The problem
Two flat jaws grip a cube well and a cylinder badly
A parallel vise touches a round bar on two lines and an irregular casting on whatever high spot it finds first. You pack it, you shim it, you re-clock it, and the centre moves every time.
Six leaves converging on one axis touch the work at six points and hold it on the same centre line whatever its shape. That is the whole idea, and it is why the aperture is round.
The central move
Scroll is the collar
Sixty degrees of collar rotation takes the aperture from 36 mm to closed, through 24 detents of 1.5 mm each. Scrolling this page turns it. Scroll back and the leaves open again, because the travel is monotonic and every position is a state the tool can actually hold.
What is inside
Eleven parts, no castings, no springs under tension
6 leaves · hardened tool steelDrive collar · knurledBody ring · 78 mm ODPivot pins + detent ball
Scale
640 grams, and it lives on the bench
78 mm across and 34 mm tall. It bolts down on three M6 at 60 mm PCD, or sits loose on the bench and holds well enough for deburring, tapping and inspection.
Specification
The numbers
| Aperture, open | 36.0 mm |
| Aperture, closed | 0.0 mm |
| Detents | 24 at 1.5 mm |
| Collar rotation | 60 degrees |
| Leaves | 6, hardened tool steel |
| Body | Bronze, hard anodised |
| Outside diameter | 78 mm |
| Height | 34 mm |
| Mass | 640 g |
| Mount | 3 off M6 on 60 mm PCD |
What it is not
This is not a milling vise
Six leaves spread the load over six small contact patches, which is what lets them hold an odd shape. It also means the grip is lighter than a parallel vise of the same size, and the leaves will mark soft material. Use it for deburring, tapping, inspection, soldering and assembly. Do not put an end mill into work held only by this.
We have not put it on a load cell yet. When we have, the figure goes on this page whatever it says.
First batch
120 units, machined in Sheffield
The first run is 120. Registering costs nothing and holds a place in the queue, and the price is confirmed before anyone is asked for payment.