Parlec PSW-6900:
6" wide angle-lock vise (Taiwan). 75 lbs. 9" opening. 1.75" jaw depth. Bed height 2.875" ±0.0005".
Parallelism of base to bed 0.0006".
Perpendicularity of jaws to bed 0.0005".
Flatness of base 0.001".
Repeatability within 0.001". Hardened vise bed & jaw plates. Outside rail edges
of the body machined.
80,000 PSI high nickel ductile iron.
8200 lbs clamping pressure. Powder paint & sealed bearing system.
Larger, precision main screw & bolted solid jaw allow higher torque loads.
Dimensions are industry standard.
Another reason why I chose the Parlec vise was because the equivalent, Kurt
Model D675, when fully
closed,
has a movable-jaw nut that protrudes out the back (1.4") which would interfere with table travel
on a smaller mill.
The Parlec does not have a protruding nut. Both Kurt
& Parlec
sites have mechanical drawings for reference.
A two-position speed handle that can also help to reduce the chance of over-tightening the vise on a
delicate part.
Kurt spring-loaded parallels separator.
Fabricated a 17mm drawbar wrench with an integral brass hammer. Loosen the mill's
hardened nut & give it a tap.
Used a ⅜" carbide end mill to make a hole through the
Craftsman six-sided (for strength) deep socket for the
tightly-fitting steel handle.
There are milled flats on both sides of the hole. The locknut fits inside the
milled flat edges. The handle is located midpoint.
The brass head has a tight-fitting peg pressed into the square hole & is held in using an
⅛" roll-pin.
There is a heavy, 45° chamfer on the hammer's face edge. The longer handle
allows a tighter draw down &
the socket
keeps the nut in good condition. The open-ended wrench was shorter & caused
micro-burrs
which I had to stone off so the socket would slide on & off smoothly.
Various work stops for the mill vise.
This stop attaches to either the back or front side of the jaws' threaded holes.
This stop attaches to the mill table. Shown indexing a
5C fixture.
These stops clamp the vise jaws.
Electronic edge finder with a ¾" shank. The 0.400" diameter ball tip is spring-loaded to
prevent damage from over travel.
When the edge is detected, zero the DRO, retract the
quill then move the axis ½ the distance of the ball's radius (0.200") & then zero
the DRO, again.
See more vises.
A variety of edge detectors & center finders with ¾".
½", & ⅜" shanks. The spindle is turning.
The wiggle-type (right) works best at about 1000 RPM. LS Starrett makes are superior.
⅜" diameter
Starrett edge finder with its adapter so
you don't have to change a collet just to indicate an edge.
Step sizes: ¼", 5/16", ⅜", ½",
⅝", ¾" and
1". Step depths vary from .100" to .200".
A stepped center indicator for quick alignments. Made out of stainless steel rod.
¼", 5/16", ⅜", ½" steps.
For the most accurate indication, use a
center finder or
dial test indicator.
Small, low, 1/16" thick, polycarbonate chip shield.
The aluminum
base has five glued-in magnets.
Three, 6-32 set screws hold the shield into the base.
Larger polycarbonate shield on a magnetic base.
SS holder rod with aluminum edge holder.
Works on the lathe, too.
Parallel
sets are a convenient way to accurately hold a work piece
or fixture at different depths in the
mill vise jaws.
6" long, 1/32" (0.032") ultra-thin, ½" through 1-11/16" by 1/16"
increments.
Needed when working close the the piece's edge and/or gripping near the top (1/16")
of the vise jaws.
50 HRC. Parallelism ±0.0001". These ultra-thins also clear the tightening
nut of the 5C collet fixture
when it is used in a vertical position. To keep closely-spaced parallels separated, I place a
piece of foam in-between them.
A drop of light instrument oil will also stick parallels to the vise
jaws. For wider openings, I use a Kurt separator.
6" long, ⅛" thick, ½"
through 1-⅝" by ⅛" increments, standard parallel set.
6" long, ¼" thick, ¾"
through 1-¾" by ⅛" increments parallel set.
6" long, ½" thick, ⅞" through
1-¾" by ⅛" increments parallel set. Accuracy ±0.0003".
These thicker parallels form a very stable part base when there is enough room
for them.
Adjustable parallels. Two sets are handy.
There are also wavy parallels made out of
spring material that compress for holding small pieces.
3-inch parallel set.
1-2-3, 2-3-4 & 2-4-6 "Jo" blocks.
RF-25 mill table slot dimensions.
24 mm = 0.945"
14 mm = 0.551"
10 mm = 0.394"
The RF-25 slots require ½" T-Nuts using
⅜" studs.
Hold-down clamp set.
Fly cutter (Sierra American Brand, USA made)
with ¾" straight shank & ⅜" USA Carboloy grade, left-hand tool bit.
This combination has superior cutting performance when compared to many imports.
It is balanced, precise & rigid plus the set screws are hardened & don't strip.
