Anyone have any recommendations for a smallish milling vice that 1) Is readily available 2) isn’t crap 3) fits in the SO3 envelope with plenty of room to spare 4) is reasonably priced?
We list a couple at: https://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Workholding#Vise
Unfortunately the Rock River Tools CNC Vise seems to be discontinued.
The Taig vise from Lee Valley should be excellent if it’s large enough for your needs: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=50249&cat=1,330,50260
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I’ve had my eye on this little dude:
https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=4871&category=1963256914
But I’m not sure if it wouldn’t be too tall? Depends on what you’re doing and what sort of waste board you have (thickness).
Dan
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https://www.ebay.com/i/192835331830?chn=ps
this is the best for extreme low profile as well as precision.
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This doesn’t really meet your second criteria, but it does work and is low profile. Mine wasn’t even close to flat on the bottom, but my father is a tool and die maker and surface ground it flat. I also don’t worry about hitting it accidently at this price.
Rats, I was going to buy one but I have no way to grind it flat so I feel like I’m back to the drawing board in which vice to get. I can’t afford to drop $100 on a vice right now so there don’t seem to be any good ones that I can buy and use immediately.
I didn’t check any others when i purchased it. Maybe you could bring a piece of MDF to the store and see if it rocks? Before he ground it I just shimmed it when i used it.
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I found this one a while back but have not purchased as yet.
Look what I found on AliExpress
There is also a version of the LittleMachineShop vise.
Look what I found on AliExpress
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I have the vise @DanoInTx recommended. Works fine if used on the stock height spoilboard.
I do most of my work on secondary and teriatiary spoilboards, less useful in those cases.
https://www.sherline.com/product/3551-milling-vise/
sherline has some nice options - including a rotating base. lil more costly but good qualtiy
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I have the same vise under another brand, it is a piece of S#$T, it has so much movement, the mechanism does not retract, does not hold particularly well. I removed it from my drill press and replaced it with a precision vise and sits in a corner. It may be cheap but would not recommend it, save your money and get something better because you will swear at it and you parts may move during milling.
Yep, I looked on AliExpress but after shipping, they’re not much cheaper than the Little Machine Shop one.
I may end up going for the Little Machine Shop one but was concerned about clearance given that it looks pretty tall.
I know it is in the Wiki (thanks @WillAdams) but has anyone tried the one from Lee Valley. Option D in this link http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=50249&cat=1,330,50260. My biggest concern is that the screw handle doesn’t let you tighten it much so I’m concerned about it coming loose.
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As a follow up, I just called Lee Valley and spoke with someone about my concerns and they mentioned they’ve never had an issue with it loosening while milling and they found it quite secure.
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could put a thin bit of removable loctite or similar to the threads, cycle front to back and wipe excess. aid in a bit or retention. If the main screw is removable possible to add a nut and use it to jam in place once the vise is set. couple thoughts
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That’s true. I’ll order it, try it out, and report back.
They still need to get me the jaw height so I know what parallels to order.
Edit: Jaw height is 9/16 inches heigh. My current plan is to take my 123 blocks to Harbor Freight and try to find a decent vise there. Otherwise I’ll order one.
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As with most things harbor freight, QC is terrible. Sounds like you got (more of) a lemon. Outside of not being flat, i haven’t had any issues.
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