FAQ — Modular Plates, Shipping & Lead Times

If your mill isn’t in our machine menus, you’re not out of luck. Use the Custom Plate Builder to spec size, material, and hole pattern (including TT), or email Dan with your table size and bolt pattern — he’ll quote a plate made for your machine.

1. Choose your plate material.
2. Enter the plate length × width × thickness.
3. Select the hole pattern.
4. Enter the mounting dimensions.
5. Select any available options.
6. Review with Check Your Order, then Add to cart.

Need help? Call 608-721-TOOL or email dan@tosatool.com.

Yes. We publish OEM plates for many mills, and we quote customs for everything else. Share your table size and mounting pattern and we’ll fit you. Custom plates are typically in the same lead-time window as stocked designs (see Lead time below).

We’ve built hundreds of adapter and modular designs over the years. “Design Ready” items on product pages are popular configs we can build at a standard price from existing CAD. Need something that isn’t listed? Ask — we may already have a file for it.

You’re going to spend money on workholding one way or another — modular spends it smarter:

• Accuracy — precision bores and a consistent grid for repeat setups
• Flexibility — one plate + accessories instead of a lifetime of one-off fixtures
• Time — faster changeovers between jobs
• Growth — add vises, pins, and clamps as you need them

For ultra-high-volume dedicated parts, a custom fixture can still win. For job shops, prototypes, and mixed work, modular shines.

The TT standard is two nestled 1.2500″ grids on the same plate:

• Precision bore grid: Ø.5010″ ±.0002 TYP on 1.2500″ centers — for locating pins and accurate repeat setups
• Threaded hole grid: 1/2-13 UNC 2B thru TYP on 1.2500″ centers, with Ø.5625 × .19 counterbore (~3/16″ deep) — for clamps, bolts, and modular accessories

Bores and threads alternate (neighboring holes on 0.625″ centers). Made in USA. Built for repeatable location and standard 1/2″ modular hardware — fixture your way without a proprietary lock-in.

The Ø.5625″ × ~.19″ deep counterbores on the threaded holes work with our locate-and-fasten hardware so vises and fixtures can locate and bolt down with one fastener. Locating tolerance is looser than the precision bores (~.003″), but in practice fixtures usually return within ~.001″. For the tightest location, design around the precision bores.

We’ve avoided that “bore-over-thread” style for decades of shop use. Short bore depth bells out; hitting threads with a pin ruins them; studs that bottom out can warp a plate; and a stud the same size as the bore will trash the bore when it tilts under clamp load. Better designs use a deeper dedicated bore (or a larger protected bushing). Our separate nestled bore + thread grids are intentional.

Yes — the TT6INMV 6″ Modular Vise. Multi-configurable 6″ design, G-NOB gripper buttons for low bite (~.05″), and it accepts standard 6″ Kurt-style jaws.

• Aluminum — lighter / lower cost; fine for wood, plastics, and light aluminum work. Soft — pins and bores won’t take abuse like steel. Use plenty of thread engagement.
• Medium-carbon / hobbyist steel — strong everyday plate for semi-pro and hobby use; thicker thread engagement on many designs.
• 4140 / 4142 pre-hard (PH) — the durable “daily beating” plate for shops. Threads and bores hold up; our long-time favorite for pro use (including early Tormach plates).

Optional wear-resistant steel bushings (hardened ~Rc 58, precision ground, press-fit into dowel positions) protect bores for maximum durability. We also offer kits for worn holes. Best when you need lasting bore fit under heavy use.

Standard grinding is typically about .002″ over 24″. SUPER GRIND is our optional ultra-precision grind (~±.0003″ over 50″ on parallelism). Check the option when you order — it adds a few days and is for when you need the best parallelism we can deliver.

• PH plates: typically ~0.5005″ +.0004 / −.0001″ — sized for common .5003±.0002 pull dowels with a usable slip fit
• MC plates: typically ~0.5007″ ±0.0003″ — slightly wider because the steel is less hard than PH

A true slip fit needs a little clearance; that’s normal.

We buy professionally ground plate and hand-stone top and bottom before ship. Parallelism follows the grind class (blanchard vs finish grind). On the machine, “flatness” is your grind tolerance plus table tram/level — stone and clean the table before install. Need the best? SUPER GRIND.

CNC Cookbook’s Bob Warfield suggested a thin film of CLP between subplate and table. Customers asked for it often enough that we offer a small bottle with plates. Helps protection in the interface where coolant doesn’t always reach.

Standard lead time is 6 to 10 weeks. Every plate is made to order, and the exact time depends on our material suppliers, our current workload and the options you select, such as grinding, anodizing, black oxide, bushings and edge machining.

If you are in a serious hurry, you can add RUSH service for 15% of the plate price, including its finishing options and keyway bores and pins (accessories are not included). You will find the RUSH checkbox in the options on every modular plate page and on the Custom Plate Builder. With RUSH, we do everything we can to get your order out the door as fast as possible: we work overtime hours, move your order to the front of the line, and pay our vendors extra for expedited service.

Please keep in mind that RUSH is a best-effort service, not a guaranteed ship date. Some steps, such as raw material, heat treating, grinding, plating and anodizing, are performed by outside vendors, and they can still have delays that are beyond our control. If we learn of a delay, we will let you know right away. If you have a hard deadline, call us at 608-721-TOOL before you order and we will tell you honestly what is realistic.

Standard lead time is 6 to 10 weeks from order, depending on our material suppliers, current workload and the options you select. Many plates are machined just-in-time from blanks; popular sizes and universals are often quicker when blanks are on hand. Options like SUPER GRIND and Hot Black Oxide can add time. Ask about rush — email qc-jerri@tosatool.com.

Custom fixturing starts with material for your plate. We push hard, but we can’t outrun suppliers. Questions on an open order: qc-jerri@tosatool.com.

Subplates ship greased, sealed in plastic, in a heavy wood crate (lots of screws — have a drill ready). UPS, FedEx, or LTL for large plates. Ground in the lower 48 unless you arrange otherwise; Alaska/Hawaii/international may need extra freight. Smaller accessories often go UPS or USPS.

Air conditioning helps. Flood coolant with rust inhibitor is the practical shop answer. Hot Black Oxide helps on medium-carbon; 4140 PH resists better. For the gap between table and plate, CLP is a common choice.

Periodically remove and clean workholding (plate, vise, 4th axis, etc.). Interval depends on coolant, material, and hours — often every 3–12 months. Inspect bores, threads, and mounting hardware.

Email qc-jerri@tosatool.com first with your order info. Jerri handles QC and shipping completeness. Please don’t start on social before we’ve had a chance to fix it — we’ll make it right.

We renamed plates to describe the machine and material more clearly. Example: older TT1634C style naming (size-based) moved toward names like TT1100XPH (machine + oversize + 4140 PH). If you have an old drawing or packing list, send it — we’ll map it to the current SKU.

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