A milling machine trick you have to see!

This is a tip for squaring up your vise fairly accurately without spending time using a test indicator each time. At the time I shot the video, I was still drilling and countersinking the holes in the keystock and drilling and tapping the vise. The fit is very tight, and the test indicator shows it to be off by only .0005", which is about 4 times better than what I really need for what I use my mill for! This is my best machining time saver yet!

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• bridgeport
• mill
• endmill
• milling
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• vice
• vise
• lathe
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• tips
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• Help

[stan535]

whats new about what u are doing .. except any tool maker can tell you are not very well at your job......

[roadracenut]

@stan535 And you are not very "well" at grammar or spelling. Fortunately this is not my job, just a hobby, and we can both get better. I get comments all the time from people who think this video was helpful.

[MrJdspecial1]

yes thats a probe type test indicator. a travel type dial indicator is was people typically use to indicate mill vises. however what ever works. usually midsize run of the mill mills have 5/8" t-slot openings so you can get 2 5/8" dowel pins and square shit up. you better hope your key seat is within a couple tenths (of a thousandth).

another old machinist trick is to clean up your area...

[roadracenut]

@MrJdspecial1 My key slots are 5/8 on the table, but the slots on the vise were 11/16. But I guess I don't understand how you would use a dowel. Can you explain that? Do you ream a hole in the vise to put a dowel in? And yes, my area can be a bit of a mess. My mill is basically in the closet of an adjoining room, and I can't blow it off with compressed air like I could in a real shop.

[BEERSHAREver01]

Just so u know Its a dial indicator, and u always need to check to is everything till its square!! When you assemble everything there may be shavings oil etc between machined surfaces, a film of oil can be .001" then you may have shavings etc stuck to the oil which can continue to through everything out of alignment. But you won't know till you run a dial on the vise. It just depends on what you are building. Good luck. Ps millwright by trade

[roadracenut]

@BEERSHAREver01 I've had someone else correct that, but when I Google "test indicator", this device is what I see, and even the definition in dictionary and wikipedia speak of a test indicator having a lever as opposed to a standard dial indicator and that they read higher accuracy. What gives?

[remiew45]

Roadracenut.....nice job of what you did, but totally unnecessary. If you look to the left and right of the center hole in the base, there is already keyway slots milled into the vise from the factory. If you have a Kurt Vise, you can go to Kurt's website and purchase two hardened keys that bolt right on. Or you can make the keys yourself.

[1203125]

@vutre4 You don't get to call anyone an idiot until you learn the difference between "your" and "you're"

[kingdavidjapan]

nice steady cam! ;)

[jamielill]

good job for a hobbyist

[tomasobamela]

I have been a machinist for man years...and a good machinist tha know his machine and the vise can usuall y tram in a vise in 3 sweeps.... now why u cut a slot is beyond me....u already have a slot or groove for a 5/8 bar....kinda overkill i think.... plus who would really use a soft material such as aluminum for that purpose....it get damage so easily.....

[MrJdspecial1]

@roadracenut the dowel pins i describe are more for a fixture set up use for squaring up pieces like that rectangle aluminum stock with clamping kits. you spread them end to end of your workpiece. raise it up on some parallel bars, clamp it and away you go. vises are always good to check. and check everything!

[MrJdspecial1]

@roadracenut if you have a lathe or know some one that does, turn some round bar down to, as close as you can to .6250 +.0000-.0005. cut it in half so you have two dowels maybe 4-6 inch. stick them in your t slots at the distances you need. your technique definitely works but its still a good idea to check the vises squareness when you take it off or on. also use a good powerful shop vac. sometimes blowing chips can wedge them in bad places on your mill.

no long sleeves! have fun!

[kruzihbv]

That type of dial test indicator is a verdict, and the other type as far as i know is called a plunger. Cleanliness is next to godlyness!

[oilburner75]

Or you can take a piece of say 2" square bright bar about 10" long ,drill and tap about 1" from each end .Then take 2 pieces of 3/4" bright round about 8" long and on each thread one end and taper the other. Screw it all together and make sure the height of each tapered tip is EXACTLY the same .

Then all you have to do to square the vice is clamp the bar into the vice and ensure both tips of the tapered ends of the round bar are touching the milled face of the machine vertical slide.