The use of 3D printing to create custom parts for machines is a game changer. It's amazing to see how quickly and easily you were able to design and create a part to prevent rotation in the vise. Sometimes not everything has to be machined in metal but sometimes when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail. 3D Printers are great additions to machine shops for custom jigs/fixtures and general orientation helpers.

This fixed worked really well for me. Thank you!

Great idea. Nice fix. 👍

Great channel!

Great tip on the anti rotation piece you printed … making a model for one now

Mine arrived today and the first thing I checked was the problem of the nut falling out. The spring clamp he talks about is there for a very good reason. If you remove the allen head cap screw, you will see that there is a rounded device on the top part of the vise, just below the cap screw. If you remove the cap screw from above, both will come out from the top. Now here is where it gets interesting. It is designed so that when you loosen about 6 turns using the allen wrench, and PUSH UP the allen wrench towards the front of the vise, the t bolt presses against the bottom spring. The rounded portion just below the cap screw acts like a lever, pushing down the t bolt against that "spring" allowing you to move the movable jaw into position, and when you release the allen wrench, you will hear it click into position, and then be able to re-tighten. 6 turns out on the cap screw, and you will quickly and easily be able to re-position the movable jaw, and be nowhere near having that t bolt drop off. Beautiful design, if only they included instructions on how to use it.

Thanks. The clamp/ vice I have will need allot of work till I’m happy. This helps me allot

Cool vid. I made a new cross pin that was almost exactly the width of the slot on the bottom of the vise and made sure not to round off the ends. This keeps it from spinning and becoming perpendicular to the slots.

Clever fix! 😊

I improved my 3" screwless vise from LMS. I tossed that POS into a junk bin and bought a standard milling vise.

Great video,thanks for sharing your very useful modifications with us. These modifications should have been made before the vice left the factory.Quality control hey ^_^

The challenge with this type of vise is that only 50% of the force does the clamping, the other 50% is used to hold the vise jaw down. I am amazed at the amount of force I must clamp with. The internals on my vise were little more than junk. I beefed up the design and now use a 3/8-24 bolt for clamping. Over the years I have purchased several Made in India items. The externals were great, but the internals were junk.

Just bought on of these and the first thing I did was break it down, clean it, then deburr everything! Was full of grinding dust and everything had burrs. Expected for the price. Then I made a new clamp retainer and upgraded the screw from m6 to m8. Works excellently now. Thanks for the video. You confirmed my thoughts.

Nice fix with the 3D printing. Fixing a bad design in the first place. Good Job!

Great video! I thought I had the worlds smallest grinder... it’s a craftsman 5”. All plastic and fairly weak. Finding wheels for it’s a chore. 1/2” arbor.

Good solution. I'll probably take this and also make it so that when I accidentally unscrew the nut that it doesn't sit as low on the table. I hate trying to fish it out

I had the same problem with my micro vise. I don't have a space for 3D printed part, I just turned new one on the lathe machine with correct size. Another think I did, that I reduce the diameter of that pin (only on two ends, D0.2mm), so it goes easier to those grooves.

very good i need one regards laurence

Different regions can have different generally accepted names for almost anything. However that's the first time I've ever heard this type of vise referred to as a machinist vise. I have heard them called either a screwless, grinding, or tool makers vise. A couple of mine have a flat bent spring that pushes the yoke down and the cross pin clear of the slots once the tightening bolt is backed off enough. Drilling and tapping to hold the spring firmly in place might be impossible since the vise parts are seriously hardened.

Interesting. I've been looking at replacing that piece with one made out of some square stock. Using a 3D printed adapter is a nice proof of concept or final solution.

Good fix! 3 D printers can be practical afterall! :)

Thank you for your very interesting video: I have a vice like yours but slightly shorter, but I don't like it, because on 10 pieces I have to block, for 2 of them I find the position that blocks them, for the other 8 I don't! This is an example to say that I already have little more time I can not lock the pieces for it does not lock and the pieces slide! Can you help me? Where am I wrong? I usually place the piece on the flat part, then I slide the movable jaw until it touches the piece and try to tighten the screw! If I have to flatten pieces, they are not perfectly flat ... is this the problem? Usually I tried adding some thicknesses (the flat blocks rectified to understand) but in any case I was not always able to block the piece, wasting time and also risking hurting myself! Now I'm using another bite, if you tell me where I'm wrong I might try to reuse it! Thank you for your help!

Nice solution. How do you fix the vise to mill? I have similar one and thinking to make 4mm deep groove instead holes for fixing.

I have two of these and the design doesn’t stop part lifting at all. Still needs a whack with the hammer

Do you have the STL file to share? TIA Bob

I don't have this type of vise to try this, but I have thought the solution of a light spring under the washer of screw would fix this problem. It will always have tension and when you want to move the jaw, you just press the screw head down on the spring.

What kind of hold downs do you use?

Hi John, is the 3d model for the plastic part available please as I have exactly the same vice. Thanks.

anyone know who can make the 3d part.., i need one

My solution for both the rotating problem and the chewing up problem was to buy a longer pin made of hardened steel rather than mild steel. Doesn't even need to be set-screwed into place, it just can't rotate. www.mcmaster.com/97355A296 This is the pin you'll need for a 2" vise

There is a real problem with this type vice apart from the small pin in the nut swiveling out of position.....when the jaw is as far back as it can go in the first clamping hole position you are actually only clamping with as little as one thread in the nut. For more thread engagement you are practically full up against the fixed jaw in the first hole position. The first hole position (on a 100mm wide vice) will give you a clamping range of 0 to max 31mm but that means you have only one thread engaged......it needs the nut to be longer with more thread. On the vice I have I'm using a long cross pin in place of that short pin,, a slack fit in the nut that spans the whole width of the vice . The nut cannot swivel and drop out of the slots now. To go wider I can push the pin out and move the jaw back then reinsert the pin. You don't need to constantly move the jaw back and forth so one hole at a time is OK. As these vices are only case hardened you can drill into the bottom of the base and break through the case with a carbide drill for tapped holes and fit a 10mm thick base plate that overlaps the sides like a normal vice with 4 holes in them to suite the spacing of the tee slots on your particular mill table.

thx! i have bougth this vise today, and have the same problems. your video is good feed for thinking. i saw there are a models with spring, which hold a bolt. like this kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z5l6md15ut-dj4E.html

I'm just embarking on making machining4all's version of this type of vice and their design of the "toggle" it is made from one piece with the "body" as wide as the "slot" in which it slides. While you've fixed yours with your printed part their's shouldn't have the problem. I hope. One question I have is how do you clamp yours to the work surface on the mill? I plan to cut a 1/4"*3/8" slot along the sides and ends to enable the use of toe clamps. Any suggestions welcome to rgwent@sympatico.ca .

Link on Thingiverse for the 3d printed part? Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

"Machinist"

These type vises are actually toolmaker's / grinding vises and are not suitable for machining with cutters. They have poor clamping pressure but, can hold something in an accurate position for inspection purposes or light grinding. Purchase a smaller sized lock-down style milling vise and you will get much better results with less headaches. A better brand is KURT but they are pricey. Be careful with lower cost Chinese vises as they may look nice and appear to be decent quality, but they truly are not...unless you are willing to spend time reworking the vise to make it better and useful...and SAFE.

Why dont you bolt ya grinder down. Thats a pretty dangerous move