Okay, to provide some context:

Going to be milling copper, would like around a 4" opening. Primarily working with a piece around 2.5" wide, to about 4" long.

Gonna be milling around the outside of the copper, as well as working within the piece.

Could anyone please suggest a somewhat feasible vise?

Thanks guys, appreciate it a lot :rainfro:
(Saw that in the smileys list, decided why not?!?)
Burn

Was conversing with Chris at Littlemachineshop.com, and he pointed me to this (http://www.littlemachineshop.com/1590)vise. He indicated that it was the most accurate one they carry, accurate down to 0.0002", and cheap at $50. Looks like I'll go with that one, if nobody objects.

Looks like a good vice for what you described. You can also drill a center hole and bolt the work piece to the table. You'd have to stop and reclamp when working the center portion though. The up side is this method is free. I usually place the material on a riser pad of some sort if I need to mill the entire thickness. I use a set of aluminum finger clamps to hold most of my work.

That is a grinding vise, and was designed to hold precision parts square and accurate for grinding on two sides, by laying the vise on one side allows you to grind the top and one side perpendicular to the stationary jaw!

These vises do not supply sufficient clamping pressure for milling with endmills greater than 1/4-3/8" diameter! If you plan on using it for milling, I would suggest you go to ACE Hardware and buy or order extra screws for closing the vise jaw, as you will be putting excessive torque pressure on the one screw! It will wear out fast, as will your hex wrench!

A professional Kurt 6" Mill vise will clamp with a pressure of one ton! The upward spiral of the endmill will pull itself out of a collet, or pull a part out of a vise when cutting! This can scrap parts and cutters!

Eric

That is a grinding vise, and was designed to hold precision parts square and accurate for grinding on two sides, by laying the vise on one side allows you to grind the top and one side perpendicular to the stationary jaw!

These vises do not supply sufficient clamping pressure for milling with endmills greater than 1/4-3/8" diameter! If you plan on using it for milling, I would suggest you go to ACE Hardware and buy or order extra screws for closing the vise jaw, as you will be putting excessive torque pressure on the one screw! It will wear out fast, as will your hex wrench!

A professional Kurt 6" Mill vise will clamp with a pressure of one ton! The upward spiral of the endmill will pull itself out of a collet, or pull a part out of a vise when cutting! This can scrap parts and cutters!

Eric

Thanks guys for the advice. Eric, I will be using a 3/8" endmill at the absolute maximum, more like a 1/4" or a 3/16". Do you think that the vise would still be able to hold up under those conditions? I can't order a huge 6" Kurt vise because the Taig wouldn't have much movement in the Y if I did that.

I would suggest you go to eBay and search for "Palmgren", as they make a variety of heavy duty cast iron & steel vises with smaller footprints for your machine!

The grinding vise is a good vise, just don't push the feedrate and depth to the limit! In time you will learn it's limitations!

Eric

Okay, massive thread resurrection :p

Eric, I am looking to spend at max around $100 on a vise. To repeat my requirements/requests/specs:

-3/8" endmill maximum diameter
- 4" opening
- Milling copper

Any links or suggestions would be really appreciated. I wouldn't like to buy a crappy vise and have to spend more money to get the proper one down the road.

Go to either Google oe eBay and search for: 4" mill vise, you will have a lot of choices!

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-X-4-1-8-ANGLE-LOCK-MILL-VISE-SAME-KURT-NEW_W0QQitemZ290095007911QQcategoryZ25297QQcmdZViewItem#ShippingPayment
With shipping, this would come out to be around $100.

Any good?

http://cgi.ebay.com/4X-4-1-8-MILLING-MACHINE-ANGLOCK-VISE-SWIVEL-HARDENED_W0QQitemZ330087065451QQcategoryZ25297QQcmdZViewItem

While looking through their other items, I noticed this warning:

"THIS IS NOT A KURT BRAND, BUT THE GRADUATION AND SIZE ARE THE SAME AS KURT AND ONLY 1/3 THE PRICE!!"

? Is this to be trusted?

I think I found my vise- http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=890-8799&PMPXNO=3463243&PARTPG=INLMK32

Although it's 120 plus shipping, it's a Palmgren 4" vise, model #MVS40. Normally, it retails for 166 but Enco has it for ~120 before shipping. If I can get some confirmation from someone who is knowledgeable about these products, I will press the order button now.

