Vise holddowns

[craig9]

Hi folks,

I needed a way to hold my precision grinding vise down on the mill table, so I carved up some recycled cold rolled steel, and made some chunky and solid hold downs. The design allows for maximum support, minimum metal chip collection, and you can also use the holddowns with 2 instead of three bolts, allowing the vise to be placed fore and aft on the table.

This video was also made as an entry into the #tmc2020 tool making competition held by Emma at Emma's Spareroom Machineshop. If you search youtube for #tmc2020 , you will find a bunch of other tools made on video, that you might find interesting.

Cheers,
Craig

[DIYer]

Thanks craig9! We've added your Vise Hold Down to our Vises category,
as well as to your builder page: craig9's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Vise Hold Down by craig9

tags: vise, hold down

[jjr2001]

Very nice Craig9. I really like your hold downs for a machinist vise. I too use machinist vises on my small milling machine and will
most likely make a pair of your designed hold downs for my vise.

Cheers, JR

[Crusty]

Hmmm. That gives me an idea for a way to clamp down my little rotary table in horizontal mode.

[craig9]

Very nice Craig9. I really like your hold downs for a machinist vise. I too use machinist vises on my small milling machine and will
most likely make a pair of your designed hold downs for my vise.

Cheers, JR

Hey JR - that's great. Good luck with the build. I am sure they will work great for you.

Cheers,
Craig

[craig9]

Hmmm. That gives me an idea for a way to clamp down my little rotary table in horizontal mode.

Hi Crusty - it would be great to see what you come up with.

Cheers,
Craig

[Crusty]

It will be much like your clamps but without the screw in the center because the chuck on the rotary table won't allow access for tightening in that location. The lip on the clamp inserts into a slot in the rotary head and the block is sized to pull it down to the table (or maybe I'll use shims underneath to get it pulled down just right).

I made a low profile milling vise that's much like it so it shouldn't be too difficult.

[craig9]

It will be much like your clamps but without the screw in the center because the chuck on the rotary table won't allow access for tightening in that location. The lip on the clamp inserts into a slot in the rotary head and the block is sized to pull it down to the table (or maybe I'll use shims underneath to get it pulled down just right).

I made a low profile milling vise that's much like it so it shouldn't be too difficult.

That low profile vise is great. What have you used for sliding pins and bushings - any particular material?

The plan for the rotab clamp sounds good. I'd definitely take the extra few mins and mill a small step in the base, much nicer than fussing with shims forever more! (Edit: I just mic'd the height of the groove base on mine, and milled my step to that size. You could make the clamp a fraction taller so it's gripping on the inside first, and any flex in the clamp means you are transferring force outwards, rather than starting with an outboard downforce to begin with. Did that make any sense?)

Your table must be a slightly different design to mine (a 6" vertex), mine's got two open slots, or ears, one on the left and one on the right, and so for me it's much like holding down a standard mill vise.

Good luck with your build!

Craig

[Crusty]

I used Thompson QS shaft and I made a D reamer of that same shaft to ream the holes in the vise and smoothed with emery cloth on a wooden dowel. Since there's normally very little movement I didn't think that bushings were necessary. That particular shaft is hard enough to be durable but not too difficult to machine if you take it easy.

I just took a look and realized that I'd forgotten that I had to offset the rotary table to the edge of my milling table because of the dividing plate, so that clamp idea may be a bust.