# Resurfacing Old Milling Vise?



## John Caven (Feb 23, 2015)

Gunrunner you need to order a set of these for the Z axis hand crank. Bill did you just spit coffee on your monitor? :rofl:

View attachment 253356


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## Mark in Indiana (Feb 23, 2015)

I would say yes. However, I've seen good milling machine vises go for $100 to $300 in much better shape. You may be better off replacing it unless you wanted the challenge (IMHO).


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## Billh50 (Feb 23, 2015)

my first vice was like that( it was given to me). I filled all the holes with JB Weld and then filed it flat til a parallel would not rock then checked to see how level it was to bottom. It came out real nice and I just didn't abuse it. It lasted me years that way and is in fact still working good on my drill press.


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## EmilioG (Feb 23, 2015)

If you have the time and energy, go for it. Otherwise I would suggest just buying a new/used good Wilton.


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## John Caven (Feb 23, 2015)

It's a brown and sharp.  It's very tight and the bottom is flat still.  I'd love to see this baby redone.    How would I go about it?  What would you guys do?


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## orphan auto (Feb 23, 2015)

John Caven said:


> It's a brown and sharp.  It's very tight and the bottom is flat still.  I'd love to see this baby redone.    How would I go about it?  What would you guys do?


Just clean it up, Paint it and forget about those drill holes.
That old warrior has earned its scars.


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## John Caven (Feb 23, 2015)

well if i didn't need a flat surface i'd do that lol.   ug maybe this is a lost cause.   I really need a flat vise


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## Andre (Feb 23, 2015)

EmilioG said:


> If you have the time and energy, go for it. Otherwise I would suggest just buying a new/used good Wilton.


Wilton does not make milling vises, they only make drill press vises. A milling vise has much more mass, rigidity, and in some cases a precision instrument of it's own. 

OP - I'd fill the craters with Devcon and surface grind or scrape the top flat. Just to keep chips out and your parallels from falling in. Clean up the bottom and the top of the jaws and it should be alright, that looks like a fine vise as long as the jaw doesn't have too much slop.


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## Mark_f (Feb 23, 2015)

Andre said:


> Wilton does not make milling vises, they only make drill press vises. A milling vise has much more mass, rigidity, and in some cases a precision instrument of it's own.
> 
> OP - I'd fill the craters with Devcon and surface grind or scrape the top flat. Just to keep chips out and your parallels from falling in. Clean up the bottom and the top of the jaws and it should be alright, that looks like a fine vise as long as the jaw doesn't have too much slop.




Oh yes... Wilton does make milling vises, got a lot of them on their web site, but they are really expensive. A small one runs around $280.

You still got a usable vise. I would fill it with "All metal" and file it smooth and flat. It wouldn't be as hard as the cast iron , but if you don't abuse it , it will last years.


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## Andre (Feb 23, 2015)

mark_f said:


> Oh yes... Wilton does make milling vises, got a lot of them on their web site, but they are really expensive. A small one runs around $280.
> 
> You still got a usable vise. I would fill it with "All metal" and file it smooth and flat. It wouldn't be as hard as the cast iron , but if you don't abuse it , it will last years.




Oh I had no idea they made milling vises. I even googled it before I typed that and nothing immediate came up.  I'll have to look them up (Again!), Thank you for the correction


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## Bishop (Feb 24, 2015)

I have mig welded cast iron before to restore a drill press table. The trick is to take your time and don't let the cast iron heat up to quickly or get too hot. I preheated with a torch and then only did one or two small holes or part of a large one and then let it cool down again. When it was done and resurfaced on my shaper you had to squint to see the original holes. Still holding up after a few years.

Shawn

Edit: I think it's a fine looking vise and deserves to be treated right and live out the rest of its life in a hobby shop environment where it will be well cared for.


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 24, 2015)

As a suggestion, you could clean it the vise up real good and braze the holes flush with bronze filler rod.
resurface ( or hand scrape for flatness) or use files to finish to your liking.
i have repaired some seriously ugly vises that co workers have completely messed up.
the vise is worth repair, IMHO


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## dulltool17 (Feb 24, 2015)

I'm with the JB WELD/Devcon/Allmetal school of thought.  I think you'd do more harm than good with weld/braze or anything that subjects the vise to considerable heat..you'd be amazed at the results you can get from some of these epoxy-based filler metal products (probably not the correct nomenclature, but it suits me)

Best of luck- still a good tool there..


Doug


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## george wilson (Mar 4, 2015)

JB Weld is pretty hard stuff. Rather than warp the vise by welding or brazing,using JB,or a similar product,as suggested,might be the best repair.


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## Bill C. (Mar 4, 2015)

Looks like a training school or War production vise.  Some one never heard of parallels.  I have used a few that had a few added holes in them.  If the ways are not badly worn it can be used with new jaws.


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## chips&more (Mar 4, 2015)

Devcon liquid steel or the putty stuff is what I use and it works great! I would glass bead the part, use the Devcon to fill the problem(s) and then draw file smooth. Depending on the color of the metal being filed/repaired will of course determine the contrast between base metal and filler. You will be able to see the repair but it’s not that bad at all. Cast iron repairs the best looking. Putting heat to it will probably do more damage than good. This process does not heat it up at all…Good Luck, Dave.


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## Monk (Mar 7, 2015)

I went the JB Weld route on an inherited Taiwanese 6 inch vise I posted about last summer http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/vise-rehab.24211/page-2. It turned out really well, but I use my Magnum 5 inch vise most of the time because it allows me enough room to squeeze my 8 inch RT on to the table at the same time for some projects. Here are before and after shots:


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## burgermeister (Mar 7, 2015)

I've welded cast iron before (woodworking plane) with a Mig welder.  I heated the whole area first with a propane torch, and then went slowly with the welded.  It wleded up pretty well, but I ended up with some hard spots that ate anything I tried except carbide, which didn't last long .  Also, the plane warped rather badly - all in all, not a success story.  

If you're not comfy with JB weld directly, you could always mill a 1/4" or 3/8" deep patch out of the affected areas, use JB weld to glue in a bit of steel from your scrap bin, and then resurface the whole thing on your mill.

I have a 4" vise that looks exactly like yours (but without the abused bed), and I really like it.  It uses very little vertical space, which is handy on an a Clausing 8520, and it's accurate within <.001 in any way I've measured it.


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