[WOTDesigns]

I prefer having separate 4 inch CNC vise (open much more than the 5" from Tormach) and a couple Glacern CNC 6"ers. MUCH easier to find accessories, actually come in matched height pairs, more room, more versatile, MUCH higher quality. You can't even purchase the replacement jaws that come with the Tormach CNC Vise. Mine broke and they sent me 1" thick jaws that limit the total opening to just over 3"... on a 5 inch vise... ridiculous.

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They are $600 but to me they are worth it. The whole "5 inch fits better" is an epic load of BS since it only has a 3.5" throat when the jaws get replaced it is less useful than a 4" vise with 5" or 6" steel soft jaws as it will have a larger opening. I can put my glacern 6 next to the 5" Tormach and have more useful clamping space on the Glacern since it can hold a 6" (in the Y axis) part and still reach all of it.

[mountaindew]

I can see the benefit of having both.
Also I will get the Hamier for setting work piece zero etc.. (I never trusted edgefinders, is it wiggling or not?)

I would suggest a couple tts Weldon set screw holders for 2 edge finders "1 standard and 1 for small holes" you will find the Hamier will not always work for thin edges and or in real life many times you must work off a existing location and a small hole is easy to locate and all cam operations can be programmed off it.
Also you need a good interapid indicator to setup and keep the Hamier adjusted. I would again suggest before you do a precision run of parts to check and adjust the Hamier.

Another note for your shopping list! Good Cad and Cam software imho turns my tormach from a 1k lb paper weight into a precision tool than is awesome!
md

[jdholbrook]

Another note for your shopping list! Good Cad and Cam software imho turns my tormach from a 1k lb paper weight into a precision tool than is awesome!

That is a whole nother can of worms and probably deserves a new thread.
In the past I used Solidworks and if I remember, BobCAM.
Of course the license for both have been long lost.
Watching videos on SprutCAM. It seems nice but something about it just doesn't set right with me.
I downloaded CAMBAM and have used it to run the laser cutter.

It wouldn't take much to get back into Solidworks as I was pretty proficient with it back in the day.
HSMWorks for CAM ??
Another approach may be Autodesk Inventor and Inventor HSM or Inventor Cam.
I've already been making 3D printed parts using Inventor student edition.

Probably better to start a new thread about Cad and Cam and the finer points of SprutCAM etc..

[MichaelHenry]

Tooling plates??
I really like that Tosa Tools Modular Tooling Plate TT1634
Little pricey but I think for prototyping it would be very handy. Also I will be working with some large items and would be nice to have the extra clamping options.

They just had a 25% off sale - maybe if you ask nicely you can talk them into an extension.

Mike