Mill Vise, How do I know when I need one?

I hope I did not break the forum rules. If I did I meant no harm.
Try this one instead. Interesting video,
 
Janderso said:
Great! That's the stuff. There is no name on this vise anywhere. Huk, you may be right. It sure looks like it. $179 for this vise brand new. I will take the advice I have been given and see what I find.
Bob, I had been cutting on a piece for quite some time, I moved it and was down to a .005 cut. The next thing I knew it slipped. I was milling with the jaws not 90 degrees. I will be very aware in the future. It seems to me the cutting oil may have lubricated the grip on the jaws.
Thanks guys. I will study this question of mine.
You guys are awesome!
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A photo of a quick mockup of your setup would perhaps show some other factors. For instance, holding work in one side of the vise without an equally sized backup on the other side leads to cocked jaws and poor holding.
 
That vise looks pretty substantial, and should not have a problem holding a part when taking only a .005 cut. Before spending any money I would carefully check over your current vise. It might be something as simple of a loose jaw plate, or placement of the part between the jaws. As mentioned, less likely, but certainly possible is the fact that one or both jaws are not ground properly. One or both could be thinner at one end than the other. If the jaws aren't parallel it would certainly affect its holding power.

As for the video it looks more like an advertisement that anything else. He's comparing a vise that sells for nearly $700.00 to one that sells for $200.00. That's like comparing a Hyundai to a Mercedes. I think in this case the differences are more typical of the price points than anything else. I would certainly expect better quality in the more expensive vise. Keep in mind one vise is triple the price of the other.

Another interesting point is that while he is commenting on the poor quality of the "made in China" vise one of his major sponsors in Chevalier. Guess where they're from?
 
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In my many wonderings on the internet, I saw it discussed to use brown grocerie bag paper to help objects to not slip in the vice. Maybe someone has tried, or heard about it?
 
I would first take the vise off the mill and look at the bottom. Most Kurt vises will have a casting model number on the bottom. For example my Kurt 4" vise has a D40 cast on the bottom. This will help you identify the vise.

Since Kurt vises are copied, go to their website to download the drawings and dimensions. This will also help you identify if it is a Kurt or not.

Here is an example from eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KURT-6-VIS...234448?hash=item2cd206fd50:g:kyUAAOSw1QpZ-1c3
The last photo shows the casting mark of D675 to reference the type of vise made by Kurt. (it is underneath the "A" in USA)
 
Almost any kind of paper can be used as a shim. At work and even in my shop I have used note cards and printer paper to compensate for less than parallel sides on parts, or less than parallel jaws on a vise. I have 2 main vises used on the milling machines. One is the 1972 era Bridgeport 6" and the other is a 1980's era Palmgren 8". About 5 years ago I was having problems with the original jaws on my 1972 era Bridgeport vise. I made several new sets and ground them on the surface grinder. Since then there have been no problems gripping work pieces. While I was at it I also made some soft jaws that could be milled to shape for round or tapered parts, and some 8" jaws for the Palmgren vise.

The Bridgeport is the older design with the screw above the base rails:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BRIDGEPORT...402130?hash=item3f98e9d9d2:g:WBMAAOSw6ctayfal

The Palmgren is a later design with the screw below the base:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PALMGREN-8...610928?hash=item3b01b37e30:g:XpIAAOSwcO1ahy1V

Both work fine as long as you make sure the sides of the part are parallel to the jaws (sometimes shimming is required), and it's properly centered. I've never had to use a hammer or any method other than turning the crank by hand to get the jaws tight enough to hold a part on either of these vises.
 
As you can see it has had quite a life. I removed the jaws, cleaned them up of all oil/grease/chips. Reinstalled and got my project done last night. I will make sure there is no lubrication on the jaws when I tighten up the work. Machining 90 degrees to the jaws will help also.
A vise is just not a priority right now unless I absolutely have to have one and I think I will make do.
Thank you for the help.
By the way, the screws are pretty generic, home made?

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Sorry to resurrect the thread, but I did some reading on this topic recently.

One of the biggest differences between a Chinese Kurt-clone and a real Kurt is that underneath the front edge of the movable jaw there are two shallow flat bottom holes with o-rings in them. This gives the movable jaw a very slight downward tilt when it's tightened up on a workpiece as it compresses the o-rings. You can add this feature to a cheap vise for ~$2 and a bit of time with an endmill. From there, I would think seriously about a good stoning on all way surfaces in the vise and a replacement set of hardened jaws (relatively cheap, even from Kurt).

Beyond that, if the pock marks bother you a whole lot, fill them with jb weld and mill flat with a facemill and you should be fine. If they don't bother you, a light pass with a stone to make sure none of the of the holes left a burr on the outside and it'll do whatever you need.

Cheers,
Will
 
I would check your cl listings. Their might be five to ten between Chicago and wisconsin. From 150 to 300 Kurt vises all different styles and knew ones too.
Throw a set of parallels in chuck then put a flat piece in there. Just snug chuck. Throw your best gauge on the piece to check lift of part and ultimately the moveable jaw. Theirs a adjustment screw on back of movable jaw screw in until you get a number you like. It will tighten slide of movable jaw so not to much. Might want to make sure pivot ball is still there between screw and jaw.
You can surface the old chuck just as easy as a new one. Jaws are plentiful too all different sizes and shapes too.
 
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