PhaseII Vise - this can't be normal, right?

[tcweb]

I picked up this 5" mill vise - very solid. But I'm wondering if the jaws have been replaced or ground down, as the casting is NOT machined directly in front of the fixed jaw. See the pictures below. It makes it tricky if not impossible to use parallels. What am I missing? (or what did PhaseII miss?) Can I machine and surface grind an extension for the jaw? Should I just lay a parallel flat inside the jaws? (may not be possible for very small parts)

Anyone else own one of these for comparison?

Thanks,

-Tom

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Tom,

That would be normal for that vise ! If you really wanted, you could remove the fixed jaw and machine a slot across the bottom and then fit a block, secure it and face it down to match the bottom, then put the fixed jaw back in place.

 

[Chipper5783]

For some jobs you simply use thicker parallels. That is not structural, consider filling the slot with epoxy (JB Weld) and file / stone flat.

I assume you got the vise pretty cheap, so you may have a bit of adjustment or fixing to make it work for you. That is pretty normal with cheap stuff (most of us here on HM are probably doing that all the time - buy cheap because it is old, broken, pieces missing or a low end supplier - and fix it up for our application).

 

[Janderso]

For a milling vise that is a bit odd, I would think.

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Guys,

Not really ! Its not a precision vise. As I said earlier, it is common practice to remove the screwed on fixed jaw and mill across the bottom, just enough to create a rectangular slot, and then put a filler piece in. As Chipper said, JB weld could be used to fill that space just as well.

 

[tcweb]

Good ideas. Honestly, I thought it would be better than buying one of the Chinese "kurt clones" for $120. ( for which I've read nothing but bad things) I knew that Phase2 did make some decent quality Chinese tooling, so I thought it would work well on my enco mill. it's a damn heavy vise, and quality seems decent. It just boggles the mind that they wouldn't machine the bottom of the vise all the way to the fixed jaw.

I will see what I can do to level it. I'm always on the lookout for better tooling at a garage sale or auction, so maybe this one won't be my keeper.

-Tom

 

[Norseman C.B.]

That is common on import drill vices, but not so much milling vices.
Maybe that is a version of a precision drill vice..??

 

[tcweb]

It sure would make one hell of a drill press vise. Just damn heavy to move up to the press table if I need to use it. (I typically just end up using a palmgren as a workholder.)

 

[T Bredehoft]

Easiest fix, make a new fixed jaw that's thick enough to cover the groove.

 

[wlburton]

Easiest fix, make a new fixed jaw that's thick enough to cover the groove.

I just did that as part of a (successful) project to turn a $12 Harbor Freight drill press vise into a real drill press vise: flattened the bottom with a fly cutter to make it quit rocking (made more difficult by mystery metal chunks in the cast iron which had to be ground out), milled the bed for the movable jaw flat and parallel to the bottom, made a thicker fixed jaw to cover the gap (as mentioned above), adapted the handle to work with a speed handle I made for my mill vise, and milled out the slots for attaching it to the drill press table to accommodate 1/2" carriage bolts.