Milling / Machine vice jaws

[Kerelise]

I’d picked up a machine vice and rotating table for less than a night out in Wetherspoons (didn’t realise 12” table was so damn heavy as I regretted picking that up…).

The mill vice appears to be minus its’ jaws. All dimensions are imperial; and looks like a pair of 4” x 1.5” jaws, with central holes 2 1/2” apart (7/8 inch from base) will fit nicely. Trouble is, where to source… McMaster-Carr on interweb look closest but the $125 price brought on a coughing fit along with a sharp pain in my wallet.

No obvious makers mark on the vice, plus beyond wielding a bench drill, I don’t have either the right material or equipment to fashion my own. Hence wondering is there a place who might stock these please !

 

[optima21]

depending on what precision you're looking for you could use ground flat stock. or bright mild steel (available in short lengths from model engineering suppliers)

Bright Mild Steel Flats

maccmodels.co.uk

 

[Agroshield]

Suggestions above are good.

What thickness do you need?

If you are not going to use the vice with a milling machine, there is a reasonable argument for using aluminium soft jaws on it.

Make a drawing of what you want - what thread is in the vice to attach the jaws and what sytle of screw are you proposing to use?

 

[RichardM]

I have aluminium jaws in my bench vice and am thinking of replacing them with hardened / ground steel jaws. I find the aluminium picks up swarf easily and sometimes transfers the mark to work when I forget to clean it off.

If you know what vice, you could try these guys:

ABOUT US

When a bright idea evolved into an opportunity to start a small business, in 2019 we setup shop in Yeovil, Somerset. With not much more than a Colchester Student (Lathe), an AEW Manual (Milling Machine) and an Elliot 10M (shaper), our strategy to conquer the world and ‘retire early’ through the...

www.viceworks.co.uk

 

[Kerelise]

I have aluminium jaws in my bench vice and am thinking of replacing them with hardened / ground steel jaws. I find the aluminium picks up swarf easily and sometimes transfers the mark to work when I forget to clean it off.

If you know what vice, you could try these guys:

ABOUT US

When a bright idea evolved into an opportunity to start a small business, in 2019 we setup shop in Yeovil, Somerset. With not much more than a Colchester Student (Lathe), an AEW Manual (Milling Machine) and an Elliot 10M (shaper), our strategy to conquer the world and ‘retire early’ through the...

www.viceworks.co.uk

This looks ideal, and thanks for the link. I’ll degunk it, has viscous goo with much swarf all over it, will remove and recheck measurements before asking vice works for a quote. Hardened steel from them hopefull, with softer stuff version cobbled up by me..

 

[Agroshield]

...before asking vice works for a quote.

They will need to know what to do to accommodate the fixing bolts/screws. So you need to know that too. If they are countersunk screws, they need a countersink. If they are allen cap screws, they need a counterbore of a set diameter and depth.

Imperial countersunk screws are 82 degrees; metric are 90 degrees. Details matter.

 

[Kerelise]

They will need to know what to do to accommodate the fixing bolts/screws. So you need to know that too. If they are countersunk screws, they need a countersink. If they are allen cap screws, they need a counterbore of a set diameter and depth.

Imperial countersunk screws are 82 degrees; metric are 90 degrees. Details matter.

Found a “V 401 “ marking on the vice body - under the movable jaw, hopefully might ring a bell with someone here. Letting it soak in some diesel atm, to loosen the crud inside the threaded holes. Once clean, will try and establish what the thread is. I guess in terms of whether to countersink the new jaws or counterbore - I’m not fussed as can’t see which has advantage- unless the countersink screws get their slots mangled over time? I guess for me depends on whether vice works have something in stock already - if not, then how much of a difference in price there is between them (and if they sell the screws too….) if they need to make them to order for me..