Milling Vise advise?

Uglydog

Uglydog

Active User
H-M Supporter Gold Member
I was fortunate to purchase a Cincinnati 1b knee mill with the help of Benny.
I've got her home and unloaded (all in one piece!). I will be posting pics as soon as my bride gets them off her phone.
I wasn't really looking to spend more money on tools/tooling (yet), and I have alot of wiring and surface prep to do (likely a couple of months).

However......... I found this Cincinnati 8inch vise on CL. 45 minutes from my house.

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/for/3643029379.html

Couple questions:
1. What is an appropriate size vise for a Cincinnati 1b with an 10x42 table?
2. Other than visually checking for tooling marks, stress cracks, or bends, are there any tricks to best identify a good vise from a poor one?
3. Is this a good value? Seems like it is relative to the cost of used KURTS.
4. Are there other questions I should be asking.

I'm not chomping at the bit to get this one. I merely don't want to miss a "hot" deal.

Thank you,
Daryl
MN
 
Last edited:
Uglydog said:
I was fortunate to purchase a Cincinnati 1b knee mill with the help of Benny.
I've got her home and unloaded (all in one piece!). I will be posting pics as soon as my bride gets them off her phone.
I wasn't really looking to spend more money on tools/tooling (yet), and I have alot of wiring and surface prep to do (likely a couple of months).

However......... I found this Cincinnati 8inch vise on CL. 45 minutes from my house.

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/for/3643029379.html

Couple questions:
1. What is an appropriate size vise for a Cincinnati 1b with an 8x42 table?
2. Other than visually checking for tooling marks, stress cracks, or bends, are there any tricks to best identify a good vise from a poor one?
3. Is this a good value? Seems like it is relative to the cost of used KURTS.
4. Are there other questions I should be asking.

I'm not chomping at the bit to get this one. I merely don't want to miss a "hot" deal.

Thank you,
Daryl
MN
Click to expand...

1: I would guess a 6" vise would be normal, having a good 8" on hand for larger work is nice. I like having a matched pair (4"-6") for longer parts.
2: look at the fixed and movable jaw when clamping to see if they lift or tilt. (sometimes can be loose bolts under the fixed jaw or the centre screw on Kurt style vises being loose.) Snug up the centre screw and open and close it over the full range to feel if there is a worn/loose area. Looking for hammer marks on the handle can tell of abuse. There's probably more others can add.
3: Price is good to a little high for a 45 minute drive I guess, but that vise looks in good shape.
4: Is there a swivel base to go with it? Handle?

I like with the Kurt style vises that you can bolt the jaws on the outside of the fixed and movable jaws to hold large plates etc. It's nice for larger work, it might be heavy if you have to take it on and off a lot.
Darcy
 
Daryl,

To some extent, it depends on the work you'll be doing but, for a bed that size, I'd personally would go with about a 6" vise. Checking a vise with precision square blocks is a reasonable way to test but keep in-mind, the jaws may be beat up. I always make my own jaws -usually out of aluminum and consider them expendable. Bring enough tools to remove the jaws and check squareness of the surfaces with your squares. If the "naked" vice faces are not square, it will be hard to make replacement jaws. Also bring another piece of square stock and a thin precision parallel a little smaller than the square stock that will fit underneath it. Lay the parallel on the vise's lower bed, put the piece atop it and clamp down on it. If you can slide the parallel out, it means the vise has a tendency to lift the part when clamped -that's undesirable.

Check the bottom for serious dings. -No big deal if it's banged-up as you can mill or (preferrably) surface grind it flat again. Don't clamp a dinged vise to your bed lest you impress a dent in your bed. If you use coolant, check to see if it has drainage grooves.

In general, look to see how well it was milled... check for clean angles and surfaces that are parallel.

One thing to keep in mind, is that it's really helpful to have two identical vises. Seem extravagent but, I have dual-vise setups all the time and I took the time to match the dimensions as close as possible.

BTW: For all my vises, rotary tables etc, I made custom aluminum forms out of precision aluminum sheet (about 1/8" thick). When I'm changing any tooling or spindle chucks, I toss a piece of thin plywood below the area. -Accidentally drop an endmill with a bit in it and you've just dinged the bed...

Ray
 
Daryl,

I just looked more closely at the pictures... That's a pretty big vise. -Measure your T-slot spacing and make sure it fits "comfortably" in both directions.
 
Uglydog said:
I was fortunate to purchase a Cincinnati 1b knee mill with the help of Benny.
I've got her home and unloaded (all in one piece!). I will be posting pics as soon as my bride gets them off her phone.
I wasn't really looking to spend more money on tools/tooling (yet), and I have alot of wiring and surface prep to do (likely a couple of months).

However......... I found this Cincinnati 8inch vise on CL. 45 minutes from my house.

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/for/3643029379.html

Couple questions:
1. What is an appropriate size vise for a Cincinnati 1b with an 10x42 table?
2. Other than visually checking for tooling marks, stress cracks, or bends, are there any tricks to best identify a good vise from a poor one?
3. Is this a good value? Seems like it is relative to the cost of used KURTS.
4. Are there other questions I should be asking.

I'm not chomping at the bit to get this one. I merely don't want to miss a "hot" deal.

Thank you,
Daryl
MN
Click to expand...

ERROR, ERROR, ERROR:

Typo,
The table is 10x42.
The vise on CL is an 8.
 
I would probably buy it just because it's original to your machine and is in good shape
Then I'd keep an eye out for a 6" Kurt
 
I'd buy it if were near me. I'd go with a 6" for everyday use though. That 8" is going to be a heavy vise if you have to change it often. If you aren't constantly having to pull the vise off the 8" will serve you well.
 
maybe those vices are more common over here but i have two of them and paid $50 and $75 for them. and kurts they are not. the one vice I made new jaws for and did a lot of work to and was still dissatisfied with it. they do make very good vices for the bench or a big drill press. You would be suprised how much you will use an old machine vice on the work bench, or as a portable vice you can move from bench to bench. be prepaired when moving it, with a swivel base it weighs more than my troykee 12" rotary table:whiteflag:.


Roy
 
Thanks to all of you for the input, and the methodology for checking a vise.
Not sure how I'll talk my bride into another expenditure.
I'll have to empty the change jar (and horrors -- sell something) before contacting the seller.

Daryl
MN
 
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