Working Holding for the Milo Mill - Other Bench Mills

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Work Holding - Vise

Two of the most used low-profile hobby vises are:

Inception is made in the UK - Inception Site Link

For USA/Canada West 3D stocks the vise - West 3D Site Link

 

The other is Saunders Metal Work made in the USA - available in two formats, 1/4" and M6, which refer to the size of fasteners and spacing of the hole in the fixture plate. There are two generations of these vises: Gen 2 sold before 2025, Gen 3 sold in 2025. Parts are not interchangeable; both the complete vise assembly can be used with either generation. SMW Site Link

 

Note: Both sites have CAD and CAM files available for download. I do not own an Inception vise, but plenty of hobbiests have installed them on their Milo. I do have the SMW vise and am very pleased with its function.

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Work Holding - Fixture Plate LDO

Milo LDO kits come with a fixture plate. This is the Continental Breakfast plate. Be aware that there are 4 variations of these plates. Holes are threaded for M5 fasteners; both Inception and SWM vises use M6 to fasten the vise to the fixture plate. Note that M5 fasteners can be used with a washer to secure the vise. Some fixture plates have location holes for pins.

My experience with this plate is when using the SMW hobby vise, the clamping force applied by the vise can lift the fixture plate off the table. A solution is to drill additional holes to secure the plate to the table. Some of the LDO distributors have upgraded these plates to have a means of securment in the center of the plate.

 

Work Holding - Fixture Plate - SMW

The SMW fixture plate comes in either 1/4" or M6 format and two sizes: 14" x 6" or 20" x 6". Shown in the photo is the 14" x 6" fixture plate that I upgraded to. The plate is thicker than the LDO one, and it has more threaded holes. I chose the shorter plate since there are "dead" areas in the full length version. 

A method that machinists use is to affix the stock to the fixture plate using masking tape and super glue. You apply masking tape to the fixture plate and to one side of the stock, and apply super glue to one of the surfaces to bond the two surfaces. I've purchased shoulder bolts to align the part square on the fixture plate. The shoulder bolt diameter is relatively consistent, ensuring accurate alignment. Note that this method only works with larger stock. 

 

 

 

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Workholding - Specialty Jaws / Fixtures

Both SMW and Inception vise have soft jaws, which are used to machine custom holding of odd shapes.

SMW Soft Jaws

Inception Soft Jaws

 

These can also be easily milled on your CNC mill.

 

SMW Turret Jaws are specially machined to fit their Gen3 vise, but Gen2 are available if you contact SMW; they're not listed on their website. These use their Turret jaws for holding round stock.

Turret Jaws

 

Fixture plate can be of any size and shape, normally used to machine multiple stock at one time or hard-to-hold shapes that can't be held by other means.

Vacuum fixture plates utilize a vacuum system to hold the stock in place while machining.

 

 

 

 

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Received my SMW Turret Jaws today

 

 

 

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Here is the SMW Turret Vice at work.