Choosing a vise

Thanks for the input, especially about not buying a cheap vise, but I'm just getting started using this Jet mill and can't justify spending 60% of the mill cost on a vise.

I ended up ordering a Vevor 5" vise that has a swivel base included. If it turns out to be crap, I'll move it over to the drill press and get something better.
 
Even though you bought a vise with the swivel base, you can always make a fixture plate and hold it in your vise any time you need to make angled cuts instead of installing the base if you find you are limited in Z height.
 
Now that you have a vise on the way, you can start playing with your mill. But on a going forward basis, I'd suggest regularly trolling eBay and craigslist for nice equipment and tooling. My favorite category on eBay is 'New-Open Box'. I've made some great deals that way on new merchandise at enviably reduced prices. Sometimes you'll find attachments that need a tweak to work on your machine, so you'll need to fabricate a part or bracket. A win-win because you create a must-do project, and you save some bucks in the process. That's called 'tuition'.

If you find something that looks reasonable, post a link here at H-M. You'll get loads of responses proffered by our seasoned veterans. I have both purchased and walked away from items by seeking the counsel from our experts on this Forum.

Regards

Oh, and P.S.: I agree with the advice to store the swivel attachment. My first mill (used) came with one, which I promptly removed without even asking anybody. That mill is long gone, but the swivel is still on a shelf. I've never used it and am certain I never will. In my opinion, you're better off keeping a lookout for a small rotary table.
 
The Vevor vice is good stuff; but, as with all Chinesium, it is more of a kit than a vice. The metal is hard and is more-or-less the right shape.
  • You'll want to take it apart and stone all the hidden surfaces and chamfer hidden corners. Skipping those steps is how they sell it so cheap, but still have pretty pictures on eBay.
  • There will be a pocket in the underside of the ram with a half-ball that the piston drives. It will most likely be "as cast". Use a ball stone on a dremel to smooth the pocket, emery cloth to smooth the ball, and grease it liberally before reassembly. Failure to do this will result in the movable jaw "lifting" when you crank down on the handle.
  • If you ever had an idea that you'd like to learn scraping. . . well, here's your chance.

If you're just starting, disassembling the tools is a good idea anyhow. Then you have a better feel for how everything works.

The "buy once, cry once" mantra is echoed by all the old hands who have forgotten all the stupid things they've done to destroy tools. As an "intermediate" hand, the memories of those stupid screw-ups are recent enough that I'm still crying. Save your pennies to buy the expensive tools after you destroy the cheap ones. And even then, only after you've analyzed and understand why the cheap one isn't working how you'd like.
 
Only recently did I mount the swivel base for my vise, it looked like it may have never been used. I was doing a job that required orienting the vise both perp and parallel to the table for some fairly heavy milling. I found that I like it, making it quick and simple to turn the vise with no special clamping required in the parallel config. When I got my "new" Kurt I just bolted it to the swivel. I have a full-size BP clone, so I can afford the Z.
 
I have a swivel base mounted to my Kurt right now, but only because I used it for a project a few weeks ago and haven't needed to remove it. Not sure when I used it last before that, but I am sure that it was over three years between uses.

GsT
 
I have an extra swivel base for a vise I owned for 20 years, and sold 10 years ago. forgot to include it. I've used the swivel on it twice in 20 year, and haven't needed it since. so a swivel base (for the work I do) is not valuable.

You need the most square, rigid work holding you can find. If you have to cheap out, buy used or buy smaller. You won't regret it.
 
I took the swivel base off of my Shars 4" vise. I then made a backing plate for the swivel base that I can screw a lathe chuck onto. Don't use it often. It has come in handy to drill precise bolt hole circles or if I need to machine an angle on something. I can go back and forth from the lathe to the mill without loosing concentricity. I don't have a rotary table. So having the swivel base has been helpful at times.
 
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