# My scrap yard find (Warning! Tool gloat)



## Charley Davidson (Jun 6, 2012)

I went to the scrap yard earlier today for something specific but ran into a buddy there that needed some parts machined so I went back to my shop and did that. I refused his money so maybe this was Karma.

I go back to the scrap yard for some digging and find a bunch of complete punch press dies & had them move them out of my way so I could get to some real nice tool steel. I see a big block of steel that resembles the base of a vice, I roll it over and it is a complete vice made in USA stamped on the bottom. I know it looks like a better made vice than my Bridgeport vice but not until I'm showing it to the plant manager from where I'm laid off and he scrapes off the tag to reveal "Kurt"

I'll gloat some more when I get him cleaned up:biggrin:


----------



## Rbeckett (Jun 6, 2012)

Charly,
I gotta go to your scrap yard.  They wont let us in the local yard with scrap, you can go into the car area they have set up, but you cannot prospect in the big pile of misc stuff.  Too bad, they could make a few extra bucks if they did.  Probably safety and Insurance issues that keep em so tight...
Bob


----------



## ScrapMetal (Jun 6, 2012)

Prepare for the hate mail! :biggrin:  Primo find!  Looks like it hasn't been taken good care of but I bet it cleans up real nice.

I need to find a scrap yard to hang out in...  (Wife would say, "Go sit in the garage then!") :biggrin:

-Ron


----------



## David (Jun 6, 2012)

I'll take that kind of scrap any day!  Good find, hope it cleans up well.  Make sure you show us the after picture!!!!!

David


----------



## Philco (Jun 6, 2012)

Good job Charley, you've  done a good deed for a friend & got blessed in return. This is a good example of GOD's law. This is  a lesson some people never learn. Good for you & the vise. The vise will get a lot of good use. You've saved the vise from being shipped over to China,melted down & sent back on the boat as a metal fence post!   Phil.


----------



## 12bolts (Jun 6, 2012)

It constantly amazes me to see the sort of stuff that gets chucked away.
Even at my local tip, (where you can dump recyclables for free) and sometimes the operator on duty will let you poke around the steel piles there is always stuff that can be used, or is still even in working order sometimes.
I have picked up angle iron, concrete mesh, stainless gauze wire, tools, the list just goes on....

Cheers Phil


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 6, 2012)

Feast your eyes guys, Got him "Kurt" all cleaned up and mounted to the Bridgeport, they seem to be bonding well:biggrin:  It operates like a dream


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 7, 2012)

Mayhem said:


> Hey Charley - don't take this the wrong way but you suck!
> 
> In all seriousness, great find.  Glad to see it back in service than turned into razor blades.  Well done.



I started to name this thread "I suck":lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:


----------



## Que (Jun 7, 2012)

heck of a great find......


----------



## sic semper tyrannis (Jun 7, 2012)

Serious suckage...

So glad you found and saved it from becoming a chinese whatzit......


----------



## McRuff (Jun 7, 2012)

Nice find, my guess is that Kurt is at least 25 years old. Mainly due to the ears where it is bolted down. the early models had holes, the later models had slots.

I don't know why anyone would be surprised at what ends up in the scrap yard, it happens every day and has for as long as time. In industry space is precious and if they asked around and nobody wanted it or to buy it, it sit for awhile and then headed to the scrap yard. We do the same thing at work all the time. I have bought a lot of stuff for a $5 bill that would have ended up in the scrap yard if I hadn't bought it. I bought about $2000 worth of linear rails 2 years ago for $10, sold most of it and used what I wanted, made nearly $150 off of what I sold and still sold it cheap, kept 8 trucks and let the rest go. Have done the same with stepper and servo motors.


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 7, 2012)

McRuff said:


> Nice find, my guess is that Kurt is at least 25 years old. Mainly due to the ears where it is bolted down. the early models had holes, the later models had slots.


I figured it was an older model, was telling the owner of the company I'm laid off from about it today and he said either a Kurt works or it doesn't there are usually no bad ones. Would I be screwing up by milling the holes into slots?



McRuff said:


> I don't know why anyone would be surprised at what ends up in the scrap yard, it happens every day and has for as long as time. In industry space is precious and if they asked around and nobody wanted it or to buy it, it sit for awhile and then headed to the scrap yard. We do the same thing at work all the time. I have bought a lot of stuff for a $5 bill that would have ended up in the scrap yard if I hadn't bought it. I bought about $2000 worth of linear rails 2 years ago for $10, sold most of it and used what I wanted, made nearly $150 off of what I sold and still sold it cheap, kept 8 trucks and let the rest go. Have done the same with stepper and servo motors.



Do you have an 8' or longer section of this type of linear track? (see below)  I have 2 but one is tweaked all to hell, need it for my CNC plasma table build.


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 7, 2012)

As far as being surprised at what I find not really but I am amazed at what I find & the timing.

I swear I had just wished a few days before this I would find a Kurt vice there, more as a in passing wish but it happened.

Another time I wanted a leg lamp to go with my Red Ryder BB gun for a Christmas display, the next day I was helping a guy unload his truck at the scrap yard and low and behold there was a leg lamp (miniature one) just like the one in "Christmas Story" There have been numerous things like that that have happened.

