Measure Vise & Part Deflection

With the large forces applied by a vise, deflection can occur between the jaws of a vise. These jaws can deflect away from each other along their top surface, known as jaw lift (see below for more information), as well as from side to side.

Machining parts is easy... work-holding is the hard part! Fixturing, part setups, and work holding is a never ending skill. Any time I have the chance to tour a factory, walk a trade show, or talk shop with another machinist, I try to learn as much as possible about workholding.

Last September, we talked about a few tools that you never knew you needed in your shop, but when it comes to machining, there are a million different ways to do everything. So, here’s a sequel to help you discover some tools you never knew you needed in your shop… or maybe you did know, and you can just use this as a justification for all those tools.

Traditional vises use a screw to tighten the two jaws together and hold your work. This works fairly well in most applications, but sometimes you’re dealing with delicate parts and require a touch more finesse when clamping. That’s where toolmaker vises come in!

A good vise is a fundamental tool for precision machining. In addition to choosing the right size vise for your machine, identifying the right types of vise for workholding is critical to making sure your workpiece is secured while its being milled. There are a three types of vises that you’ll commonly encounter in CNC milling – the machinist vise, the CNC vise, and the toolmaker vise.

Workholding is one of the most hot-button issue in the worlds of machining, metalworking, and general fabrication. While finding new ways to hold parts as you cut can be an entertaining endeavor, if you’re on a budget and/or schedule, it will plague your very existence. Vises are one of the primary ways to hold your work, and milling soft jaws to fit specific parts is a common practice.