Edit- Here is the link to Palmgren's site. Note the manufacturer numbers are the same on both the Enco and Palmgren pages.
http://www.palmgren.com/p-mt-standardmillingvises.html

I would thing the Kurt Clone to be a better type vise as it uses angle -lock technology!

Surf eBay for a used one, without the swivel base, much cheaper!

Eric

Really? I would have thought the "real" Palmgren model to be the better buy.

Can't find any without the swivel base :\

The Palmgren is a good vise, but the movable jaws have a tendency to make the parts pop up, that's the advantage of the Angle-lock technology! It forces the movable jaw downward, keeping the part parallel to the base!
Also, the palmgren is longer and the Taig has a limeted table space!

Eric

Ah, I see. So the Kurt clone is the better choice? Do you know if the swivel base is removable on the clone, or does it appear to be? If so, I'll just remove the swivel base and bolt it straight down.

http://cgi.ebay.com/KURT-ANGLOCK-6-MILLING-MACHINE-VISE-MODEL-D675-MILL_W0QQitemZ260096566024QQcategoryZ25297QQcmdZViewItem

Would that Kurt vise bolt up? I can bolt it on sideways and use it that way if need be, so that I maintain clearances. The auction ends in a few days, and I live an hour away from the seller so I could save big-time on shipping fees.

I would buy it at that price, you could always sell it again for 400.00

The swivels are optional

They bolt or strap down very easily

I am expecting this to go up in price, but this one is new.
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Kurt-6-D675-Anglelock-Vise-w-Ironclad_W0QQitemZ150103569248QQcategoryZ25297QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Same model, only new, and it has 3 days left. You're sure it will bolt down without a tooling plate?

Quick bump- 2 days left on that auction.

Okay, I am ditching the D675- I have heard from many people it is way too big.

Was looking at LMS to see if they had anything, and I came across these two vises. Can anyone recommend either over the other?
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/info/vise_compare.php
^Comparison page

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1904
Vise, 3" Precision Milling, Phase II

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1699
Vise, 3" Precision Milling, Heavy

Anyone wanna take a go?

Make sure the vise isn't too big. and you are able to actually mount it on your table and still have a working Z height do you need the swivel base?
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=299&PARTPG=INLMK32
Enco shows 8 4" wide jaw models. And they have free shipping on orders over $50
from this thread http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18179&page=4
Here is the promo code for order over $50 for free UPS shipping untill 3/29/07
code FV71PR
http://www.use-enco.com/
Enjoy
Cutmore

Have a look at http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INLMKD&PMPXNO=951597&PMAKA=425-7240
The thing is, you need a good feel for how big and heavy these things actually are. I went with the first vise you showed (only from Enco to save shipping) and am thinking the one above would have been better ... but as I haven't really milling anything yet, time will tell.


FWIW,
Jay

After much annoying of representatives and the forum members, I decided to go with this 3" screwless vise: http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1590

don't forget the $20 hold down clamps you'll need

Absolutely, I added those as well :D Thanks!

Burn,

As I understand it, you have a Taig milling machine, and are looking for a good vise to use with that machine.

The first vise you mentioned, a 3" precision milling vise, is perfect for your uses. I have that same vise, which opens to just under 4", and have used it for years on a small milling machine. It works, it's surprisingly accurate for a Chinese import, and is, like most Chinese stuff, inexpensive. It's not my only vise, but it gets used almost all the time.

The screw is angled such that it it pulls the workpiece down and tight to the fixed jaw, both at the same time, just like big, expensive Kurt vises do. And it also is the right size for your mill.

The only drawback to that vise is that you will have to make your own hold down clamps for it. Once they're made, however, I think you'll like the vise. I certainly do.

You could certainly get something bigger, stronger, more expensive............. but why would you, when you're only using it on a small, lightweight, hobby mill?

For good advice on the appropriate tooling for your mill, why don't you just go to the websites that concern Taig and Sherline mills and lathes. And Chris at Little Machine Shop.com is also an excellent resource for the size and type of machine you have.

Eric

Absolutely- I have consulted with Chris at LMS countless times over what vise and other such tooling to get, and he has been an invaluable resource. Nick at Cartertools.com has also been willing to answer my newbie questions as well :D

I originally intended to get a Kurt-style mill, just for the sheer size and the Anglok technology in it, so that the piece wouldn't move under milling loads. However, when both of these guys beat some sense into me, I went for the screwless vise :D