Milling Vise Alignment In 13 Seconds

If you remove your vice a lot like I do, do as follows.
1. Mount an angle plate on your mill parallel to to x axis.
2. Flip your vice over and clamp it on the angle plate.
3. Put a jack under the "long" side to support the weight.
4. Indicate the vice in the Y axis to .000 +/- .001. Use the jack for this.
5. Mill a slot aprox. .050 deep, centered on your "bolt down ears". Cut the slot WIDER than your T-slot. I.E. 3/4 slot for a 5/8 T-slot ect.
6. Now get a piece of 3/4 key stock, screw this down into your new slot. (Drill and tap ect.)
7. Use some gauge blocks and measure your T-slot in your table.
8. Mill your key on both sides to this dimension, staying .001 off the bottom of your vice.
9. Remove set up and install vice.
10. Install new soft jaws and machine them in place.
11. BAM! Perfection every time you remove and install your vice.

P.S. match mark the key to the vice so it can be removed and reinstalled.
 
I'm in, I'll give her hell tomorrow and see what 20,40 and 60' do on my tired eyeballs.
 
Regarding your avatar, we need a larger picture of your shop you may be the new king of clean!

Dude, Sometimes I feel like a janitor. Most the time I pick up and always sweep at the end of the day and use this time to enjoy quality music drink a cold beverage and ensure nothing is smoldering (fire watch). About the time I finish sweeping, my German "Shedders" come to visit and coats the floor with "love". Hahaha, Its true!
 
John Stevenson has posted a mill vise alignment bracket that locates off of the front of the base casting on a Bridgeport, it may be faster, little bit harder to make.
 
If you remove your vice a lot like I do, do as follows.
1. Mount an angle plate on your mill parallel to to x axis.
2. Flip your vice over and clamp it on the angle plate.
3. Put a jack under the "long" side to support the weight.
4. Indicate the vice in the Y axis to .000 +/- .001. Use the jack for this.
5. Mill a slot aprox. .050 deep, centered on your "bolt down ears". Cut the slot WIDER than your T-slot. I.E. 3/4 slot for a 5/8 T-slot ect.
6. Now get a piece of 3/4 key stock, screw this down into your new slot. (Drill and tap ect.)
7. Use some gauge blocks and measure your T-slot in your table.
8. Mill your key on both sides to this dimension, staying .001 off the bottom of your vice.
9. Remove set up and install vice.
10. Install new soft jaws and machine them in place.
11. BAM! Perfection every time you remove and install your vice.

P.S. match mark the key to the vice so it can be removed and reinstalled.
Randy has the right idea. My probably 50 year old Bridgeport vise came to me with accurate keyways and screw holes machined in both directions into the bottom of the vise. Most machine vises have them. The slots just needed to be lightly stoned for any burs. The mill table slots are also kept bur free by lightly stoning. I made keys carefully that fit both the vise and table slots with nice snug fits. Now when I just set the vise on the table and let the keys fall into the t-slots the vise never trams at more than .001" in 6". Getting is zeroed really close is easy when it it already trapped so closely. After a few times mounting it, I know I can put it on the table, let the keys fall into the t-slots, bump the vise once in the direction I know aligns it best, lock it down, and it will test within a few tenths over 6", every time. Trying to tram a vise placed loosely on the table is a major PITA, relatively. A little effort setting your vise up now saves lots of work down the road...
 
A bit off subject here, but many people leave their vises on the mill when it would be much smarter to take it off and mount the work to the table or use some other setup. They build wonky setups that are not rigid and present the work to the cutter poorly, all because they find it a major job to remove, install, and tram the vise. If you make some aids for easily removing, installing, and tramming your vise you will be much more likely to do it more often. You also gain a fair amount of additional Z headroom when you mount to the table or fixture plates. Always using the vise tends to limit your thinking to a few inches of real estate when you have a big table that never gets used or even considered. I also mount my vise to one side of the table so most of the table remains available for alternative setups with the vise in place but unused.
 
On youtube, one smart fellow used a laser and a mirror on the opposite wall to align his round column mill/drill.
 
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