Squaring a mill vise
A tutorial on squaring a vise. Includes a nice tip on how to roughly square the vise before bolting it down.
Unfortunately, the videos don't play cleanly. I found them to be better in Firefox on a computer than on a phone.
Haas also has a YouTube video highlighting how you can move the table around to help indicate the vise and to check your vise doesn't hit part of your mill! They also recommend a combination oil-filled aluminum oxide abrasive stone.
Tormach also has a video
Steps combined from the sites:
- Sweep and t-slot clean away chips from the machine table.
- Clean the machine table with degreaser or isopropyl.
- Use a fine grit abrasive stone on the table and bottom of vise to remove burrs etc.
- Apply a light coat of oil to the table and vise.
- Gently place the vise on the table and loosely attach the hold-down hardware.
- Make sure the vise doesn't hit a part of the mill or enclosure when jogged forward and back in Y (possibly with the head all the way down in Z).
- Slide the vise backwards until it is stopped by the bolts in the T-slot.
- Slide the vise forward until it's centered in the T-slot. Use your thumbs, bracing the edge of the table with your index fingers.
- Snug the left bolt and only tighten the right bolt enough to keep the vise from moving by hand. This allows it to pivot on the left bolt.
- Indicate the fixed jaw on the left end and rotate the gauge to zero.
- Jog the indicator to the right end.
- Tap the vise with a dead-blow hammer until it's a little past zero again.
- Repeat 9-11 until it's perfect. It should take 3-5 repetitions.