Once Oldcat Bob was loading a shaper he bought there and said "now all I need is a vice for it"  I replied "There's your vice on that truck" a guy was bringing in a nice Hindy


----------



## McRuff (Jun 7, 2012)

No it would not hurt the vise to mill them out, we used to do it to brand new ones after we made sure they worked just for the ease of mounting them.

I have some linear rail left over but not longer than 6' and the rail is slightly different than that.


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 7, 2012)

You wanna sell 2 lengths of it with 2 trucks? I'll be in Alabama tomorrow


----------



## OlCatBob (Jun 10, 2012)

Way to go Charley! Good Karma indeed! Jocelyn and I just got back from a few days in the Dominican Republic, so I'm having junkyard withdrawal... we went with her sister and BIL. Had a relaxing time though, but I am a little toasted (literally).
How are the replaceable jaws on your vice er vise? I have a fresh set you could use to measure if needed.
Bob


----------



## jumps4 (Jun 10, 2012)

what a great find
like wheelchair bob my area of florida they wont let us into the scrap yards
and with the price of scrap up I can just imagine what is getting turned in.
steve


----------



## Old Iron (Jun 10, 2012)

Vise looks good Charley, I've been cleaning up the taper attachment on the LaBlond and it cleaning up great.

I enjoyed you guys visit the other day, Glad we could take time to chat.

Paul


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 10, 2012)

Bob, the jaws are in great shape, they were on upside down which left a little gap at the bottom for crap to be able to get in there, I turned them right side up and they have a couple machining marks in them but no big deal. Making jaws was my thing at work so I'm sure I'll make a few sets soon.

Paul, Thanks it did turn out nice, Wish I had traveled by myself I would have spent more time visiting, I'm sure we'll meet again as I'm keeping an eagle eye out for a 12" vise for your Hindy shaper. Ask Old Cat Bob, I can find them vises.

Benny called me from Texas to gloat about all the little tooling deals he picked up but his gloating quickly turned to depression once I told him of all my finds & adventures:biggrin::lmao:


----------



## OlCatBob (Jun 13, 2012)

Hey Charley, that vise looks identical to mine, except the serial number plate on mine is on the opposite side. Next time you are in your shop, how about writing down the serial number, and I'll see what mine is too. Mine also has the closed mounting holes.
When is Benny supposed to be getting back from Texas?
take care,
Bob


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 13, 2012)

Benny should be home now, I'll call him & see. I'll get you the serial # but if it turns up on a hot list I'm gonna stick it on yours :lmao:


----------



## bcall2043 (Jun 13, 2012)

Charley Davidson said:


> Benny should be home now, I'll call him & see. I'll get you the serial # but if it turns up on a hot list I'm gonna stick it on yours :lmao:



Got home last night. 

You score pales the scrap yard vise find I made a couple of months ago. I found what I thought was a Kurt. Got it home and cleaned the dirt off and it was a clone made by or at least sold by this company: http://www.autowell.com.tw/products.php?func=p_detail&p_id=13&pc_parent=23

Do you want to trade even, heck I will even give you a couple of dollars to boot. :lmao::lmao: If not  I will keep it and will use it on the horizontal mill so I don't have to move the Kurt from the vertical.

If you keep going you will complete your shop with scrap yard finds. Keep it up! Its great to save these tools from the  furnace.

Benny


----------



## OlCatBob (Jun 13, 2012)

Benny! welcome home from that other Country! I too thought it was a heck of a good find; ya just never know what you might run into. Charley, the serial number on mine shows as 100893, there is no model number on mine though. Most of the paint has come off of the plate, but what is left is the same shade of blue yours has, doesn't say anything in "paint". the only thing legible is the number, but obviously that's stamped in.
Bob


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 13, 2012)

bcall2043 said:


> Got home last night.
> 
> You score pales the scrap yard vise find I made a couple of months ago. I found what I thought was a Kurt. Got it home and cleaned the dirt off and it was a clone made by or at least sold by this company: http://www.autowell.com.tw/products.php?func=p_detail&p_id=13&pc_parent=23
> 
> ...



Sorry your having to suck hind tit with your Bridgeport clone & now your Kurt clone. I will let you come over and rub some oil on my stuff though:lmao::lmao::lmao:  

Bob I'll get the #s off mine later tonight, My tag was in perfect condition until I got a little Purple Power on it.Wonder why they put the tags on opposite sides on some of their vises? I can still see a little blue paint in the casting pores on mine.


Oh, welcome home Benny.


----------



## jumps4 (Jun 14, 2012)

you guys are too funny
rub some oil on mine
steve


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 14, 2012)

Bob, My serial # is 027253   for whatever that's worth


----------



## OlCatBob (Jun 14, 2012)

Hey Charley,
Thanks for the info; I really don't know if my vise is actually a Kurt, hence the request for the number. So much paint is missing off the placard that nothing actually says "Kurt" so I was just trying to confirm it.
Thanks again!!
Bob


----------



## Charley Davidson (Jun 14, 2012)

Does it say "Made in USA" ? on underside?


----------

