Thread: Where to get toolmaker vice holddowns?

I bought a toolmaker vice from Hare and Forbes... had a voucher, wanted one! I stupidly assumed a vice would come with hold downs, but it has not. Now looking it seems they're not a straight forward purchase item. Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a set? Any help greatly appreciated.

You will probably have to make your own or have someone make them to suit your vice and the item they are clamping too.

Originally Posted by pipeclay

You will probably have to make your own or have someone make them to suit your vice and the item they are clamping too.

I can do that, just don’t really want to. Seems crazy that such a common item doesn’t have holddowns available, despite being made to be used in conjunction with them! Live and learn...

G'day Matt,
I've never understood why they don't come with the vice when they put the slots there for them.
Something like these might be worth a try and they can be used to clamp things directly to the table as well:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/T-SLOT-T...843ee351d1c133
Cheers,
Greg.

Read the post here and then seen you asked on a FB page as well.
For a supplier to add hold downs to be suited to every mill T slot size on the market would be hard.

I haven't seen them commercially available, but I think they would be available somewhere.

For the price they would charge you with postage you would be better off making them yourself.
Do you have another vice to make them with? Or a lathe and a drill press/hand drill?

Originally Posted by kwijibo99

G'day Matt,
I've never understood why they don't come with the vice when they put the slots there for them.
Something like these might be worth a try and they can be used to clamp things directly to the table as well:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/T-SLOT-T...843ee351d1c133
Cheers,
Greg.

Wow there expensive, I remember buying mine from the US years ago (Chinese brand) for around $8 each or less and didn't cost much more with combined postage in a flate rate box.
How we get ripped off in Australia with imports.

Originally Posted by kwijibo99

G'day Matt,
I've never understood why they don't come with the vice when they put the slots there for them.
Something like these might be worth a try and they can be used to clamp things directly to the table as well:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/T-SLOT-T...843ee351d1c133
Cheers,
Greg.

Looks like a modified Valve rocker as you'd find in your car engine. Not sure but I think engines with OHC (Over Head Cam/s) might be a likely donor.
HTH
Kryn

Hello Matt,

I can't remember if I posted pictures of mine here or not, anyway I can't find them.

I made them from some scrap 7/8" inch square bar, cut to length with an 1/8" slice cut off underneath leaving a raised edge about an 1/8" inch wide and then milled off the top so that they fit into the slot. I drilled mine to take M6 cap screws.It took a couple of hours to make them.

If you need I can go take some more pictures later.

10-06-2019-004.jpg
I have my vise mounted on a reference plate held down to the mill table by a couple of clamps. The vise itself is clamped by four hold downs. You can see two of them right at the bottom of this picture.

Originally Posted by Dave J

Read the post here and then seen you asked on a FB page as well.
For a supplier to add hold downs to be suited to every mill T slot size on the market would be hard.

I haven't seen them commercially available, but I think they would be available somewhere.

For the price they would charge you with postage you would be better off making them yourself.
Do you have another vice to make them with? Or a lathe and a drill press/hand drill?

Thanks Dave,

Figured I cast a wide net and see what I catch!

I have the tools to make some hold downs, it just seems bizarre they don’t come with some. Even if they just had a pilot hole that you drilled out to suit your t-slots would make more sense than a vice that isn’t particularly useful until you make tooling to hold it.

Cheers

Matt

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hello Matt,

I can't remember if I posted pictures of mine here or not, anyway I can't find them.

I made them from some scrap 7/8" inch square bar, cut to length with an 1/8" slice cut off underneath leaving a raised edge about an 1/8" inch wide and then milled off the top so that they fit into the slot. I drilled mine to take M6 cap screws.It took a couple of hours to make them.

If you need I can go take some more pictures later.

10-06-2019-004.jpg
I have my vise mounted on a reference plate held down to the mill table by a couple of clamps. The vise itself is clamped by four hold downs. You can see two of them right at the bottom of this picture.

Thanks for the info. I’m sure I can work from the pic you provided if I go that way.

Cheers

Matt

Originally Posted by Dave J

For a supplier to add hold downs to be suited to every mill T slot size on the market would be hard.

It would be hard. My drills have two different T sizes. One fab shop I worked in had 2 mills and 3 drills, not a common T size between them.

Tony

It’s a fair point, guess I’m just surprised. Looks like I’ll be making some. I should be pleased for a new project but I had plans that now need to go on hold until I do.
The only square stock I have is Damascus too, so they’re gonna be fancy ones

grab some key stock from the local bearing place as a source of short lengths of square stock.

Originally Posted by mattm82

It’s a fair point, guess I’m just surprised. Looks like I’ll be making some. I should be pleased for a new project but I had plans that now need to go on hold until I do.
The only square stock I have is Damascus too, so they’re gonna be fancy ones

Originally Posted by mattm82

I bought a toolmaker vice from Hare and Forbes... had a voucher, wanted one! I stupidly assumed a vice would come with hold downs, but it has not. Now looking it seems they're not a straight forward purchase item. Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a set? Any help greatly appreciated.

Am in a similar situation, have been able to clamp the vice to the table with 4 regular hold down clamps but it looks messy. Picked up a couple of clamps similar to the ebay specials in #4 above but they were way too big. Will make something, a nice little beginners project. Was thinking of using 4140, does that sound reasonable.

Tony

It is like when you a lighting fixture, many times they don't come with any sort of bulb