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03 · Workholding · Newark, DE

Soft jaws that come blank, so they run true to your spindle.

Machinable soft jaws for standard 6 in vises and 52-piece T-slot clamping kits, supplied to machine shops across the United States from our Dawson Drive counter. Tell us the vise and the slot width. We tell you what fits and what it will take to get there.

Soft jaws: per pair Clamp kits: per kit Quoted on inquiry
Ask for a workholding quote (302) 366-0113
A 6 inch vise holding a steel part in machined soft jaws on a mill table
Second-op jaws, cut on the machine that runs the part. Chips still in the slots.

Two items · each quoted on inquiry

What holds the part, and what holds the vise.

Nothing on this page is a fixture built for you. It is stock you finish yourself. That is the point: your machine, your datum, no stack-up from somebody else's grinder.

Item 03.1
A pair of freshly cut aluminium soft jaws beside a blank pair

Front pair cut with a stepped pocket. The blank pair behind is how they ship.

Machinable soft jaws · 6 in vise

Machinable soft jaws, blank, per pair.

Blank 6 in jaws in aluminium or steel for standard 6 in machine vises. You bolt them on, face them, and cut the pocket for your part in the vise that will hold it in production. That is the only way a soft jaw repeats. A jaw somebody else pocketed on another machine carries their error into your setup.

Aluminium, usually 6061-T6, is the default. It cuts fast, doesn't hurt the end mill, and suits most second ops on aluminium and mild steel parts. Steel jaws in 1018 are for longer runs and for parts with sharp edges that chew aluminium pockets out of shape after a few hundred cycles. They take longer to cut. Budget for it.

Before you order, measure the bolt spacing centre to centre on the jaw you have now, and the jaw height. Most 6 in vises share a common pattern. Some don't, and a jaw that is 0.06 in too tall will foul a stop you forgot about.

Size
6 in wide, for standard 6 in vises
Materials
Aluminium (6061-T6) or steel (1018)
Condition
Blank. Mounting holes in, no pocket
Match by
Vise make and model, bolt spacing, jaw height
Sold as
Matched pair, fixed and moving jaw

Price basisPer pair, quoted on inquiry. Steel costs more than aluminium, and quantity breaks apply on runs of pairs.

Lead time stated on the reply, by material and vise pattern

Ask for a workholding quote
Item 03.2
A strap clamp, step block and stud from a T-slot kit holding a casting on a mill table

Stud close to the work, heel on the step block, strap near level.

T-slot clamping kit · 52 pieces

T-slot strap clamp kits, sized to your table.

A 52-piece T-slot clamping kit is the thing every mill should have and half of them have lost pieces of. Each kit carries studs in several lengths, T-nuts, flange nuts, couplings, step blocks and serrated straps, all on one thread. It goes on the table for castings, weldments and anything too big or too odd for the vise.

The kit is sized by two things: the width of your table slot and the stud thread. Get the slot wrong and the T-nut either won't drop in or spins and lifts under load. Measure the slot opening at the top, not the pocket below it. Then check the pocket depth, because a T-nut that bottoms out never clamps.

What we see most: a shop buys a kit for 5/8 in slots, finds the T-nuts are for 11/16, and files them to fit. Don't. A filed T-nut has less shoulder, and the shoulder is what holds.

Pieces
52 per kit, with holder rack
Contents
Studs, T-nuts, flange nuts, couplings, step blocks, straps
Match by
Table slot width and stud thread
Common pairs
See the slot and stud table below

Price basisPer kit, quoted on inquiry. Larger slot sizes carry heavier hardware and cost more.

Lead time stated on the reply, by slot size

Ask for a workholding quote

Slot sizes and clamping guidance

Measure the slot, then read across.

These are the common pairings in inch T-slot kits. Your table's maker has the final word, so check the manual if it is on the shelf.

T-slot width to kit stud thread
Table slotStud threadWhere you see it
7/16 in3/8-16Small benchtop and drill-press tables
9/16 in1/2-13Knee mills, smaller VMCs
5/8 in1/2-13Common on knee mills. Confirm pocket depth
11/16 in5/8-11Mid-size VMC tables
13/16 in3/4-10Larger VMCs and bed mills

Metric slots (14, 18, 22 mm) take metric kits. Say so on the inquiry.

How to clamp without bending the strap

Put the stud closer to the work than to the step block. A third of the strap length on the work side, two thirds on the heel side, is the rule most setup sheets use. It puts the clamping force where the part is instead of into the block.

Set the heel end level with the work or a hair higher. A strap tilted down toward the part pushes on its edge and lets it rock.

On torque: use the vise handle that came with the vise and the rating on its maker's tag. No cheater bar. A 6 in vise with a pipe on the handle distorts the body, and the soft jaws you just cut true stop being true. Same with flange nuts. Snug with a proper wrench, not your full weight.

Re-cut soft jaws after any crash. They took the hit so the vise didn't, and the pocket has moved.

From your bench to ours and back

How a workholding inquiry runs.

  1. You send the vise or the slotVise make and model plus jaw bolt spacing for soft jaws. Slot width and pocket depth for a clamping kit. A photo with a rule beside it is fine.
  2. We match it to a standard patternSame working day where we can. If the pattern is odd we say so and ask one more question rather than guess.
  3. You get a reply you can checkPart description, material, thread, typical lead time and the price basis. By phone or email, whichever you asked for.
  4. You confirm, it shipsNothing is ordered until you say so. No cart, no card on the website.

We don't pocket jaws for you and we don't sell used clamp kits with missing pieces made up from odds. If the kit says 52 pieces, it has 52 pieces on one thread.

Clamping a heavy cut? Check the spindle load before you check the clamps.

Open the cut-load calculator

Before you ask

Questions buyers actually send us.

Do the soft jaws come pre-machined to my part?

No. They come blank. You cut the pocket in your own vise on your own machine so the jaws run true to your spindle. If you need a finished fixture, that is a job for a fixture shop, and we will tell you so.

My table has 5/8 in slots. Which kit do I need?

Most 5/8 in slots take a 1/2-13 stud kit, but measure the slot and the T-nut pocket depth before ordering. Send both figures and we confirm the kit.

Aluminium or steel jaws for a job in 4140?

Aluminium holds 4140 fine for a short run. Past a few hundred parts, or if the part has a sharp shoulder bearing on the pocket, go steel. The pocket stays the shape you cut it.

Who is this not for?

Shops wanting hydraulic fixtures, zero-point systems or jaws finished to a drawing. We don't supply those. We also won't ship a kit against a guessed slot size. No measurement, no quote.

Next to the vise

Other parts on the same machine.

Parts desk

Ask for a workholding quote.

801 DAWSON DR
NEWARK, DE 19713

Put the vise model or the slot width in the spec box. That one line saves a phone call.

Soft jaws or clamp kit

Inquiry only. A price basis comes back by phone or email and nothing is binding until you confirm.

Or call (302) 366-0113 and read us the vise tag.