Advant./disadvant. Of Milling Vice

[FLUTE HEAD]

I'm in the market for milling vice and am wondering what is the advantages or disadvantages of a toolmakers vice verses a machinist vise for milling? Somewhere around 100.00 on the high end. Just can't afford kurt. Maybe a 4" or so.heres the one I'm looking at

[HuFlungDung]

Check ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...840550285&rd=1
You've got 5 minutes

[Bloy2004]

Originally Posted by HuFlungDung Check ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...840550285&rd=1 You've got 5 minutes

Hi,
I got one of those in the 5" size. It has precise jaws and very sharp edges....I ran my finger along them to clean the surfaces for clamping and it sliced it like a knife (and that is 90 degree angle). It's a great vise for the cost.

[ESjaavik]

Originally Posted by HuFlungDung Check ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...840550285&rd=1 You've got 5 minutes First you get good, then you get fast.

Well, looks like he's working on the getting good part. He was not fast enough.
The vice went unsold, so maybe he is good enough to evaluate the quality.

[FLUTE HEAD]

Does this type of vise, clamp parallel or want to push up on the part? It looks like it clamps with a downward force. Bloy, I didn't see a 5-inch was it this same site?

[Bloy2004]

This vice clamps with a downward pressure (desirable) or at the least straight forward. THere is NO upward push when tightening.
I got mine (which is the same as the picture) from ENCO (model 425-7251)while on sale. I think the total with shipping at the time was $99. I'm real happy with it. I tell you though, it is a beast but managable. The mass adds to stablizing the cutting action. Since my mill table has only two slots, I mount it with one t-bolt in each slot and square it to the axis, mark the new location on the vernier and go from there for a rough location of any angle I might need.

The top has keys to mount in the T-slots if taken off the swivel, but they are 5/8" where my table has 1/2" slots. I don't need this, but I may mill down the keys to fit. I think I will need an extended auxillary table to mount between the vise and mill table to do this properly.

The other day I had the vise reversed (jaw screw wrench on back side) to keep the part moving over the table center on the ways during cutting to keep weight distribution balanced.

It also helps control coolant run-off with the channel system built into the casting.

The only part I didn't like is the collar that takes the reverse pressure when tightening. The "seat" could have been machined a little smoother as when you loosely crank in the jaws you can feel the surfaces of the collar and casting rubbing rather unsmoothly. But this dosen't affect the jaws and slides. They are close and well machined.

[DareBee]

That vise is meant for precision holding and is supposed to run perfectly true (no downforce).
Personally I only use something like that for surface grinding or delicate/complicated setups. IMHO that is not a "milling" duty vise, but an inexpensive small mill vise will run you $150.

[BT1]

A toolmaker's vice is quite handy, there is an assumption made quite often that these are purely for grinding. I disagree in the sense that these are also quite good for milling. Though i would only use this milling wise for non-heavy duty cuts...

[DareBee]

I didnt mean for my post to be taken as a 100% con.
My sentiments are as you have posted BT1.

[FLUTE HEAD]

How about positioning the vise. I found the one I would like to buy from ENCO. The only thing is that I won't be needing the swivel base for cnc. Being that there is a set distance between the t-solts on the milling table on my mill, should I get a vice that will fit in both the x and y directions on the table? I guess what im trying to say is that I know that the bolt holes in the vise will fit in the parallel to x position. Is it necessary to have the holes to table slots also align in the parallel to y position?(being that I could just use the clamping set to hold down in this position). But is it necessary to have vise positioned with bolt holes parallel to y axis at all? It would seem like most operations could be done in one position.