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.

If you haven't seen toolmaker vises before, then it might not be immediately clear why you might need one.  It turns out, however, that they are a very handy device to have in your work holding arsenal.  Small tool maker vises are designed to be held inside a larger machinist's vise.