If you do not already have a vise and are considering purchasing both a vise and a rotating base, they can be purchased together at a price that is less than the two purchased individually.

A milling vise is a versatile way to hold parts securely. It is accurately made so it can be aligned to the mill table. It also has a jaw that pulls down as well as in to keep parts from being pulled up by the milling cutter.

The rotating vise base eliminates clamping and unclamping the vise to produce angles. Once mounted square to the table, the vise can be positioned using the laser engraved protractor scale as a guide for setting the angle. Properly positioned, the rotating base can even be used as a simple rotary table to drill or machine small, radial symmetric patterns.

When mounting the mill vise to the table, this base will allow the vise to be rotated to any angle. The red anodized base is laser engraved with angle measurements in 1° increments all the way around. A witness mark is engraved on the side of the rotating collar that holds the vise. The locking washers can be loosened, which allows the vise to slide forward and back in the fixture for further adjustment. A locking ring underneath pulls the collar down onto the base to lock it securely when the two hold-down screws are tightened. The low profile tooling plate base only raises the height of the vise 1/2″. Four T-nuts and hold-down bolts are included.

The most convenient way to hold small parts for milling is with the milling vise. Milling vises are different from other machine vises in that they are designed to hold the movable jaw down while clamping, eliminating any chance for the jaw to lift. It is also accurately made. A cheap drill press vise is almost useless on a milling machine because it can’t be accurately aligned to the machine.

A milling vise is the first accessory most mill owners purchase. It will handle a large percentage of the part-holding duties when milling and is easy to use.

A ghost view of the mill vise shows the brass pull-down barrel in yellow.

The Sherline milling vise is sized just right to be the perfect working companion to the Sherline milling machine. The jaws are 2.00″ (50.8mm) wide by 1.00″ (25.4mm) deep and open a full 2.00″ (50.8mm). The fixed jaw has both a horizontal and vertical “V” groove to facilitate holding round bar stock. The vise includes two clamps for use in attaching it to the milling machine. These clamps are the same as the 4-jaw hold-down set.