Milling machine Vice

What is the best (most used/usefull) size and type of vice for a bridgeport mill. I recently purchased a ez trak bridgeport mill, which is a cnc'd version of a standard series 1 turret mill, which also retains the manual option via the standard hand wheels.

I would like to be able to hold billet material and also collet blocks to hold shafts for milling keyways.

I have heard the chinese vices can be more hassel than they are worth but there does not seem to be any uk versions. Glacern have a good rep in the US but the UK does not seem to have any import agents yet.

Many thanks
Gav

Around 120-150mm is probably about right, but you may still want a really small one for delicate parts.

You might get lucky on eBay?

There was an advert on gumtree for a number of 150mm vices located in Newcastle.
Regards
Phil

Hi Gav
Small one here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2805544876...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
60mm width x 60mm opening, was going to get one for my lathe but i have managed for 30 years with the one i have so feel free, it's the last one they have.
Mike

I like Bison vices. They seem good quality, made in Poland. You can get a 100mm one on eBay for £193 new. I like buying second hand tooling normally but can't stand the tool crash marks in a lot of used vices, especially drilled holes!

they do come up on ebay from time to time.
just have to keep doing a search.
i had been looking for a good size one for a while.
and they seems to be in the £200 price range.
then i found one, one day for £35 in ipswitch.
needed some TLC, unused and was full of surface rust.
but ive taken it all apart. and ready to be sand blasted.
just hadnt got around to carrying on with it yet lol
other things get in the way....
just keep doing searches on ebay, gumtree, preloved. etc.

For most small to medium size work that needs to be held in a vice I use a toolmakers vice of this style -

http://www.flexbar.com/shop/pc/catal...Image_0002.jpg

which pulls the moving jaw down and closed at the same time, mine is around 250mm long.

After messing around for some time with cheap new, then what I could find half-decent second hand I finally spent £120 on a new Vertex Toolmakers vice and dixcovered the difference that a good vice makes, for me money thrown at a good vice was money well spent,

- Nick

http://www.linear-tools.com/tools/pr...ing-vices.html

Bought a vertex anglock clone a few months ago. Seems quite good haven't really used it too much. Now I need some jaws for it too hold round stock so I can mill my moulds for the plastic injection machine. Rgb tools have some magnetic ones for about £10 delivered that might work.

Vertex VA6?

I recently bought the 100mm version (VA4) for my Sieg X3. Seems like a good vice (Taiwanese, but probably still made in China). I've just finished stripping/cleaning/rebuilding it: http://vikash.info/vertex-va4-milling-vice/