Looking for some perspective

[jwmay]

Well I’d call this thread a success. Any future buyers should be able to find it in the ether and see the dramatic difference between a 4” and 6” vise on a round column mill. It’s exactly what I needed anyway. If anyone has a 3 or 5 inch vise on a 28x8 table, and cares to contribute a picture or two, I’m sure any future machine tool hobbyists with a need to “see for themselves” would very much appreciate your efforts. And there’s also that warm fuzzy feeling you’ll get from helping someone out to consider.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.

 

[TomS]

Another consideration when positioning your vise is establishing your Y axis center of travel. On my PM-932 (9 x 32 table) CNC the center of Y travel is the forward edge (towards the operator) of the middle "T" slot. Ideally you want the cutter to be in the center of your stock with the table at the center of Y axis travel. This becomes more important as the Y axis width/depth of your part increases. A larger vise gives less flexibility you have in positioning it on the table.

I have 4" and 5" vises with no swivel bases. The 5" is about the right size for the PM-932 but is a bit too big for my RF-30. Again, this is based on the physical size of the part I'm machining. The 4" vises works on both mills but I'm limited on the size of material I can hold.

This is my perspective and how I go about setting up my vises. Your needs may be different than mine. I hope this is helpful information.

 

[Z2V]

I have a 6” vise on my 8 x 30, the DRO cost me 1” of Y travel and the vise cost another 1/2” . Some day I would like to add a 4” vise but there are many tools higher up the want list.

 

[RJSakowski]

My Tormach 770 has an 8 x 26 table and I use a Grizzly 4" vise in the the middle slot on the table. I do not use the swivel base. In that configuration, I don't impact my Y axis travel. The fixed jaw is far enough forward that I can use and edge finder to locate the back edge of work mounted in the vise.

The two bottom keys can be moved so the jaws are parallel to the y axis instead of the x axis. Should I need a special position for a piece of work, I can remove the two keys and use toe clamps for securing but I haven't run into that need yet.