Advise, on a vise for mini mill.

F

fangtinge

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Oct 24, 2015
Messages
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I've decided on getting an LMS mini mill, and would like you're opinions on which vise would be suitable for a beginning start. It seems that Kurt vise's are the standard but that is pushing my budget at the moment. I see avise from Glacern, that from what I hear is pretty nice, but still quite expensive. I am looking at the vise options LMS has that seem more in my price range, but are these quality vise's?
I was looking at a 3" precision vice on LMS, and the GSV-440 from Glacern. The Glacern is more than double the price. Is it really justifiable or is it just paying for the name. Maybe some other recommendations would be great as well!
Thank you.
 
I'm not an expert on any aspect, but I got a mini mill with the precision vice. http://littlemachineshop.com/info/vise_compare.php#Precision

It works fine; nothing about it makes me say "I wish it could ___".
Except....
When mounted on the swiveling base plate, it sits pretty tall. That is, if you have a ~4" drill bit, you cannot remove/insert it with the vise underneath the chuck, as the vise is too close. You have to move the vise or open it to make enough room for the bit.
This sounds like a small deal, until you are swapping multiple bits to make a pilot hole, widen, ream, tap - each swap out becomes tedious.
That said, I'm not sure other vises will avoid that issue entirely.
 
I found a quick vise on craigslist thinking I'd upgrade to a nice one eventually but so far the quick vise has worked great!
 
The longer vise jaw is better for supporting parallels when working knife length material with a fly cutter if you intend to make the surface flat or reduce it's thickness. I find that the swivel base is an inconvenience due to the time it takes to index the vise after use. I have a couple Glacern units 5" & 6" very nice quality and less than my Kurt probably over priced for hobby knife maker. I'm a machinist so I have over the years acquired these units and I think the ones from the link above will be fine....Buy Once Cry Once....The more you spend now the less you need to spend to replace with a better unit later. Purchase a GOOD test indicator not a cheap $40 unit...you will use it often to indicate the vise jaw!!!
 
Starting out purchasing items for a mill can be costly I would recommend checking this web site for tooling and subscribe to their list for special offers...I have many times saved big money on heavy items when they offer FREE shipping AND discounts.....http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM

They have several different packages that include R8 collets and a vise along with clamping hardware you might check it out maybe find everything you need to start out.

Mike
 
+1 on Enco. They have a 25% off deal (VIPONLY) with free shipping (VIPSALE) today. I just ordered a handful of 1/2" round files and a small pin vise this morning.

I also bought my milling vise from them back in 2010... 4" Interstate model 425-7240 (no swivel base). This sits on my Grizzly Sieg X3 clone. I have absolutely no regrets about this vise... it has been a champ.

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Erin
 
I found that a Cardinal 4" speed vise worked very well for me on the smaller mill. Very fast to adjust, and very accurate.
They show up on eBay often. I paid $45 for mine.
 
I think a 3" vise is too small for a general use mill vise. A 5" with no swivel base is probably ideal. I know the Kurt 5" has the same bolt spacing as the 6" which allows you to use the larger jaws and accessories. I have my 6" vise set up with a set of 8" Monster Jaws which I find to be very handy for clamping my liners when cutting the short cut on the lockbar.

Bob
 
check out shars, they have really good prices on generic branded vises that are realy good
 
i have a 3 inch milling vice on my mini mill (got it from LMS)
on the bridgeport i have a bridgeport vice 6" but am on the look out for a scratch and dent Kurt in the 6 inch size. i have alot of other wants for the bridgeport so the sloppy vice will do till i address the other things
 
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