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Drilling into my Orange Vise??

FirstAscent

Plastic
Joined
Nov 24, 2022
Hey all! Looking for some opinions as I'm considering drilling/boring two holes into my Orange Vise (Delta IV) to add two locating down pins that will align with my fixture plate.

Obviously I'd prefer not to drill anything but so far this is the best solution I could think of that will work here.

I have an SMW fixture plate, each hole is spaced 1.25" on center. The top half of each hold is bored for 1/2 dowel pin and the bottom half is tapped for 1/2"-13 threads.

The center of the orange vise would be where the single 1/2"-13 bolt would secure it to the fixture plate but I want one or two down pins for locating/alignment as well. Unfortunately the holes are just barely off (two companies, different spacings, to be expected).
The 4 outer pin holes on the vise are designed for 96mm pull studs, the closest spacing, converted to metric, of the fixture plate calculates to 95.25mm.

My thought was I'd need to drill/bore out two extra 1/2" holes in the vise bottom to allow it to align with the fixture plate. This would allow me to mount it anywhere on the plate needed.

Unless anyone can think of a better way to do this, I'm open to suggestions :)

With that being said, any tips if I do have to drill/bore into the bottom of the orange vise as I'm sure it's hardened, luckily it doesn't need to be very deep, maybe 1/2" or so.
I have a second vise on the way as well, so whatever I do I'll need to do it to both vises.

note: these vises don't have any rails/edges on the sides to clamp down similar to their 6" vises so that is not an option.

orandViseOnFixturePlate_v2.jpg
 
If the vise body is really hard, as I expect, then I would mill and not drill, and keep the holes as shallow as possible. What you want to do sounds fine to me, I'm not shy about modifying things to my needs.
 
If you have a new vise coming it might be worth asking orange how much to add your holes. They will have it setup to bore the other holes and might be willing to add your holes for a minimal cost.
Great point! worth asking for sure, thanks I'll reach out to them. I know my next vise is still awaiting production so *fingers crossed*
 
thanks guys. @DavidScott would you personally mill only or would you bore out the final OD?
Depends on your tolerances. I can interpolate under .0005" tir on my old mill, not sure on the new one, so that is how I would do it. For a 1/2" bore I would use 1/4" end mills, maybe a used one to rough and a newer one to finish. Spiral in with a light chip load and ramp angle with compressed air to rough. What you want to do isn't hard for a decent cnc mill.
 
Depends on your tolerances. I can interpolate under .0005" tir on my old mill, not sure on the new one, so that is how I would do it. For a 1/2" bore I would use 1/4" end mills, maybe a used one to rough and a newer one to finish. Spiral in with a light chip load and ramp angle with compressed air to rough. What you want to do isn't hard for a decent cnc mill.
thanks for the tips. I'll do some testing in some raw stock first :)
 
We'll do it for you.

Use a counterbored base plug for a single button head 1/2"-13 thru the center. This will have plenty of hold down force, since the "web" of the vise is sufficiently thick at 0.813".

We'll add two dowel bores for 1/2" dia x 3/4" dowels for locating and anti-rotation on opposite corners. We have an SMW plate for test fitting. SMW uses standard dowels (.5001-.5003) so the bores will be machined accordingly.

P.S. If you or anyone else ever has the need to modify our vises/plates, they're typically case hardened. Mill through the case at 250 SFM down to 0.075" deep and then treat the rest like normal steel.
 
We'll do it for you.

Use a counterbored base plug for a single button head 1/2"-13 thru the center. This will have plenty of hold down force, since the "web" of the vise is sufficiently thick at 0.813".

We'll add two dowel bores for 1/2" dia x 3/4" dowels for locating and anti-rotation on opposite corners. We have an SMW plate for test fitting. SMW uses standard dowels (.5001-.5003) so the bores will be machined accordingly.

P.S. If you or anyone else ever has the need to modify our vises/plates, they're typically case hardened. Mill through the case at 250 SFM down to 0.075" deep and then treat the rest like normal steel.
It's rare, but customer service still exists, thank you guys!
I sent you an email earlier today already about it as well, truly appreciate the support!
 
My first contact with Sol / Erick Sun the owner of Orange Vise was when he was still at Glacern Machine Tools. He impressed me then about answering any questions I had and went out of his way to get me a deal on shipping for the the order I was making. I'd say that extra level of service seems to be SOP with him.
 
My first contact with Sol / Erick Sun the owner of Orange Vise was when he was still at Glacern Machine Tools. He impressed me then about answering any questions I had and went out of his way to get me a deal on shipping for the the order I was making. I'd say that extra level of service seems to be SOP with him.
I can agree with this! When I placed my very first order with them over a year ago (their beautiful bench vise) they were very helpful in getting a few things taken care of for me. Great to see and hear this is just SOP for them
 
Have you ask SMK about maybe making one to fit the vise. You’re not going to be the only person trying to accomplish putting an Orange Vise on their plate. They can then market it as a separate part number, and nobody needs to drill intl their nice new vise.
 
How much extra to drill that new vise? I would guess a little less for a second matching one on the same order. Would you do this if I ship you a used orange vise?
Not really interested, just asking.
This thread is one year old, so how did it work out?
Bill D
 








 
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