Small Vice

G

GRP

Registered
Registered
Hello All,
I have a small milling machine and no vice. :confused:
I also don't have a lot of money to buy one. I have been using angle plates, parallels, c-clamps and what not... It works, but I'd like to make my garage time more efficient.

My work gave me a gift card for the holidays and I was thinking of using it towards one of those small toolmakers vices you can buy at Shars.
Such as this one...

small vice.jpg

Most of what I make at home are small pieces, and anything bigger I suppose can be fixed to the table.

My question is if anyone has had any experiences with vices like this, good or bad.

I'm open to other suggestions as well, my budget is about $100-$120ish with shipping.

Thanks!
-Rick
 
Stefan Gotteswinter uses a similar vise on his mill.
The only comment I have is the holes in the sides will make holding it down more challenging than a vise with a slot for clamps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I used one of these vises for years. They are actually extremely accurate. There are ledges milled on the ends to put clamps on. I often had it rotated the long way along the X axis.
 
I used a vice like this for several years before moving to a Kurt. It worked well as long as the parts were not too big. Mine had a leadscrew and "Knob" to tighten so was easier to clamp than having to use the hex bolt.
 
Tio Loco said:
@DavidR8 I haven't really found that to be the case, these work very well.

littlemachineshop.com

Screwless Vise Clamps | Vise Accessories

Mount screwless vises onto your mill table. These height-adjustable clamps are designed for use with a 3" screwless vise and any screwless vise with holes 8mm or larger.
littlemachineshop.com littlemachineshop.com
Click to expand...

Thanks I didn’t know those existed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
That is the kind of vise I will be getting for my mill.
 
This style vise is more traditionally used on a surface grinder. They can be used on a mill, but there are some drawbacks. As mentioned in another thread it takes more time to set them up due to the fact that there are no built in anchors on the sides, or keys on the bottom for rough alignment. They are also limited as to the size of parts they can clamp.

Another limiting factor is the amount of holding pressure that can be applied to the part. The part holding mechanism consists of a socket head screw that extends through a rack on the bottom, anchored in a moveable dowel. In most cases the dowel is hardened, but not always.

Here's a link to a picture of the underside of a typical vise. In this case the pin apparently wasn't hardened sufficiently.

Stuart Beam machining | Annoying import screwless vise; the … | Flickr

To me a better choice would be one of this style. This one is only an example of what's available. There are many others of varying sizes.
 
Just a tip, Try to keep the pin with the screw thread almost directly under the moveable jaw. The mechanical advantage of the hex bolt is greatest when it is nearly vertical. This keeps the jaw from lifting and gives great clamping force.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top