Reducing the jaw lift of a Wilton 11674 Vise for use on a mill

[jjr2001]

Well we will attempt to improve upon our first Wilton 11674 vise mod and see if we can reduce the jaw lift even more.
Homemade Vise Lift Modification - HomemadeTools.net
While it will not replace the Kurt vise on any large mill it will make a very nice addition to the Mini Mill.
A Kurt or even Import milling vise dwarfs the mini mill and I have had good luck with my Wilton so far,
just wanted to make it act like a Kurt...( A light weight Kurt that is) My alternate method on the mini mill is
to use a 3" machinist vise that does not exhibit any up lift tendencies. (none that I noticed)

A base plate was needed in order use the clamping groove in the vise for the lock down feature:
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/i...punching-65904
Once this was installed the lock down clamps were made. Simple parts made of 1018 cold rolled.
10-32 cap screws were used throughout. A small recess was milled in the side of the main clamp blocks
to provide clearance for the vise base. (Vise jaw is not quite as wide as the base)
Clamp down action is accomplished with the top cap screw on the left and right hand clamps.
Yep, I know, not as convenient as the single screw Kurt but this vise is convenient to use on the mini mill
and I feel that a full size lock down vise is just too big for my little mill. Two pins in each clamp guide the foot and keep it from twisting. Loctite was used on the main clamping block to secure the pins.

I will be making some before and after tests on this setup tomorrow.


Another vise addition for the Wilton was this thread with the vise stop:
Homemade Milling Vise Stop - HomemadeTools.net
And of course the soft jaws:
http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-vise-soft-jaws-12

[Paul Alciatore]

Nice job, I love it. Looks like it could be done with many brands of vise.

And, of course, it started my thought processes for another project. Seems to me that a vise like that could be modified with a Kurt like device to draw the movable jaw down as it is tightened. Here comes more midnight oil.

[jjr2001]

Thanks Paul, this vise has been in place on my mini-mill since I modified it. I have not used my machinist screwless vise at all on this mill.
It holds within about .0015" without a final tightening of the "hold downs". I just keep them snug. I can reduce the lift by cinching them down to less than .001.
Not bad for a $60.00 vise that gives me more head room than the Kurt style. Just what we need for the mini mill.

Cheers, JR