Vise option

[Metalistico]

Morning all, when purchasing a vice for my mill, should i be looking for just a lock down normal vice ? or 1 that can swivel and tilt ? I'm thinking either way I should not go for the cheapest as some things you just need to spend a bit more for better quality.
Thank you to every one that has been helping me out with all my questions.

 

[combustable herbage]

I purchased this one the other day I haven't received it yet. From what I have read some people don't use the swivel and if your short on space it it takes vertical real estate, I bought one with one just because knowing me I think I will use it. Definitely you can spend more on a vise and get a great product and maybe someday I will but I think this one will be ok for me.

https://vevor.ca/products/5-milling-machine-lockdown-vise-swivel-base-swivel-base-0-360deg-scales-width?_pos=11&_sid=158daf746&_ss=r

 

[Metalistico]

I purchased this one the other day I haven't received it yet. From what I have read some people don't use the swivel and if your short on space it it takes vertical real estate, I bought one with one just because knowing me I think I will use it. Definitely you can spend more on a vise and get a great product and maybe someday I will but I think this one will be ok for me.

https://vevor.ca/products/5-milling-machine-lockdown-vise-swivel-base-swivel-base-0-360deg-scales-width?_pos=11&_sid=158daf746&_ss=r

 

[Metalistico]

i was thinkin that same 1 lol, Busy Bee don't have much in accessories so Amazon will be getting my money

 

[Susquatch]

Morning all, when purchasing a vice for my mill, should i be looking for just a lock down normal vice ? or 1 that can swivel and tilt ? I'm thinking either way I should not go for the cheapest as some things you just need to spend a bit more for better quality.
Thank you to every one that has been helping me out with all my questions.

So, I may not be the best to answer this - I've had a lathe for decades and a smaller mill drill for years, but I'm new to a bigger mill, but I'll add my two cents.

I bought a swivel vise for the mill drill - never ever used the swivel feature except to tram the vise. Tramming is better done without.

The big mill came with a used non-adjustable GS vise. I love it.

I suppose an application might arise where the swivel feature might come in handy, but I think I can always use the T-slots to mount a non-swivel vise on an angle when that time comes if it ever does.

All that is to say that my advice is to skip the swivel & tilt features and put the money into a better standard non-adjustable vise. Better to have a better vise for the money than something that is more flexible but isn't as good and will never get used.

You can always find other ways to mount the vise and parts to get what you need, but you can't make a multi-function vise into the better vise you could have had for the same money.

Now, if I knew for sure that I would be swinging my vise back N forth every day I used it cuz I was constantly making hex devices of some kind, I might feel differently. Then again, I'd prolly make a fixture to use on my regular fixed vise anyway........

So ya, skip the adjustable vise and put your money toward a better fixed vise.

 

[Chip Maker]

i was thinkin that same 1 lol, Busy Bee don't have much in accessories so Amazon will be getting my money

The swivel base will separate from that vise and allow the vise to be clamped straight to the mill table.

 

[Crosche]

I have a cheap Busy Bee 6" vise and can't say that I am impressed with the quality. So far I have had to change the thrust bearings and there is a 0.0015" bow in the fixed jaw since new. Also, the vise tends to lift up when securing parts. I would classify the Busy Bee vises under the "Better than nothing" category of tools & equipment. My current vise will be going up for sale as soon as Shars gets these back in stock: https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/vise/5-550v-cnc-milling-machine-vise-0-0004-1

 

[Metalistico]

So, I may not be the best to answer this - I've had a lathe for decades and a smaller mill drill for years, but I'm new to a bigger mill, but I'll add my two cents.

I bought a swivel vise for the mill drill - never ever used the swivel feature except to tram the vise. Tramming is better done without.

The big mill came with a used non-adjustable GS vise. I love it.

I suppose an application might arise where the swivel feature might come in handy, but I think I can always use the T-slots to mount a non-swivel vise on an angle when that time comes if it ever does.

All that is to say that my advice is to skip the swivel & tilt features and put the money into a better standard non-adjustable vise. Better to have a better vise for the money than something that is more flexible but isn't as good and will never get used.

You can always find other ways to mount the vise and parts to get what you need, but you can't make a multi-function vise into the better vise you could have had for the same money.

Now, if I knew for sure that I would be swinging my vise back N forth every day I used it cuz I was constantly making hex devices of some kind, I might feel differently. Then again, I'd prolly make a fixture to use on my regular fixed vise anyway........

So ya, skip the adjustable vise and put your money toward a better fixed vise.

Thanks, I was leaning to the non adjustable 1, just for the fact of sturdiness. I will go with the 4" non swivel.
Thanks again for the info

 

[Don Sipes]

I have 2 GROZ vices. One tilts and rotates, the other just rotates. They are more like the old Bridgeport style and do not lock down. They are made in India. I'm very pleased with quality and accuracy. Busy Bee used to carry them but switched to Chinese suppliers. It's all about the price point I guess. I had a 5 inch CX series from Bust Bee but returned it. It was complete junk. The GROZ are not cheap, less than half the price of American made but more expensive than the Chinese imports. Don't get a tilting vice as your only vise. They are tall and take up a lot of tool space between spindle and table. Their height also creates leverage on the table gibs and as a result are not as rigid. Handy when you need it but not for everyday use.
CHEERS

 

[Darren]

Keep an eye on ebay for a Kurt. I got my DX6 new, cheap, because the seller didn't know what it was. They had it listed as a clamp. The seller was some sort of liquidation firm. Often they don't know what things are.

