Small Vice Advice

I woudl quite like a very small milling vice, not rotary, but with a good solid grip but only about 1 1/2" wide, 2" max, and other parts generally in proportion - for holding small parts such as slinks and pivots, often in the step at the top of the jaws. My main vice is a bit big and clumsy and my 'toolroom' vices are slow to use and fix and a bit too nice to mill a step on top of the jaws. I want one that bolts straight to the table and has a standard 'screw up' jaw, but the type which is long, strong and accurate for milling.

I can't see vices smaller than about 70mm in the usual suspects lists, has anyone got a source for such a thing? If not I may have a go at making one.

Neil

Hi Neil,

How about the 50 mm precision tool vice from Arc Eurotrade.

Arc eurotrade vice

(I did this using Win 7 64 bit and firefox 10.0.2 so it looks like some of the problems with the new editor have been fixed.)

Les

Edited By Les Jones 1 on 21/02/2012 22:10:15

Neil

Have a look at the Soba Vices on the Chronos Website, here, there is a traditional looking milling vice but with only a 50mm jaw width

Harold

I like the look of the Arc Euro vice mentioned above but wonder how it is fixed to the milling table.

Doug

There are usually slots on the sides and maybe ends that will take the end of a thin clamp.

I just clamp mine with regular milling clamps on the body.

What I do find though is that the moving jaw is difficult to move to a new position when the vice is clamped and I can't access the rack underneath. The T-Bar is difficult to disengage from the rack when doing it blind, and then tends to jam.

Is this typical of this style of vice or is it just mine?

Edited By Sid Herbage on 22/02/2012 18:24:05

I have small precision vices, but what I would like is one more like a small version of the standard milling vice.

The manix one at http://www.rejon.co.uk/manix_mm250s3.html looks OK but the site is anightmare with no links to accessories.

I like Gray's idea of soft jaws.

Neil

Hello Douglas.

Please take a look at the following picture in my album.

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_photo.asp?a=8270&p=147670

There is a round spigot entering into the vice to about 15mm.

If You need more detail please let me know and I'll make a more detailed picture.

Best regards

Dias Costa

Edited By dcosta on 22/02/2012 21:25:44

Sid

I have one of the small ArcEuro vices and its so fiddly to use it still in the box! I would have no problem clamping it down if I wanted to but every time I think it will be perfect to grip some particular part I find another way of doing it.

Ian

Thanks Dias,

I see now how it is clamped using the holes along the sides.

Doug

Hi There

I have one of these vices from Arc Euro Trade. The large one. It is an excellent vice, very solid, very easy to use. It has the added advantage that the jaw is on a tenon so you can stick a component in one side of the vice and the jaw will not twist.

I don't have trouble moving the jaw along by undoing the locking Allen screw. On the odd occasion when the clamping nut has come undone, it was easy to refit withour moving the vice.

regards David

I bought one of these from Chronos (ref MLV1 if the link doesn't work) a few years ago to use on a vertical slide but never got round to using it. Recently I thought it would be good for using on my new Denford CNC small mill as it's very low profile. Shock horror, hardly a right-angle in it even though at first sight it looked OK being ground all over. Anyway it was a good execise in making a silk purse out of the proverbial though wheer it was worth the money I doubt!  If you do consider it beware that both the moving jaw and the clamp plate are dead hard and impossible to machine.  As the moving jaw was especially out of shape I ended up making a new one from a chunk of MS, and new jaw faces from 6mm gauge plate.

Edited By John Haine on 23/02/2012 20:11:28

All the Chronos links just give me plain text with no pictures

I don't get this issue with other sites (FIrefox 10)

Neil

Neil

Whatever it was seems to be fixed now.

I clicked on the link to look at the Chronos vice and the page just appeared as text with no images.

I went direct to the Chronos site to see if that was the same but it looked normal.

Now though when I click on the link in John Haines posting the Chronos site works as it should, weird....

Ian P

Hi Ian

Had the same result as you - I think it's due to the link just taking you direct to the text, but not picking up any formatting or image info. Once you've visited the site by the normal route your computer will have the formatting etc that it needs for the site cached and can pick it up from that. So to see the piccies, use the link in John Haines message, but then delete everything in the url after the chronos.co.uk bit and open the Chronos site. You'll then get the full works.

Keith

I had the same problem as Ian when I first tried it (yesterday or Tuesday) in Firefox-10. I right clicked "View this page in IE" (it's a Firefox plugin) and it was fine.

What seems to happen on mine is that when loosening the Allen screw, the t-bar rotates on the thread. Then it becomes jammed on the rack and is difficult to fix without direct access (i.e. when the vice is clamped to the milling table).

I tend to shy away from using that vice unless I have to. (I prefer my home-made vice for most situations anyway since it's self-aligning and installs in a couple of minutes).

Hi Sid

Try pulling the jaw back as you undo the screw. That way the T bar will remain in place.

regards David

Hi Sid

Thanks very much for the info. on the Firefox / I.E. plug-in. Now installed on my machine and it works a treat. That solves another little frustration in my life!

Regards

Norman

You could Neil, try the 1 1/2" economy machine vice here . Mill slots along each side to give it a toolmakers vice type fixing and probably add a longer jaw keep plate. Also add soft jaws as Graham suggests would be worth considering. At £16 its worth a try.

Toolmakers vices are particularly useful on a lathe's cross or vertical slide as mounting position is much more adaptable.

Thanks Sid for the info re the Firefox plugin!

Harold

OK, thanks, David I'll try that. Presumably once the screw is loose, you push the jaw forward (to drop the T-bar) and then pull/push it a new postion.

Norman, Harold,

You're welcome. It also installs the corresponding right click ("View this page in Firefox"  in IE.

I'm amazed at the number of people that are using Firefox these days. Even though it's supposedly number-3 now.

Neil (or was it Jason), Sorry for the double... sorry triple .... sorry quadruple edit. Stupid editor - why does it keep changing the closing parenthesis up there to a winky?

Edited By Sid Herbage on 24/02/2012 23:05:36

Edited By Sid Herbage on 24/02/2012 23:08:18

Edited By Sid Herbage on 24/02/2012 23:14:38

Edited By Sid Herbage on 24/02/2012 23:15:44