# Bazmak-broken mill vise



## bazmak (Feb 3, 2015)

No not the one i made but the 80mm swivel vise commonly sold by most suppliers and made in China.I did a brief thread on modding it up to scratch when i first bought it and have been please with its performance and price
Until today.Bang goes the casting across the neck of the fixed jaw.I have only ever used hand pressure on the handle never a mallet.So will wait and see what the supplier has to say


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## Cogsy (Feb 3, 2015)

bazmak said:


> No not the one i made


 
Lol. You read my mind. I was wondering how you managed to break such a sturdy vise so quickly.


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## gus (Feb 3, 2015)

I been wanting to buy a swivel vise since day one. Either pay a bit more for a Vertek Taiwan Vise or DIY one.Will scrounge for some ideas.


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2015)

I have seen a beauty but its $600,i can buy a mIll for that
Have seen one with a thru leadscrew,LH and Rh thread
therefore self centering.However i realy liked the broke one
If i dont get any satisfaction from the supplier i will have to buy another
$72 ,not the end of the world.Might be able to cannibilise the swivel section
to make a rotary table.Need some design time SLEEP


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## Herbiev (Feb 3, 2015)

Who is your supplier Baz ??


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## bazmak (Jun 28, 2015)

Will resurrect this thread.I did miss the 80mm swivel vice and wanted to replace it.100mm or 80mm.Decided to stick with 80mm and ordered one from a different supplier.Almost the same but slightly more robust where the old one broke.Stripped it down,fitted the gib plates,skimmed the castings etc.Removed 
about 15 thou backlash by skimming the screw housing and fitted a nylon plug
to the feedscrew.Feels right and no jaw lift.Then clocked the jaws and drilled/reamed and fitted a dowel pin for 3 posns at 3,6,and 9 oclock.With the keys fitted i now have repeatabvility of the jaws in the main 3 locations.
I then made and fitted new 4.5" mild steel jaws with a recessed step.
Thoughts now turned to the broken vice.I had reused the swivel base for the Rotary Table,could i repair the broken top section.On one of my earlier threads
i described repairing a broken vice as an apprentice and then having it stolen
after finishing it.Deja vu.
I clamped back the broken jaw and welded in position.I then drilled,cbored and tapped and fitted 3 no m6 cap screws.Then prepped the cracked casting and 
ran some more weld.Skimmed the base,slotted the fixing holes and slotted
fitted a new key.With the vise bolted in the mill i skimmed the jaw housing
then did everything that was required as repeated from the new vice
Gibbs,screw etc.Should be Ok for drilling and light milling.A good days work
with nothing wasted.Time will tell


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## DJP (Jun 28, 2015)

I am similarly cursed. I cannot throw away broken tools or parts without attempting a repair. My philosophy is that if the repair doesn't work I can save the components for another project. Besides, how can you learn technique for some critical future repair without trying it.

I have welded broken castings using stainless 316 rods but I am always cautious that there may be a crack a the end of the weld just waiting to split. For your repaired vice I would use it only for large work pieces that sit deep in the jaws. Parallels and clamping close to the top of the jaw will put a lot of strain on your welds. 

Just a thought for your consideration and I enjoyed your story of a repair that worked.


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## bazmak (Jun 28, 2015)

thanks for your comment.My thoughts are that the welds do not take much load
First stitch weld to hold in location with the 4 cap screws taking the load
The prep and finished weld can not be trusted to take serious loads but are 
there to stop small movement,and to indicate if there is any.As you say
clamp down on the lower section of jaw and not the top edge.The new vice i will be for heavy milling the repaired one for drilling/light milling etc
Nothing lost if it goes again,i enjoy this sort of work


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## DJP (Jun 28, 2015)

I mentioned in another thread that when it came time to buy a milling vise I purchased two. With two you can more easily hold long work pieces and now you have that option too.