 

[YYCHM]

I used this one on my 605 90% of the time https://www.busybeetools.com/products/milling-vise-low-profile-1-7-8in.html

And this one when I needed something larger https://www.busybeetools.com/products/pre-3way-drill-press-vise-b3318.html

A 4" vise is going to overwhelm a mini for the most part.

 

[Aliva]

I have Kurt DX6 with no swivel. I've only run into 1 scenario were a swivel would have been handy, but I worked around it. As far as tilt goes, I would avoid a vise with tilt in that they are made to be not very accurate, they only approximate, you would probably end up using angle plate to double check the angle anyways.
If you require an accurate angle use a sine bar and gauge blocks. The Kurt is expensive but they are noted to be one of the best out there. The vise is one of the most used tools on the mill., so get a good one. What ever you do on the mill you'll want to reduce the amount of errors in the final product. Poor quality work can be attributed to many things from tooling, machine design, operator inexperience. By getting a high quality vise you've removed one of the areas that can introduce errors and poor work results.
Basically get what you feel you can afford. Travers Canada has a sale on Kurt vises till February, its worth having a look

 

[LenVW]

Here is a photo of the 3” Swivel Vise I bought from VEVOR.
I find the swivel handy but make sure you put tape over the T-Slot Nuts that anchor the vise to mill table. I used my dial indicator to square the fixed jaw within .001” over the width and then instead of using the ‘swivel scale’ to rotate the vise to 45 degrees, I accidentally loosened the T-Slot Nuts and the whole thing moved out of square. OOPS !!
I am just so happy to be milling again.

 

[Alexander]

I bought two of 6" vises from busy bee. They are bad but not unusable. I also don't feel bad about using one as a bench vise if I need to.

 

[Alexander]

Oh also @Aliva is definitely right. Kurt makes a good vice. You are allot further ahead if you start with them but they are $900+++

 

[Darren]

I went from a very good 6" Rohm vice to the Kurt DX6, and I like the Kurt much better. I put stepped jaws in it and rarely need to use parallels anymore.

 

[Tom Kitta]

I actually sold a KMS 4" long time ago which was used (and too big for) a mini mill long time ago. I in addition to Kurt I own a two station CNC Shars vise that I can barely lift (I think over 100 lbs) I also have very nice, horizontal vertical apprentice made vise. I also have a "Busy Bee style" 6" with shop made 8 in extra thick jaws.

Finally I have 3 more BP style vises, all 6", I got them all under $50 or so, how can you say no to that? Yes they are mostly Chinese in origin (I think) but for a drill press use or similar they work great.

On shaper I have shaper vise, 7.5" and assorted other cheap vises - for grinder, for drill press, angle etc.

Yeah, I am well stocked with vises

 

[PeterT]

@Metalistico was this a generic question or is vise intended for CX612 by chance? I didn't look up the machine specs, just saw a pic.
Kurt-like vises are fine for Bridgeports & RF-45 style mills but become more challenging to the point of completely wrong for small mills. Have a look at the dimensions (footprint, minimum base height, mount lug dimensions & compare to your mill. Same for lug dimensions vs your T-slots. Same for weight.

A swivel base will raise the vise & thus remove effective headroom on your machine. So before you go shopping, best to do some basic measuring. Factor typical chuck/holder/cutting tooling from the top & intended part size within vise from the bottom. Lots has been written on this topic, just use the Search tool.

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Combining all the great features of our world-renowned Kurt Vises, along with new state-of-the-art workholding technology, Kurt® Workholding’s revolutionary DX6® CrossOver® vise achieves new levels in precision and performance where flatness and parallelism are important. Now Featuring a cast on...

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[Scattered Parts]

Kurt occasionally offers scratch and dent sales on their vises. I picked up a DX6 last summer from them for about $750 delivered. This is much cheaper than buying new from any of the regulat tool companies. Also most vises will require you to pay shipping since they are drop shipped from Kurt anyway. I cannot find the blemishes on my vise And am very pleased with it.

Currently the have a DX4 on sale. https://www.kurtworkholding.com/product/kurt-crossover-vise-dx4-sd/

 

[whydontu]

I have a pile of vises (and not many vices). The tilt-swivel are useless. I have a 5" BB swivel Kurdish GROZ, most of the time I take the swivel off.

For quick-n-dirty, I have a KBC quick-acting vise. Base is machined square-is, so it's easy to bolt down and tram. Very fast in use, moving jaws squeezes in at the top some doesn't lift the workpiece much. This sits on the mill about 75% of the time.