Milling Rite

[Larry$]

That's smart. I think I can envision it, but shoot me a picture of it if you get a chance.

Look @ the bottom of your vice. I suspect it already has accurately machined slots & tapped holes to hold the keys. (I think I can see the end of one near the handle.) The easy way to get a very accurate measurement of the vice and table slots is with your gage blocks. You will likely need to make the keys stepped to fit both the vice & the mill table. Make them as one long piece, drill & counter bore for the retaining screws. Do a slight chamfer all around so they easily align with the slots. (the slots in the vice may not be perfectly square cornered!) Cut in to two pieces. If they are a bit tight use an abrasive/diamond stone to make them fit.
About the bottom of your vice. First look see if there are any dings producing high spots. If you have a surface plate, blue it up and gently set the vice on. Give it just a bit of a twist and lift straight up. High spots will have the blue transfer. Ideally you would do the same to the bed side after removing the jaws.

I'm guessing you don't have a surface grinder. That would be the best way to true the vice surfaces parallel. But not all is lost. There are labor intensive, back woods ways to get there. The method you chose will be based on how hard the surfaces are. Silicon carbide wet/dry paper wet it so the surface tension will hold it flat on your surface plate. Rub then turn the vice until it shows a mostly even pattern. The top gets the same treatment but checking to be sure it is parallel to the bottom. Discouraging note: It will be a lot of work if there is much deviation and you need a really good reference surface (Surface plate.) An easy out would be to just grind down the high spots with a coarse diamond hone in a tub of water. But it doesn't necessarily make the top & bottom parallel.

And last, put a limit on how much time you are willing to put into it. Live with what it is and get some use/ practice out of the mill. When you become rich and famous buy a new Kurt ($600+!!!)

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Look @ the bottom of your vice. I suspect it already has accurately machined slots & tapped holes to hold the keys. (I think I can see the end of one near the handle.)

You're correct; there's a set in both directions. Hadn't really paid attention to that, thus far; shows how much I know...

The easy way to get a very accurate measurement of the vice and table slots is with your gage blocks.

... I'll just quietly add those to the list of things to get...

You will likely need to make the keys stepped to fit both the vice & the mill table. Make them as one long piece, drill & counter bore for the retaining screws. Do a slight chamfer all around so they easily align with the slots. (the slots in the vice may not be perfectly square cornered!) Cut in to two pieces. If they are a bit tight use an abrasive/diamond stone to make them fit.

I think I'm following, there; I'll have to take the vise loose to measure the pair that I'd be using, but yeah...that would address the twisting issue entirely.

About the bottom of your vice. First look see if there are any dings producing high spots.

I didn't see anything on first inspection, but I should take a closer look.

If you have a surface plate, blue it up and gently set the vice on.

...and that's something else I need, but which was at least already on my list. The biggest reason that I don't have one is because I haven't had a place to put one thus far, but during my last reorganization of the garage I created a space that could accept a small one, and which is somewhat protected; hopefully, it thusly won't become a table.

The second-biggest reason that I don't have one is that I don't exactly know what to get. As a reference surface, it seems like every bit of accuracy and/or precision within the shop must come from said surface, so its tolerance is the baseline tolerance for the rest of the shop...but that honestly doesn't tell me much. On top of that: I'm not experienced enough with machining to know what would be most useful to me. So, I've been stuck in decision paralysis about it.

Give it just a bit of a twist and lift straight up. High spots will have the blue transfer. Ideally you would do the same to the bed side after removing the jaws.

Makes sense.

I'm guessing you don't have a surface grinder. That would be the best way to true the vice surfaces parallel.

Correct. Those are cool machines but I just don't have space for one; I have to consider every inch, and carefully.

But not all is lost. There are labor intensive, back woods ways to get there. The method you chose will be based on how hard the surfaces are. Silicon carbide wet/dry paper wet it so the surface tension will hold it flat on your surface plate. Rub then turn the vice until it shows a mostly even pattern. The top gets the same treatment but checking to be sure it is parallel to the bottom. Discouraging note: It will be a lot of work if there is much deviation and you need a really good reference surface (Surface plate.) An easy out would be to just grind down the high spots with a coarse diamond hone in a tub of water. But it doesn't necessarily make the top & bottom parallel.

Not a bad set of options.

And last, put a limit on how much time you are willing to put into it. Live with what it is and get some use/ practice out of the mill. When you become rich and famous buy a new Kurt ($600+!!!)

Solid point...and beyond that is simply my capacity to work; until I get to the point where very small and fine differences actually make a difference, the extra effort may not be noticable.

 

[Larry$]

The second-biggest reason that I don't have one is that I don't exactly know what to get.

I have an 18 x 24 x 3" B grade (0.00015") 180#s from Shars, about $150, now. You can get an A grade with clamping ledges,170#s, 0.000075, about $160. A better deal?? I bought the steel stand along with it. 80#s about $200 now. Check shipping costs! These are from their catalog. Their eBay store is normally cheaper. The stand is designed for the recommended 3 point support. On this size plate I don't know how much warp a 3" slab of granite laying on a bench could have, not much I suspect.
I keep the plate covered with a cloth pad and then a sheet of melamine board to protect it. Before each use I do a quick cleaning. You will need some bluing and a brayer. I've got a 12" height gage to scribe my layout lines on the work parts, using the surface plate. A 6 or 8" would have been better for my use. I use the plate less now that I've got a DRO on the mill. Doing all the layout before I start reduces stupid errors though.