Insert Bars Our Jaw Insert Bars are simple, smooth clamping surfaces that sit in the Mod Vise's top jaw and allow using the built-in 1.00" [25.4mm] jaw parallel, and when used in this way have a clamping height of 0.1625" [4.13mm]. These are included by default with Gen3 vises. Gen2 vises were available with a smooth/serrated insert bar, which was discontinued for Gen3 with the launch of the Castle Grip. Castle Grips The Castle Grip is a low-profile, aggressive clamp designed and machined by SMW to complement the Modular Vise System. The Castle Grip is best suited for Op1 workholding where the user wants to maximize grip by allowing the Castle Grip teeth to ‘bite’ into the material. The low profile nature minimizes the amount of material being clamped, thus maximizing the amount of sidewall material available for machining. When used with the Mod Vise top jaw these inserts have a 0.07" [1.8mm] clamping height. SMW Castle Grips are paired with Torx-plus fasteners. This avoids a common problem with smaller size hex head screws where the hex head can be stripped. Similar clamps are made by other manufacturers (and may be cross-compatible with SMW mod vise). Note: many other clamps use hex (not Torx) screws; SMW advises only using Torx fasteners. Castle Grips are generally not suitable for clamping on otherwise finished parts, as the teeth mar the material. Turret Grips Turret Grips are a variation of our Castle Grip designed primarily for holding round stock. Used with our Turret Grip Top Jaw, these have a clamping height of 0.125" [3.2mm] and can hold round stock as small as 1" [25mm]. Jaw Face A lesser-known trick with the Mod Vise is to reverse the jaws and use the smooth jaw face as your clamping surface. This allows for resting the part either on your fixture plate or on standard vise parallels for varying clamping heights when our built-in 1" parallels aren't right for your application. This is also great when a tight part thickness tolerance is needed, as off-the-shelf vise parallels are typically ground to a precise, matched height and are impervious to any jaw lift when resting on the fixture plate. Which jaw hardware do you recommend? Each of our Accessory Kits include both the Castle Grip and insert bars, which is our recommendation for the most versatile setup. If you're only purchasing one or the other we typically recommend our Mod Vise users towards the insert bar. This is because the Castle Grip leaves visible indentations into the part and aren't always suitable for Op2/finishing workholding. This 'bite' into the part does mean that the Castle Grip can better resist vertical forces, making them a great option for large plate work or situations where the lower-profile clamping is desired. Desktop and hobby machines (e.g. using our 1/4" or M6 Mod Vise) typically don't see cutting forces high enough to necessitate the Castle Grip, although we still recommend them in cases where low profile clamping is desired.
