6" Mill Table Vise

[olf20]

Going to purchase a 6" general purpose vise for my mill.
The one I have is great but it is HEAVY. I just want one for
general purpose, if there is such a thing. I'm a hobby guy
so no production work. I see Accu Vises in the $150 range.
I know you get what you pay.
Thanks
olf20 / Bob

[dalee100]

Hi,

Heavy is good. If you want a lighter vise, maybe get a 4"?

Teco is a decent name and a bit cheaper than Kurt. Otherwise, maybe look at Shars for a vice? They sell a few different brands. I'm all for saving money, but I think in today's market, you are going to need to spend more than $150 to get something usable.

[larry_g]

I have to ask what you have on the machine now that is so heavy it bears buying a lighter vise.

lg
no neat sig line

[eKretz]

I picked this one up not too long ago pretty cheap secondhand from eBay. I quite like it so far. It's 6" × 6" capacity and in addition to the normal orientation it can be used on either side or even up in the air standing on the fixed jaw.

[Paul Alciatore]

I found that a 6" milling vise is a bit large for my mill. When I analyzed the table movements and locations where I could bolt a 6" one on the table, I saw that some of the envelop just was not reached by the spindle with the available X-Y movements; mostly the Y movement. So I bought a 5" instead and I can reach from a bit behind the rear jaw for edge finding all the way to the full opening of the movable jaw. And it is quite a bit lighter then a 6" would have been.

On that weight thing, most milling vises are roughly the same dimensions for a given size. So one 6" will weigh about the same as another 6", even if one costs $150 and the other $1000 or more.

I actually purchased two identical, 5" milling vises. That way I can mount them side by side to hold wider work. Alignment can be easy just by grabbing a piece of straight stock with the pair of them and aligning on it's rear face. Then tighten them both down. This gives me a lot larger work envelope than even a single 8" vise would have. Some machinists even buy three identical ones and mount them side by side on the table. I actually did that at work a few times to mill some 19" wide panels.

If you want, you can see the discussion that we had on my milling vise purchase here:

https://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/fo...ling-vise-size

[olf20]

I have to ask what you have on the machine now that is so heavy it bears buying a lighter vise.

lg
no neat sig line

I'm not sure of the brand of my vise but this thing is heavy!! At 73, with a bad hip and back I'm just looking for
something that is lighter, which would make me a little more apt to do a job rather than not because of dragging
the big one out.

Thanks for all the replies!
olf20 / Bob

[Lew Hartswick]

I'm not sure of the brand of my vise but this thing is heavy!! At 73, with a bad hip and back I'm just looking for
something that is lighter, which would make me a little more apt to do a job rather than not because of dragging
the big one out.

Thanks for all the replies!
olf20 / Bob

? <dragging the big one out.>? Why isn't the vise on the mill?? Two "shops" I've worked in one had 4 Bridgeports and the other a Bridgeport and a small import , the vises are always (well 90+ percent of the time) on the table.. Only ever get removed for some special purpose.. And I'm 88 so don't like the idea of lifting a Kurt either. :-)
...lew...

[reggie_obe]

I'm not sure of the brand of my vise but this thing is heavy!! At 73, with a bad hip and back I'm just looking for
something that is lighter, which would make me a little more apt to do a job rather than not because of dragging
the big one out.

Thanks for all the replies!
olf20 / Bob

Is the vise mounted a dead center of the table and in the way when you need to fixture a part right to the table or use a dividing head?
Keep your existing vise mounted about a third of the way from theend of the table. Frees up space and evens the wear out on the table screw.

[old mart]

Is there such a thing as a lightweight 6" vise? The biggest I have is 5" and its as much as the mills will comfortably hold and as heavy as I would want to lift.
Paul's suggestion of having a pair of smaller ones makes sense to me, I use a couple of 100mm Bisons which will pair up perfectly.

[Tim Clarke]

I will slide my vise out of the way sometimes, leaving it on the end of the table. But, I've got a 48" table, so there's enough room for the rotary table beside it.

[dalee100]

On that weight thing, most milling vises are roughly the same dimensions for a given size. So one 6" will weigh about the same as another 6", even if one costs $150 and the other $1000 or more.

https://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/fo...ling-vise-size

Hi,

Most of the Chinese 6" mill vises are going to be about half the weight, or even a bit less, than a standard 6" Kurt. A 6" Kurt is pushing 70lbs to about 40 for the less costly imports. So it's not too surprising Olf20 is wanting something a bit lighter. Still, I wold recommend a 4" if the work size range will fit. I picked up a 4" import that weights as much as most 6" imports. I think I got it off of eBay - not that I can recommend buying there. But, mine has turned out to be a decent vise.

[olf20]

I use the mill for cnc wood working also. Its Christmas time and need to make some gifts. I do have a 54" table I believe. Can't remember exactly but it's long. I usually use about 2/3 of it while doing the wood / router stuff. I'll keep my eyes peeled to see if I can pickup a good used one.
Thanks for the ideas / help / info!
olf20 / Bob