02-18-2018, 11:57 PM
I have a Lietz horizontal universal mill - a wondrous piece of machinery, although I use about 5% of it's amazing capability. Among other features, it also has a vertical head and the mass to make it three times as rigid as my similar-sized Taiwan vertical mill. BUT it doesn't have a quill which, for my purposes, limits it's function to a horizontal mill.
"Not that there's anything wrong with that"(if you older members recall the Jerry Seinfeld line). I can place rough stock on the table, set the stops, engage the power feed and go do something else while the stock is being squared precisely and with a near-ground finish. The four inch wide, high-helix slab cutter makes short work of squaring and finish-dimensioning mild steel work.
(FWIW, all of the dials on this beautiful German-made machine are graduated in .0005 increments. And the precision lives up to the promise.)
Usually there is a milling vise with an angle base mounted to the table, as shown (very faintly) in the above photo. But the vise is limited to about 3-1/2 inches of jaw opening - not useful for long stock. I don't recall where I obtained this vise, had it for a long time - and several people have asked - but it is ideal for working long stock on either vertical or horizontal mills.
It's hard to make out the details from the photo but the design eliminates jaw lifting, instead the movable jaw actually presses down on the work as it is tightened. As in a normal mill or shaper vise, only the fixed jaw needs to be indicated square to table or spindle.
I don't use this very often but when it is needed, nothing else will do
"Not that there's anything wrong with that"(if you older members recall the Jerry Seinfeld line). I can place rough stock on the table, set the stops, engage the power feed and go do something else while the stock is being squared precisely and with a near-ground finish. The four inch wide, high-helix slab cutter makes short work of squaring and finish-dimensioning mild steel work.
(FWIW, all of the dials on this beautiful German-made machine are graduated in .0005 increments. And the precision lives up to the promise.)
Usually there is a milling vise with an angle base mounted to the table, as shown (very faintly) in the above photo. But the vise is limited to about 3-1/2 inches of jaw opening - not useful for long stock. I don't recall where I obtained this vise, had it for a long time - and several people have asked - but it is ideal for working long stock on either vertical or horizontal mills.
It's hard to make out the details from the photo but the design eliminates jaw lifting, instead the movable jaw actually presses down on the work as it is tightened. As in a normal mill or shaper vise, only the fixed jaw needs to be indicated square to table or spindle.
I don't use this very often but when it is needed, nothing else will do