Traditional vises use a screw to tighten the two jaws together and hold your work. This works fairly well in most applications, but sometimes you’re dealing with delicate parts and require a touch more finesse when clamping. That’s where toolmaker vises come in!

A good vise is a fundamental tool for precision machining. In addition to choosing the right size vise for your machine, identifying the right types of vise for workholding is critical to making sure your workpiece is secured while its being milled. There are a three types of vises that you’ll commonly encounter in CNC milling – the machinist vise, the CNC vise, and the toolmaker vise.

Work offsets let your machine know where your stock is and where your part will be when you’re done. It might sound rudimentary, but work offsets are important.

The Tormach mission is focused on enabling the ideas of our many users, who find themselves at varying levels of knowledge and skill when it comes to machining. CNC machining has often been restricted to those with the means to house massive manufacturing machinery and those with the knowledge-base to keep from crashing said machinery.

This week, as I bore the responsibility of preparing a PCNC 1100 for an upcoming trade show, I made the realization of how much I dislike cleaning. Making chips is fantastic entertainment, but picking up those chips makes me cringe.

Last week, we talked about the importance of precision and the tools that are essential to help every machinist take measurements. Another vital set of measurements that every machinist needs to utilize are tool and work offsets – essentially, knowing where your work piece is and how your cutting tool will come into contact.