Microscope vises

[ken dixon]

Hi, I have been considering buying a GRS scope and I wondered if it would work to use my magnablock and buy a turntable base for $190 instead of the positioning vise for$670? I will be doing some large items, bits and spurs. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks Ken

 

[pilkguns]

Buy the turntable. The Positioning vise will not function well if you are doing large objects like bits and spurs.

 

[Sam]

The turntable's definitely the way to go as far as I'm concerned. If you're short to medium height you might be better off with a low profile vise as opposed to the magnablock. As the vise gets taller the vise must be lowered and/or the microscope raised.

 

[Tira]

I'll give you one more vote for the turntable/magnablock combination. That is what I use and I do some very large objects. So far everything has fit in the magnablock (car headlamp buckets, pipe wrenches, small bells, Harley gas tanks, gun parts, etc.) except for the 40lb. bell. That I did on the turntable with a 25lb. bag of rice. For most of these large pieces I do not use a scope.

For when I use the scope I put small teflon feet (sticky round quarter sized parts from Home Depot) on the bottom of the rubber magnablock ring so it slides well. If the turntable is clean and devoid of dust or metal chips then the vise slides around it very nicely. This is what I use for small stuff (jewelry, money clips, etc.) because the combination of centering (turntable) and being able to move the vise on the fly with my left hand is very convienent for me.

 

[fegarex]

My vote is the magna block and turntable as well. I do mostly firearms so I like the added weight. I put some plastic on the bottom of the ring but Tira's idea of the teflon feet sounds even better. The low profile vise is nice too and may be enough for bits and spurs. My "turntable" is actually a drill press table but I use the GRS version a lot for teaching and it works well. I find the set up much faster and easier than the positioning vise for me.

 

[Sam]

Like many things, there are always trade-offs involved. The Positioning Vise is big, heavy, extremely stable, and since the crown rotates, you can tilt the vise toward you for engraving (if you like to do this). Repositioning requires a grip on the vise jaws with one hand and moving the release lever with the other. It also has less 'travel' than a turntable-vise setup.

In the turntable-vise arrangement, the crown of the vise is locked and the turntable rotates instead. If you tilt the vise toward you and turn the turntable, the vise then points away from you. I do most of my work with the vise flat, so this isn't an issue. The GRS turntable is 12-inches and offers greater travel than a positioning vise. A turntable-vise setup is also faster to use since you just scoot the vise around on the turntable to reposition, often without removing the graver from the cut. In fact, there are many times when I reposition the vise while cutting. I also have Teflon attached to the bottom of my rubber tire base, and keep my turntable waxed. My vise glides across the surface with very little effort.

I should add that Chris DeCamillis uses a Positioning Vise for gun engraving and is very happy with it.

 

[Yves Halliburton]

Drill Press

Ken, you add the drill press setup that a lot of us have gone to and you get the most versitile setup around.

 

[William Grubb]

I have the positioning vise ,and after using the turntable at GRS in Oct
I'm planning on investing in the turntable, I believe they are easier to keep your piece centered.

 

[fegarex]

Sam,
You mentioned that Chris uses the positioning vise for firearms be we all know he is a little strange...

Just kidding Chris!!
Just to add more confusion, both set ups are good and it depends what you are engraving. Many jewelers love the positioning vise. Like Sam, I can move my vise around easily while making the cuts. It becomes second nature in a while. For what it is worth, if you already have a positioning vise, you can still use it with a turntable. After 25 years + engraving I went with the Magna-Block/Drill press stand for my use but that is only my personal preference. Your mileage may vary.........

 

[Sam]

Rex: I assume you're mounting the turntable on the drill press stand, right?

 

[Marcus Hunt]

I too use a positioning vice for gunwork and find that it's fine. I don't lock the scope so I can move it left or right if it the piece spins out of the field of view. I've also gone the drill press route to support the vise. It's much easier to lower it if working on a large item which affects the depth of field than it is to adjust the height of the scope.

cheers,
Marcus

ps, I've just today finished moving into my new studio so hopefully I'll be able to customise everything to my needs now. Whopppeee!

 

[ken dixon]

Thanks for all the help. What do you mean about the drill press stand? Is that to hold the turntable or is it in place of it? Thanks Ken

 

[Cody]

Could someone post a picture of the drill press table idea??

Thanks
Cody

 

[fegarex]

[/IMG]Here's a couple of quick snapshots...

 

[fegarex]

 

[Sam]

Rex: Nice, clear shot. Thank you.
One complaint...your bench is entirely too neat. / ~Sam

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Not only is it a very neat bench, that's an enormous picture!

Barry Lee Hands once gave me a tip for posting pictures - if you don't exceed 900 pixels in width the picture fits really well.

Re drill press stands, get a cheap one and chop the tube down to size. I use the base that comes with it as I find it ideal for resting my heel when using the foot pedal. Others bolt it directly to the floor but I like to be able to move it away entirely should the need arise. I got some money back by selling the drill part on Ebay. (will post a pic of my new studio tomorrow if it stops raining!)

cheers,
Marcus

 

[msar24]

Looking at the pictures I need the following at my bench:

drill press stand, papertowel holder, tool organizers, and the TV.

 

[fegarex]

I must apologize for both!! I thought I sent the link for the "web ready" shots but had the wrong ones. Sam, can you downsize them? Sorry.
As for the bench.. It's because I just finished a job. Usually when working it gets pretty cluttered. The later in the job, the more clutter. You can tell when you are almost done when you can't see the bench.....

 

[Cody]

Thanks for the pic Rex. It does raise another ? that I've been meaning to ask, how do y'all keep track of your gravers so you can find the one you want easily, particularily gravers of the same shape but different face and heel angles??.

Thanks
Cody