilson]

I got a Teco set from ENCO years ago on sale for $50.00!!!! That was a lot cheaper than Fastenal,who had the SAME exact set for $250.00!!

The Teco is great. Hardened enough that the threads don't get distorted.

 

[chips&more]

I have been using a Bridgeport set for about the last 40 years. Can’t recall how I got it and I know I did not pay a Bridgeport price for it. I also do not know if Bridgeport actually made and or still makes the set? I would keep an eye out on say eBay for a Bridgeport set. Make sure that is all genuine pieces and not a hodgepodge. The proper size “T” nut is important. If it does not fit correctly, you can mess up the slot in the table when applying the hold down force to the T nut. And trying to repair the slot in the table is not fun, I know. I have seen many second hand mills with distorted slots from improper care/use…Good Luck, Dave.