My feeling is that your repaired vise will be for special set ups only as once the bigger vise is in position it will do the heavy and light milling plus drilling operations. Changing vises takes time and I try to avoid it.

That's how it worked out for my usage of the mill. One vise stays mounted while the other waits.

Take care


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## bazmak (Jul 5, 2015)

My table size dictates only one vise at a time,and with the keys fitted to T slots it only takes a minute to change.I now have 3 usuable vices each for different
types of work.I do like the stepped jaws and made 2 at 4" wide as described above.Works well and being mild steel can be skimmed in situ as need arises
Only takes a minute to replace the original hard jaws.Then i had an idea
The vice holds to approx 75mm wide.I milled a 16w x 1.5mm dp slot and drilled and tapped 2 no M6 sets.Made and fitted a third jaw to match.The vice now grips  from 10 to 140mm.
As as an addendum,i trued up the 3" diamond cup wheel i bought, in the lathe and bored true.Then used it in the mill to to skim the hardened vice jaws.
Not recommended engineering i know and cosmetic only but

 it does work


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## DJP (Jul 6, 2015)

I probably need a better vise for large work pieces or I'll stick with hold down clamps. The movable vise jaw can lift enough to ruin the limited accuracy of my small milling machines.

I'm impressed with your clever vise mods but when it comes to large work pieces, hold down clamps are my only reliable solution.

The dreams of a Bridgeport and large Kurt type vise are gone.


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## bazmak (Jul 6, 2015)

I agree with you.All my vises and mods are to suit certain applications
I dont do much heavy machining but the clamping fixtures do need to suit the application.Fortunenately most jobs are small and light in modelling
I have a large angle plt i also use and even clamp to it using G clamps
Common sense and caution with some experience works ok


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## DJP (Jul 7, 2015)

There is prodabaly a wide spectrum of ways to hold a work piece. At one end would be custom jigs with air activated vise for production work and that the other end is the time consuming process of clamping and measuring for each operation.

When I got my first mill I didn't buy a vise. I clamped everything and with angle plates I made parallels. Lots of parallels of different sizes. It was a learning experience. Job two was to build a vise using only clamps and a welder. That worked too for a simple vise that spanned the entire length of the mill bed.

Since then I have experienced the pleasure of a precision vise that quickly holds a work piece in perfect alignment every time. But as you have discovered it doesn't always open wide enough which is why I go back to clamps when needed.

I have time so my methods are sufficient to get the job done. Working efficiently is not a requirement in retirement and maybe that's why I don't have a Bridgeport with DRO and a big Kurt vise.

This has been a good discussion so thanks for sharing your solutions.


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## bazmak (Feb 5, 2016)

I told the tale of years gone by rpairing a broken vice
I then told the tale of my broken mill vice and  my
failed attempt to repair it.I had used the bottom swivel section to
make my rotary table and also bought a new vice same model different
supplier..Many times i picked up the cracked vice and almost tossed it out
could i make anything with it.Its when i decided to again try to repair it
Attacking from a different dimensions.So far it works well and i am 
confident it will stay that way.Very interesting mod photo

s tell the tale


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## Blogwitch (Feb 5, 2016)

I have only just bought a new vice, to replace my 6" Vertex K6.

I have used Vertex for many many years and found them to be a great vice, when clocked up, they are within 0.0001", and a fly farting nearby could cause that sort of indication error.

I have just invested in one of these, and is yet to be fitted to my mill. I have a young friend calling in another week and I will get him to lift it onto the bed, as it is to heavy for me to handle.

The 160mm version of these:

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catal...ine-Vices/ARC-Versatile-SG-Iron-Milling-Vices

So if anyone lives fairly close, they are quite welcome to pick up the new looking K6 vice for a very reasonable fee if it is for their own use, if they are going to sell it on, then they can kiss my a**e.

The reason I am swapping over? The new vice has relocatable jaws allowing much larger pieces to be held.


John


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