Why can't I do this to gain a length advantage?

[dabear3428]

I think that won't work for me since my bed is too far away from my milling head. I'd surely be at or near my limits on how far down I'd be lowering my cutter. That beefy vise helps to bring the workpiece up much closer to the cutter so one doesn't need to sacrifice the relative instability of the retractable milling head. Good plan though for different circumstances, thanks!

nothin says you have to put it on the table by itself put some 1x2x3 blocks under it and raise it up before clamping it.
also if you are not that concerned with accuracy then extending the quill and locking it is ok, not preferred but better than repositioning it several times. to answer your original question there is not anything wrong with adding jaw extensions, but it is a lot of work to do right.

 

[Chipper5783]

To Angelasdad question, yes make some long jaws. Custom jaws are totally a thing.

Another option is to line up several vises, with the jaws dialled into the same Y-axis position (or clamp a long bar before securing the vises). In the attached I have several custom jaws in play for different operations, you can use the same image to appreciate using more than one vise to hold a longer part.

 

[AngelasDad]

Chazz, as they used to say in the early 70s, Right On! Thx

 

[ChazzC]

Chazz, as they used to say in the early 70s, Right On! Thx

No problem, always happy to help. I used this material to make taller/slightly longer jaws for my 3” vise; they normally live on the ends of the vise:



Charlie