[CadRhino]

Do any of you who setup multiple vises have any tips to try an achieve perfect alignment/setup in a faster way than just indicated back and forth?
I have alignment keys for both of my Tormach machinist vises but find that they lock the vise in but are not nuts on when I indicate them.
Thanks for any insight.
Nathan

[MikeC8]

I was shown a trick that helps speed it up. Indicate in your first vise and lock it down. Then place your other vices on the table, and clamp a piece of round stock across all of the vices. This will pull the others into alignment. Snug them down, remove the bar, and indicate the rest.

[Steve Seebold]

If you're trying to align the vises with the keys in place, THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.

I do some set up work for a local shop and he has 3 Kurt vises on his Haas with keys and they are .005 out of alignment. They are straight, but they are not perfectly in line.

There are 2 ways to get your vises perfrctly in line.

1. Throw the keys away and indicate them in.

2. Bolt them down with the keys in place and replace the hard steel jaws with steel or aluminum soft jaws and machine the jaws in line with the machine.

[CadRhino]

Thanks Mike
Do you have a special precision round stock or just something that is pretty precise then indicate to alignment?
Best
Nathan

I was shown a trick that helps speed it up. Indicate in your first vise and lock it down. Then place your other vices on the table, and clamp a piece of round stock across all of the vices. This will pull the others into alignment. Snug them down, remove the bar, and indicate the rest.

[rowbare]

This is a slight modification of what Mike suggests above. Get a fairly heavy square or rectangular bar long enough to stick out an inch or two past each of the vises.. Mill one side flat and square. Space your vises, clamp the bar with the finished side against the fixed jaws of the vises and indicate from the bar. This will better distribute any alignment error.

If you are doing the same setup repeatedly, you could add pins to the bar and use those to re-establish your spacing at the same time.

bob

[twocik]

I use the same method as Mike, but with a 123 block.

[BAMCNC.COM]

What Steve said, you can't use Keys unless they are PERFECT. Easiest solution is to use Soft jaws, that's what I do for 100% of my work. I don't care if the vise is square. I kept the keys in my vises because I knew it would make them "close enough" then use Monster Jaws

[MikeC8]

I've been using off the shelf 3" aluminum round bar stock, it gets them pretty close.

[R.DesJardin]

I too use a piece of square to get close lock one down align other. It has pins in it for correct spacing.

[CadRhino]

Thanks for all of the feedback.
I am gong to get a piece of 1" x 1 1/2" 1018 to superfly square on 3-sides. I think 17" is about the longest I can superfly.
I like the monster jaw idea quite a bit I think the steel bar alignment will work better for my applications since;
1) I want to be able to re-install monster jaws that I use as jigs and not start with fresh monster jaws each time.
2) Sometimes I use steel 'v' jaws for my setups.

I like the pin idea. Do you use just a pressed in dowel or will a spring roll pin work? Do you set the pins into the jaws or are they outside of the jaws for distance reference only?

Thanks
Nathan

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Thanks for all of the feedback.
I am gong to get a piece of 1" x 1 1/2" 1018 to superfly square on 3-sides. I think 17" is about the longest I can superfly.
I like the monster jaw idea quite a bit I think the steel bar alignment will work better for my applications since;
1) I want to be able to re-install monster jaws that I use as jigs and not start with fresh monster jaws each time.
2) Sometimes I use steel 'v' jaws for my setups.

I like the pin idea. Do you use just a pressed in dowel or will a spring roll pin work? Do you set the pins into the jaws or are they outside of the jaws for distance reference only?

Thanks
Nathan

Roll pins should work fine. Press them into the bar/rod, one for each vise, and push the vise up against the pin before locking it down to ensure they are all properly spaced.

Regards,
Ray L.

[R.DesJardin]

Roll pins are not round so I used dowels pressed into the bar and reference off the left edge of each vise. I use them for close to exact location so when I program I can know where the other part will be.

[RussMachine]

I have a perfectly round and straight, centerless ground bar of heat treated 4140 to use for that purpose.
It's about 24" long.
A coworker ground it undersized, and it was headed to the scrap pile, so I snagged it.
It's great for aligning two vises, or checking taper in the lathe.

[WOTDesigns]

I have a perfectly round and straight, centerless ground bar of heat treated 4140 to use for that purpose.
It's about 24" long.
A coworker ground it undersized, and it was headed to the scrap pile, so I snagged it.
It's great for aligning two vises, or checking taper in the lathe.

Much better price than mine! I bought it from McMaster. Still end up doing a little tappy tappy on each one for the last half thou or so.

Brian
WOT Designs

[WOTDesigns]

Centerless would be nice too. This gals' a little hefty

McMaster Carr part number 6061K222
1-3/4" x 18" hardened precision steel shaft

Attachment 258230

Brian
WOT Designs

[CadRhino]

Thanks for everyone's creative input. I have ordered a 1" x 1 1/2" cold rolled bar to mill square and will press dowels into it for vise to vise alignment. My only limitation is that I can only barely mill an 18" long piece on my Tormach with my EM so that will have to do.
Nathan

[BAMCNC.COM]

Tear apart an old printer and steal that bar.

[keen]

This may help for quick set ups - I indicate one vise and lock it down - then loosely fit the second vise and clamp in a long enough steel bar in both the vises - then and tighten the second vise on the table.

Not quite as accurate but very fast for average job quick set ups..

[300sniper]

Am I the only one that puts a piece of 3/4" drill rod in the collet and jogs the x back and forth with the rod just touching the rear jaw while snugging up the hardware? I do it with a singe vise but see no reason it wouldn't work with multiple. Even the spindle nose OD would work.

[smokediver576]

Am I the only one that puts a piece of 3/4" drill rod in the collet and jogs the x back and forth with the rod just touching the rear jaw while snugging up the hardware? I do it with a singe vise but see no reason it wouldn't work with multiple. Even the spindle nose OD would work.

I was wondering this same thing. I've done this on a manual mill and it worked for me. Real curious to see from the Tormach Gods what their thought is on this.