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HOW TO TRAM A VISE ON YOUR MILLING MACHINE

Written by Travers Team | Mar 3, 2025 3:51:22 PM

 


Following - HOW TO MOUNT A VISE ON YOUR MILLLING MACHINE

Tramming a Vise is essential for achieving precise machining results on a manual mill. Properly aligned vises ensure that your workpieces are positioned accurately, preventing issues such as uneven cuts or misalignment during operations. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to tram a vise accurately and effectively.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to tram a vise accurately and effectively-

Optional Vise Preparation

  1. Remove both jaws and stone the mating surfaces on the vise and the jaws.
  2. Clean all mating surfaces and remount the jaws.

(Some machinists prefer to lay a parallel down on its side and clamp it in the vise jaws before indicating the vise.)

Tramming the Vise

  1. Start by loosening both hold-down nuts. Retighten the left one snugly, but not too tight, while leaving the right one loose. (The tighter nut on the left will serve as a pivot point.)
  2. Secure a Test Indicator to the machine’s spindle by using a Mount Indicator Holder.
  3. Move the indicator’s point so it’s slightly away from the face of the vise’s stationary jaw, positioning it near the top left corner.
  4. Move the machine’s Y-axis until the indicator’s needle reaches zero.
  5. Secure a second Test Indicator to the machine’s table, with a Magnetic Indicator Holder, with its point just below the first indicator's point, and zero the dial.

  6. With both indicators zeroed, move the table’s X-axis so the indicator's point sweeps across the vise jaw. Avoid letting it come off the jaw’s end.



  7. Using a soft-faced Dead Blow Mallet, gently tap the vise at the handle end until the indicator’s needle moves a little more than halfway back to zero.
  8. If the indicator on the left side of the vise jaw moved from its zero position, tap the vise until both indicators read the same value.
  9. Move the table’s X-axis so the indicator’s point is back to the left side of the vise.
Important-
  • If both indicators are still at zero position, proceed to step #10 below.
  • If either indicator moved from the zero position, repeat steps #6 through #9 above.
  • Continue the process until the indicator reads zero across the entire width of the vise jaw



  1. With the indicator in the spindle moved to the right side of the vise, tighten the loose nut first, and then tighten the one on the left.
  2. To ensure that the vise didn’t move while it was being tightened, move the table’s X-axis back across the vise jaw while checking the indicator needles for any movement.

Tools Used

For this process, you’ll need several tools to achieve the best results:
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