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

[tcweb]

I took some advice above, and milled the vise casting down, so I can at least use a parallel for smaller parts. (pics attached)
If I look at pressing in some steel and milling it down to be level with the ways, any suggestions on material and/or how to attach? Press fit? Drill and tap? I can take it to my friends shop and surface grind it to try to get it close to even with the ways. Waste of time?



-Tom

 

[tcweb]

Tom, what about a 5" Glacern? They have a very good reputation and they are ready to go, out of the box. No surface grinding to get stuff square and flat, no casting defects, etc. Have a look - $369.00 with free shipping:

https://www.glacern.com/gsv_550

I'll check out the Glacern. I'd almost rather find a beat up Bridgeport or Kurt 6", but those are getting harder to find these days.

-Tom

 

[Cadillac]

I'll check out the Glacern. I'd almost rather find a beat up Bridgeport or Kurt 6", but those are getting harder to find these days.

-Tom

Chicago CL has probably ten of them under those prices.

 

[COMachinist]

Hi Tom
Plus 1 for the Glacern 550, I have one and bought it during one of the frequent sales. So got mine for even less which is a smoking deal any ways. If that is still to steep for your buget, you can try one of or dealers and supporters Matt, at Precion Mathews, I bought one of his mill vises for my drill press which is the Jet 20”, I use it as a second vice on my mill when I want to do multiple operations with out changing setups. It isn’t a Kurt or a Glacern, but is usable and is in you price range I think. The problem with that vise you have is rigidity when camping it flexes in the base and the jaws, which is less than ideal for presion work even on a small mill. By milling out the fixed jaw slot and installing a block it increase the fixed jaw distortion, making things worse.
Good luck
CH

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Tom,

Nice job milling out that slot ! Now the ideal material to fill it would be cast iron, and a useful source would be a welding shop for a piece of cast iron filler. Failing that a piece of mild steel bar. It wants to be a good fit without being too tight, then use loctite or super glue to secure it in place.
Once that is done grind or mill the top to match the surface.

If you can, ditch the swivel base, that is what I would do anyway. Make sure that the underside is clean and flat, remove any burrs, make sure that it doesn't rock. Then you can square up the fixed jaw. There are some other things that you could do as well to improve it even further. But at this point your vise will be much better than it was.

 

[tcweb]

BaronJ, thanks for the words of encouragement. I can certainly get mild steel bar stock. I have had many tell me to ditch the swivel base. I really don't use it much anyway, so not a big loss.

Would having my local machine shop buddies tac weld the filler strip to the vise be advisable? (not full on weld - I realize cast iron is a PITA to weld)

Just want to be sure it's in there good and tight, so I don't create a projectile when I cut it down to be the same height as the ways....

-Tom

 

[BaronJ]

Good Morning Tom, its 09:15 am here,

I would not weld anything ! If you make the bar a good fit, no need to press it in,other than with your fingers. The idea is to leave a microscopic gap for the loctite/super glue to bond in. Once it has set, as long as you don't let it get hot, it won't come out. Apply the loctite to both sides and the bottom of the groove. When you have pressed the bar in, wipe any excess away with a cloth. The issue with welding is that you may introduce cracking down the sharp edges of the groove, and this is the last thing you want to happen.

Grinding should be relatively cool and should get you within fractions of a thou of the main surface.

Without measuring the squareness of the fixed jaw once you have replaced it, you don't know if it needs work doing to it. If the vise has a flat rear surface, you could stand it on end and measure how flat and square it is. This would then become the reference surface for making sure that the rear jaw is true. Again you must remove any burrs so that it stands without rocking. Use a square to see how far off square the base and rear face are.

 

[tcweb]

Currently the slot I milled is at maximum .100" (2.5mm). I'm guessing it's less. I'll try to measure it today.
No worries about introducing stress into the steel when I mill it down to a profile that thin? I've seen steel that thin curl up when milled.

-Tom

edit: I guess I should say "releasing stress that was introduced when the steel was rolled or formed"

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Tom,

I didn't realise that the slot was so narrow ! I that case forget putting a piece in, just make a new fixed jaw 2.5 mm thicker with a lip to drop into the slot.

Or do you mean it is 2.5 mm deep and a lot wider ? In that case cut a strip from a bit of plate and hope it stays flat. Though I've used gauge plate to get thin sections without any warping. Yes I've had pieces of rolled bar curl like a banana the instant you release the vise.

Just shows how deceptive a picture can be. That slot looks to have an almost square section.

 

[tcweb]

So the width of the slot is about 5/16". The depth is about .100.

I can mill a small piece of stock to the correct width, get a tight fit, and Loctite it in place. I'm just concerned that when I mill it flush (and eventually grind it flat) that the thin steel may curl. I'm no expert on stress relieving steel, so I thought I'd bring it up to see if anyone had a suggestion.