Left to right: 2-flute end mills for aluminum, ball-nose end mills,
45° & 60° dove-tail & bevel cutters, edge finders, 4-flute end mills for steel (regular & roughing).
Center-cutting end mills allow plunge cuts. Non-center-cutting end mills allow chips to clear.
1¼", 1", ¾", ⅝", ⅝", ½", ⅜", & ⅜". The right three end mills are M42-8%Co with
extra long cutting flutes.
One-inch "Little Hogger" end mill
with a ¾" shank that uses two, TNMG
inserts.
TNMG
inserts have six usable tips, each.
This end mill requires relatively high RPM.
Radius cutter set.
⅛", 30º carbide engraver bit.
A 45º, left-hand cutter & 3" saw blades with 1" hole having different
thicknesses of 1/16",
1/32", & 1/64". See
1-inch, R8 arbor.
When changing tooling that has different lengths, e.g.,
a
drill chuck versus a fly cutter,
I do not want to loosen/move the mill head & then have to re-indicate the piece.
A stubby
ER-16 collet extension & a short
arbor drill chuck allow me to stay close to the
work piece.
The long ER-16 extension allows me to use longer tooling & end mills, too.
Additionally, the long extension can get into much tighter places than the mill
spindle.
ER-16 collet extension pair (US) having stubby (3.65") & long (6.3"),
¾" diameter shanks.
These are very precisely made extensions with a collet lock nut 13/16"
&
there is an inside back-up hex set screw with
left-hand threads that is set against the end mill base.
The Martin Tools
open-end wrench is thinner, flatter & shorter than a standard type making it easier to use around
the mill's head.
The collet is snapped into the nut before tightening. The extensions are made by
Craftsman Industries (NV).
CAUTION: Do not over tighten lock nut, always use backup screw.
Stubby extension stays close to the work & can use 10 different
ER-16 collet sizes with a 0.0197"
~
0.3937" (0.5 ~ 10mm) continuous clamping range.
This is especially helpful when using combinations of drills & end mills.
Using a 20° angle setup on the sine vise, first spot drilled with an end mill followed by
drilling & 8-32 tapping for a cast iron, fly wheel hub
set screw (Hit-Miss Engine).
A stubby ⅝" to JT-33 arbor
(cut & ground down) allows me to
stay close to the work.
This Rohm
chuck (from Germany) is a high quality (0.0035" TIR) chuck.
The long extension helps machine hard to access areas.
Six-inch
Phase
II+
rotary table. Perfect size for the RF-25 table (40
lbs).
Worm gear can cam out of mesh to allow free/rapid rotation of the table.
Before use,
remove the table scale index retention knob that is above the
front left table locking lever, in order to fill
the oil reservoir through the hole.
Plastic reservoir window to the right of the front locking lever shows the oil level.
I filled it to the middle of the window with Starrett light instrument oil.
Tramming the rotary table using an Indicol holder with
Starrett dial test indicator (above) &
a ⅛" collet holding a Gem dial test indicator (below).
6" rotary table with 6" 4-jaw chuck
mounted.
Drilled (Q) & counter-bored (½" end mill) four holes for 5/16-18 hardened hex
bolts.
The bolts are halfway (45°) between the jaws & the threaded holes that mount the
back plate.
First tram the rotary table then tram the chuck indicating off the outside.
Using the rotary table to layout the bolt-hole pattern for the 4" chuck to 6"
rotary adapter plate.
Precision (reamed) center hole used to indicate part center in the 4-jaw chuck.
Engaged all table locks before drilling.
M8-1.25 counter sunk hex bolts use the existing
chuck adapter plate holes.
Hardened 5/16-18 hex bolts hold the plate to the 6" rotary table.
The aluminum plate is made from high-precision (milled) stock.
I bolted a narrow, milled bar with ⅜-16 threaded
mounting holes onto the bottom of the rotary table.
To use, I just clamp it into the vise with the bottom of the table resting on
the top of the precision machined jaws.
The table trams out fine & it is quicker than removing & re-installing the
75
lb.
Parlec vise.
I lose 4.75" in Z but if the job is small, no problem. The rotary table is also
better centered.
Also mounted the 4" rotary table onto a base plate
for quick mounting.
The table already had three, 10-32 threaded holes on the bottom.
I used transfer screws
to align the three, 10-32 threaded holes with the plate.
The rotary table's bottom surface rests on the vise jaws.
If an additional 1¾" of Z is needed, the plate will
hold it inside the vise jaws.
Parallels can be used, too. The
base plate also has (8) holes that align with the
Taig mill table T-slots to allow direct
mounting using 10-32 cap-head bolts.
Dividing head with 5C collet chuck.
Analog readout for the mill/drill. Two-inch travel range, indicator dial. Use with the
extended quill by loosening black thumb screw, sliding down & relocking.
A very low-cost option that gives excellent depth control.
