Review - Milling Vise

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Anglock Type Precision Milling Vise

[Dec. 7, 2013]

Advertised as a 4" ANG-LOCK CNC VISE FOR CNC/BRIDGEPORT MILLING MACHINE-NEW, I purchased this vise online ($108 + $24 shipping) to use on my mill (a LittleMachineShop Model 3900 HiTorque Mini Mill). I had some concerns that the vise would be too large for my small mill, and I have to say that those concerns have not entirely gone away. I should note that the vise is returnable, but the shipping costs are high enough to make this impractical. At this time, I have only had the vise for a short time, so these are very preliminary thoughts.

Note that the mill comes with a handle and some keyway parts; vise clamps are not included. The vise is heavy (28 lbs), but not overly so, but probably at the upper limit for a mini mill. So far, I have found that when turning the clamping screw, the resistance is somewhat uneven with increased resistance at part of every full turn (this seems to be improving as I use the vise). However, the jaw appears to advance smoothly, and the clamping is tight and even.

Based on a very limited amount of use so far, I would say that this vise is a good value, and is certainly faster and easier to use than a screwless vise. The biggest limitation I have run into so far is in drilling - standard jobber length drill bits, except for the smaller sizes, will not fit in the work envelope. Screw machine length drills are pretty much a necessity for drilling with this vise on the mill.

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Here are the published specifications for the vise.

PULL-TYPE DESIGN FOR UP TO 80% LESS DEFLECTION.
ALL SIDES FLATNESS TO 0.0001"
ACCURACY BOTH SIDES, SQUARE TO BOTTOM 0.0004"
PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER TO 0.0008"
CAN BE MOUNTED ON SIDE OR BASE
BOTTOM KEYWAY ATTACHMENT TO LOCK AND POSITION THE VISE ON YOUR TABLE SLOT ACCURATELY. (see photo below)
MAX. JAW OPENING: 4"
JAW WIDTH: 4"
JAW HEIGHT: 1-1/2"
O.A.L: 11".
CLAMPING FORCE: 9,000LBS
WT.:28 LBS

The dimensions given above should be considered approximate. Actual dimensions from the unit I received are shown below. Note also that the actual width of the vise is 3.89" as measured at the jaw faceplates.

Does it fit?

The photos below show the vise mounted on my mill table. I was happy to see that the vise clamps I made for my other vise worked on this one as well. There is a considerable amount of overhang (expected), but most of the weight is over the table so it is not overbalanced by much. The vise handle is easily removable, which is a good thing as it tends to get in the way of the y-axis crank.

I had no trouble mounting the vise on my mill table, and it was actually easier to square up than my smaller vise.

Below are two more photos showing the vise in place on the mill table. In order to get a bit more z-axis clearance, I removed a stop on the mill column; this stop prevents the head from rising to the full height of the column (I plan to replace the stop with one located higher up). I should also note that my mill is bolted down, so there is no danger of it tipping over from the head being raised too high.