@JustinTime
Something like this maybe?

 

Been playing with Fusion this evening and it has pretty good rendering as well..

 

Do you have a place to purchase those strap clamps holding the vise to the table, or are those something to be machined yourself?

Thanks so much for the design, Sonny!

 

Hi Sonny - could you point me to a part number of the component in the image attached?

Thanks very much for this design. It's a great way to get started with workholding for first time CNC users.

 

Sonny,
Would you be willing to share the parts list? I just finished my MiniMill and I want to make a vise.

Gino,
Would you be willing to share the Fusion 360 file?

 

Thanks! I just learned something new about these forums - I should look at the top menu to see if there is a parts list.

 

What a nice design. Thanks! I built one today. Works very nice, with the caveat below:

I made a couple of mods:
1) tapped the 3/8" OD dowel pins for M5. Put countersunk clearance holes for M5 screws in the slide block opposite the holes for the dowel pins, and put screws through the block into the dowel pins to hold them in. I could have press fit the pins in, but runout in the bridgeport I used made the holes too loose.
2) Like the discussion above, I also put M5 tapped holes in the stop block (same location as the screws into the slide block). This will allow for attaching replaceable jaws on both blocks, much like shown in the discussion above.

I found a problem in the Parts List. The specified M10 bolt (91290A220), is a standard 1.50mm pitch screw. The specified Helicoil (91732A809) is a fine thread, 1.25mm pitch. I did not check this carefully before building, ARGH (head-smacking bench sound)! The correct Helicoil is McMaster 91732A800. I did find hex-head bolts with 1.25mm ptich, so I dont have to remake the part; note that fine pitch M10's are uncommon - better to stick with 1.50mm pitch.

 

Sonny,

In the photos, your vise appears to be mounted directly on the x-axis gantry plate of the MiniMill. On my MiniMill, the top of the gantry plate actually sits below the top of the C-beam end plates. How is the 80x20 v-slot base clearing the tops of the C-beam end plates?

 

That is what I assumed, but I could not see a shim in the photos.

 

Hi all,

Figured I'd post a video of my minimill facing the sides of the msl-8 vise.

Thank you Sonny for this design, I was perplexed how I was going to do work holding on the MiniMill.

 

Sonny,
Using my MiniMill to make tools for my MiniMill hasn't gone so well for me yet. Three attempts at milling the fixed block have been failures. It's challenging finding a way to hold material I'm milling to hold material. I've also had various glitches maintaining work coordinates when switching to a different operation using a different bit. By my second attempt, I had a sure fire way to hold the material, successfully bore/counter-bore the screw holes and face off the top of the material. Where I'm having the most problems is milling the sides of the blocks. I thought it would be a good idea to face the top, bore the holes and mill (contour) the sides all without removing the material from my makeshift clamp/vise to make sure the top and sides are perpendicular to one another. By doing that, I felt I could turn over the material and know it would sit square in my clamp/vise for facing off the bottom. Unforunately, the contouring operation for the sides has not gone well. The main problems been preventing the material from moving and getting a smooth finish. I think I have a better idea to keep the material from moving, but I'm wondering about how to get a smooth finish.

Could you explain your operations in milling the individual pieces of the vise so I can compare. Could you also let me know what kind of bit, feeds and speeds you are using for each operation?