Mill Vise, How do I know when I need one?

Janderso

Jeff Anderson
H-M Platinum Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2018
Messages
8,357
I purchased a J head Bridgeport that came with a vise. It has lots of drill and machining marks but that’s ok.
I recently endured a massive slip while machining and buggered up my job. The screw seems smooth and locks up ok but how can you tell when there may be movement once it locks?
Dumb question?
If I buy a new vise this one will come in handy as a secondary holding devise. That brings up the other question.
Spending close to $1,000 on a $1,500 mill doesn’t make sense.
What are two leading Asian brands that work just fine?
Thank you.
 
I purchased a J head Bridgeport that came with a vise. It has lots of drill and machining marks but that’s ok.
I recently endured a massive slip while machining and buggered up my job. The screw seems smooth and locks up ok but how can you tell when there may be movement once it locks?
Dumb question?
If I buy a new vise this one will come in handy as a secondary holding devise. That brings up the other question.
Spending close to $1,000 on a $1,500 mill doesn’t make sense.
What are two leading Asian brands that work just fine?
Thank you.

i can't answer your question because i don't have asian mills or vices but to clarify for others are you asking about a mill or vise? you say mill
 
Post a picture of your current vise, lets see what you are dealing with.
Pock marks may or may not affect functionality.
 
Amazon carries a few China made vises that look OK, less than 200$
I'm partial to swiveling vises but some don't care for them
Mark
 
Is your vise tweeked do the jaws close evenly the length of them and square, did you tap the part down to the parallel’s
then tighten , is your vise Chinese ?. Decent ones come up around here on Craig’s list occasionally, nun today though.
 
Dumb question?

There's no such thing here!

You have a very legitimate question for anyone buying a used (or even new) vise.
It is actually a safety concern, especially as you start to push spindle rpms and depth of cuts.

I have not seen a "quick and dirty" field test that could be used to determine the "health" of a milling vise.
But I am "watching" this thread.

I have heard of people checking for gaps with paper between jaws, or even with a flashlight on one side and an eyeball on the other.

I could see trying to grip the end of a say 1-2' bar in the vise and trying to raise/lower the other end.....and trying the same test out the other side of the vise......but how much force should it hold? we don't want to damage the vise during testing.

Thanks for asking the question, it will be interesting to see the discussion.

-brino
 
This is a pic of the vise. I am at work, this is the best one I have right now. More if needed. I want a good vise, I assumed this was a good vise. Not pretty though.

bp vise.JPG
 
If it were mine, my first questions would be in regard to it's ability to perform the tasks needed. I've seen some pretty torn up vises that still do the required work admirably and that one doesn't look too bad from what I can see.
I'm no professional, but things I would try:
- clamp various objects and examine the movable jaw to see if it's clamping solidly without twisting or deforming, top to bottom and side to side.
- poke at the mating surface of vise and part with a feeler guage or shine a flashlight and see if you can observe a sliver of light coming through where the part and vise meet
- pull out a dial indicator and clamp a part, then measure along any/all faces of the movable jaw you can reach , then move the part a little in the vise, reclamp and remeasure looking for where it might be deflecting unacceptably; again, top to bottom and side to side.
- jiggle the movable jaw when it's loose to feel the play in the screw/nut along various sections of the screw to determine if one area of the screw is more heavily worn

A vise that meets my requirements might not meet yours. It's also possible that the part just needed better support in the vise to provide better contact/bearing surface. I've poorly clamped more than my fair share of parts and a shiny new vise won't hold any better in that regard than an old one.
 
That vise should be serviceable, kinda looks like my Kurt anglock 688 without the paint.
You may want to look up how to adjust the anglock, center hole in movable jaw,
if the jaw’s Are messed up you can get new ones
Also clean ALL chips out between jaws before clamping work
Lightly stone jaw faces with Arkansas fine stone if there are any nicks or scratches
Do you have the original handle for it about 10-12”
 
Last edited:
Make sure that your cutting forces are across the jaws, not parallel with the jaws. If necessary, turn the vise 90 degrees.
 
Back
Top