Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

Thanks Bob & Masonvillengines, Stoker.
I am not a total novice at machining, just not use to a big mill. i am fully aware of the cost of buying nice equipment and yes, my wish list for the mill is almost doubled by the add on tools. I know its not a cnc mill & that I will need to do all the work and layout. A DRO kind of sounds like a GPS,it can get you where you wanna go, but don't trust it completely & keep your wits about you.I have come to the conclusion that a really nice precision mill vise is imperative (dang they're expensive though) the mill I'm looking at is large (850lbs) w/base, 1100 lbs.
What is a good mill vise for the money ? I know of Kurt & Glacern vises, I prefer not to mortgage the house for a vice.

That's a very good way to think of a DRO ... especially the last part of that sentence. But with use and familiarity, it will work well as a pair of calipers in your machining operations too. Not to say it will replace calipers and micrometers at all.

A vise is your single most important accessory in my consideration, but pricing is in direct proportion to size. On my little G0704 I have a cheepo Chinese 4" which has served me well and I wouldn't want anything bigger on my table. However, I did have a bit of work to do on that vise to get it as square and parallel as I wanted, but it was only a little work and that saved me several hundred over a "name brand" that may have needed similar adjustment, though probably not.

Perhaps recommendations from the company you buy the mill from may be worth asking for, and even suggest a discount from them on such accessories as a vise.