New Charter Oak/IH 12Z mill..vise size question

mrnormal

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Hi..
I just took delivery of a new Charter Oak/Industrial Hobbies 12Z mill..
I have a question regarding what size vise to use...The table size is 39.5" x 9.375" which is almost the size of a small Bridgeport table. I want to go for the 6" angle lok style vise, but I'm wondering if the smaller 5" might be better for this mill....
any opinions on either size?
This is the machine...

http://charteroakautomation.com/wp-...rter-Oak-Manual-Bed-Mill-Product-Overview.pdf
 
This is an entirely personal preference. I've seen huge vises on small machines and vise versa.

I too am getting a Charter Oak mill and I will be putting a 5" vise on mine.

Bill
 
This is an entirely personal preference. I've seen huge vises on small machines and vise versa.

I too am getting a Charter Oak mill and I will be putting a 5" vise on mine.

Bill

Thanks..
Good to hear you're getting the same mill.
I guess my concern was the extra pounds of weight of a 6" vise on the table when the table is near full out and the vise is off the saddle.........
The 5" might be the better way to go on this machine.
 
Your mill table is spec'd to hold 500 lbs. But I'm sure that number is derived with load centered on the table and the table centered on the saddle. :)

For me, I typically mill fairly small stuff and if I need to hold something bigger than will fit in a 5" vise it will be clamped down to the table.

Bill
 
The lighter vise will not wear out your table's ways as soon as a 6". Does your mill have an oiling mechanism you can pump? I always give my bridgeport 5 pumps of oil before moving the table. At 5 pumps,the oil starts oozing out from under the table. Then,I know it is lubricated.
 
Describe the setup and machining job where you would fixture your vice on the edge of the table then move it way off the saddle like that. I have thrown a 6" Kurt vice on a lesser Rong Fu and it was perfectly fine.
 
I just took delivery of a new Charter Oak/Industrial Hobbies 12Z mill....
pictures or it didn't happen... :D

congrats.

I have a Tormach 1100, which has a very similar table size (9.5x34). I went with the Tormach 5" vise. Originally I was going to get a Glacern 5", or maybe a Kurt D-50 if I could find one, but ended up with the Tormach because it was slightly more compact than either of those two choices (in the Y direction), which meant less hanging off the table.

It is also built in the US (like Kurt); very nicely made, and much easier to move around than a Kurt D688, since it is significantly lighter. Easier for day-to-day use.

They are made by Conquest (Conquest mini mag), and are available from Penn Tool as well. If you order from Santa Cruz electronics, you can get a better shipping rate than Penn Tool or Tormach.

http://www.conquestind.com/mini_mag.php
http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/products/products.cfm?categoryID=5876

The down side is that they are a lower volume item than Kurt D688, so you are less likely to find a good deal.

machinevise-big.jpg

machinevise-big.jpg
 
I have a 9x35 table and personally I like a 5" vise for that size table.
 
The lighter vise will not wear out your table's ways as soon as a 6". Does your mill have an oiling mechanism you can pump? I always give my bridgeport 5 pumps of oil before moving the table. At 5 pumps,the oil starts oozing out from under the table. Then,I know it is lubricated.

The one-shot oiling system is an upgrade on the CO manual machines. I will be getting that as soon as I can afford it. One of the many things I miss about not having a BP or clone. :)
 
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