Waddya think of these milling vises?

[ARC-170]

I think I need another 5" or 6"vise with a swivel base so I can make something. I'd want two mounted on the table. There's some for sale on FB Marketplace. The seller says they are $50 to $500.

Here's a picture. The gray one on the lower left might suit my needs. It appears to have a $75 price tag on it. It also appears to have "150" cast in it as well. It looks like a Kurt or Kurt-style vise. Thoughts?

 

[mmcmdl]

BUY THEM ALL ! THEY ARE A STEAL !

I'm thumbing thru the MSC inventory clearance book right now . An 8" Wilton bench vise is listed as on sale for only $3999.00 . Regular price is $6890.40 . And I sell them for $10 at yard sales .

 

[ARC-170]

If they are actual Kurts, then they are a steal. But what if they are not? The only way to tell is to see if a Kurt part number is cast into it, but this is on the bottom and can't be seen without taking the vise apart.

What am I looking for in a used vise? The all-over gray is weird. The other ones look like they could be okay, but how would I tell?

 

[mmcmdl]

They don't look to be bad vises to me .

 

[benmychree]

The one at the lower left, top layer appears to be a Brown & Sharpe, or a copy of one, I don't think they marked them with numbers like that.

 

[mickri]

The typical 6" vise is too big for your RF 30 clone. 5" is marginal and the 4" is the perfect size. Just MHO. One thing that you can do with the swivel base is make a backing plate for it that fits your lathe chucks. That's what I did with the swivel base that came with my Shars 4" vise. Comes in handy for drilling bolt circles and milling slots at an angle. You can go back and forth from the lathe to the mill without losing your concentricity.

I think the most import thing is how flat the fixed jaw is so it can be dialed in square to the spindle. You will have to go look at them to determine what condition they are in.

 

[Tim9]

Arc... I’m no Kurt expert but the one lower right does look like a Kurt 4” to me too. I picked up my little 4” Kurt used on EBay. It was listed as a Glacern because it had a Glacern jaw on it.
Anyway....what I did was go on line and Google Kurt 4” vise. I then clicked on the “images in my browser search “
That gave me pages and pages of images. I could then verify the casting numbers to make sure I was getting a Kurt.
I’d do that....and maybe even Google - “ machinist 5” mill vise “ and 150”

But, the 4” fits my mills much better. Fits the RF -45 and the Millrite just right for me. I had a 5” nicely made Japanese vise. But it was too big in my opinion. It works. But I prefer the 4”

See what pops up in images. Good luck

 

[Cadillac]

BUY THEM ALL ! THEY ARE A STEAL !

I'm thumbing thru the MSC inventory clearance book right now . An 8" Wilton bench vise is listed as on sale for only $3999.00 . Regular price is $6890.40 . And I sell them for $10 at yard sales .

Wiltons are stupid expensive even on CL these days. I pass them up all the time at the auctions and they usually come with the table for under 100.00.

 

[Tim9]

I agree Cadillac. I had a couple of Wiltons on my steel benches at my old shop. They are good shop vises but they are not as good as a Colombian Vise. Athol is also a nice vise.
But one of the Wiltons, I did actually crack one in half. Of course, I was young and beating on the Anvil end of the vise. Totally abused it. I should have had an anvil in my shop. Or a railroad rail section. Now, I no longer have an5000 sf shop but do have a nice anvil and the rail section. Go figure.
Such as life.

 

[Choiliefan]

Not sure about any of the milling vises but the one at the right is a Cardinal Speed-Vise which is excellent on a DP or production on a mill.
I use a 4" on a 15" Delta/Rockwell and Maximat lathe/mill and love it. The 6" is better suited to the old #18 Buffalo and grips like an alligator.

Either this pile came out of a dusty aluminum foundry or someone coated them with "protective" spray-cans of gray paint.