Hi Douglas,

I usually mill dry so not much of a problem for me. May be a Mill Vice Grip would help you?

Thor

Simple answer is to put a large screwdriver into the tee slot and lever the vice upwards to break the oil film. I always oil the bottom of the vice before mounting on the mill to stop any coolant etc rusting the table and only use tenons on smaller vices that I can lift off easily, the larger vices are slid to the edge of the table before being lifted.

Just a long piece of wood clamped in the vice , with another piece of wood on the table opposite the end sticking out. It then lifts the vice off of the table easily. Then slide a piece of thin board under neath to cover the bed slots. You can easily do the reverse to remove it. Putting some wax paper under the vice can also help with this issue sometimes. I would avoid using printer paper, as if you use coolants, sometimes the printer paper can cause rusting.

Neil's method seems least complicated, eminently common-sense and easiest to implement from my (armchair) perspective.

Re the waxed paper tip:

One source might be the greaseproof (paper? plastic?) bags used inside the larger sizes of cereal packets. Cut the bag so the part used contains no fold or seam.

Silicon baking "parchment" might be another but I can't speak for its ability to avoid or encourage rusting. (NB: you might need permission before raiding the kitchen cupboard…)

I don't use flood cooling on my milling-machine but if I intend leaving a vice bolted down for a long time I generally spread a thin film of grease over its underside first.

Is there a convenient place on your vice that you could install a soft faced jacking screw to break the base to table seal.

Mike

I suppose if the only problem is the 'suction' of the oil later, then a lever with a pin through it would do. The lever would reach under the edge of the vice through a T slot, with a pin through it to provide leverage against the table. This could break the vice away from the table an allow it to be picked up.

Alternatively, use a T bolt or similar held in the vice and <something in the spindle>. Either lower the table or raise the head, as appropriate to the mill. Then a bit of wood can be slid under the vice and it can be released from the spindle and hauled out of the way.