Vises on a Taig Bed

[5artist5]

What size and type of vise do you use with your Taig CNC setup?

I have been looking at the
3 x 3.200" Lock Down Precision Milling Machine Vise with Swivel Base like this


and also some of the Vises called Toolmaker Vises like this


I wonder if the first type is too heavy for the Taig to throw around all the time?

I am mostly milling aluminum.

What kind do YOU use?

[Hirudin]

I have the 4" toolmakers vise from Shars on my Taig. To me it looks to be very high quality. Moving the nut and screw from one notch to another is sometimes a PITA though.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but that swivel base vise looks too big.

Some stuff to consider before buying a vise...
If the 3D model of the Taig on CarterTools.com is accurate (I think it's pretty close) there is only 4.33" from the center of the spindle to the Z ways. So anything tall enough to hit the Z ways (~1.5" or more) will only have ~4.33" of Y travel. Anything tall enough to hit the Z screw (~3" on my machine) will only have ~3.66" of Y travel.

The fixed jaw on my vise is 2.75" tall. This means the fixed jaw will hit the Z ways. The fixed jaw is also 1.25" thick. This means I lose that from my Y axis travel if it is mounted perpendicular to the table. So, with the vise mounted perpendicular to the table I am left with a maximum of ~3.08" of Y travel.

If you buy the Taig spindle spacer...

part number 1251 from Cartertools you can get an additional 1" of Y travel.

If you believe the dimensions on the Shars website the 5" toolmakers vise is actually shorter than the 4" vise. If I were buying a vise today I would probable get that one even though it's $13 more.

[5artist5]

Interesting points you make. Thanks for the heads up.

[ALpmc]

This is what I'm doing. Low profile vise for a Taig CNC mill.

Great idea! The only thing I'm changing is I will not slot the second jaw, it should square better without them.

[doanwannapickle]

Here's my setup. I use a subplate with dowel pins to locate one or two vices on the table. This way, they are always in a known location in relation to my home switches. I usually run the pair of 2" vises since they make it easy to use off the shelf parallels and easily hold long workpieces. By switching back and forth between vises, it helps to spread out the table wear.

I also have a 3" vise that mounts longitudinally on the table for larger workpieces.

Cheers,
Walt