Making a milling vice

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NormanV:
I'm sure that the square slide will be ok, I just have to make sure that there is no play to allow the moving jaw to lift. I suspect that a little play sideways will not be a problem, in fact it should allow the jaws to grip parallel if my machining is not perfect.

NormanV:
I've started machining the casting. Mounting it was the first problem as not having a vice already meant that I needed to find another way to do it. I drilled and tapped the holes that will eventually be used to fix the clamps that fit on the slide. I used these holes to mount the casting onto two flat bars 40 x 6mm and then was able to bolt the bars down to the table.
I've partly machined the bottom of the casting and the milling machine is working nicely, it is quiet and rigid and giving a good finish.

NormanV:
Whooo! I just had a bit of excitement. I am about to cast the main body of the vice. I'd lit the furnace with it's load of aluminium and gone into the workshop to tidy up when I noticed that the roar of the furnace had stopped. It is quite breezy today so I guessed that the wind had blown it out. I went to go outside to turn off the gas and purge it before relighting it when there was a load bang and it relit itself. I'm glad that I wasn't standing over it! There was no harm done and it now has a wind shield around it.

NormanV:
Well that was a disappointment, the moulding of the sand went well, likewise the pour. When I opened the mould I got quite a shock. The surface finish of the casting was amongst the best I have had, nice and smooth and no corners broken away. I had gated it from the ends so as to avoid too much hacksawing, I expected some shrinkage on the tops of the end blocks and allowed extra material to cover it. But, when I turned it over I was greeted by a large amount of shrinkage and the metal had torn apart on the inside corners!
Well it's back in the pot tomorrow, weather permitting, and I'll gate it from the tops of the blocks, I might try to extend the gates in order to get a larger head of metal to reduce shrinkage.

awemawson:
Norman,

I would have poured that shape in the vertical, gating from the bottom and left a thickness for machining off the top. I know it means a custom cope & drag :wave:

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