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Milling Vises

Wow! Lots of good discussion here, thanks for the input! Lots of leads to follow up.

Just a couple of thoughts. In this corner of the country (NS) we don't seem to have machinery auctions or much in the way of equipment being advertised on Kijiji which is what I think Craig was suggesting to search(?). I'm doubting that there's much use in trying to answer an ad in Ontario or parts west for something like a vise. Shipping would be a pain & expensive and you really want to see what you're getting unless the price is worth the risk. Maybe I could score something in Quebec if I can line it up with a trip to visit the other half's family.

I've used a Kurt on a borrowed mill so I've seen first hand just how good they are but right now anything would be better then the 4" ERON drill press vise that came with my machine! Like I said, lots to think about. Interesting to see what John Conroy did to clean up an out of spec vise. I imagined that the only way to true things up would be on a surface grinder... Thanks for the heads up on the Rohm Darren, I'll have to look it up.

Wishing for a Ferrari & driving a VW.....of course both have their place!

D:cool:
 

Workholding For Machinists Book By Tim Stevens, ('eb') | Indigo

Buy the book Workholding for Machinists by tim stevens at Indigo
www.chapters.indigo.ca www.chapters.indigo.ca

@Tecnico I'm gonna weigh in here as well. I've had good vises and they are worth it. However - in the short term another option for you is to get a clamping kit, $100ish. Learn how to work hold with that. This book explains a lot. Actually the cover picture explains an awful lot on it's own. Study the picture for lots of ideas on how to use a clamping kit. Put off buying the vise till you can get a good one and just use the clamp kit. Look for Vertex as another choice made in taiwan and very good products.

Instead of that shars vise you might as well buy one of the busy bee vises for far less money.

5FFD4620-FE17-4B97-9125-EDC0A2CCD1B7.jpeg
 
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@Janger As it turns out one of the things in my collection of accessories was a hold down kit so I'm going to have to explore what I can do with it. Thanks for the reference. I guess I've already gone there to some extent, I have had to make some hold downs so I could mill some things on my Myford lathe using the vertical slide. I'm looking forward to having a real mill on site and giving the Myford a break.

I saw a couple of mentions of using a border service agency, what's involved there? Do you have to come to the border to collect things or do they forward the shipment. I'm not at a border point unless you consider a seaport to be one....

I engineered a Shars keyless chuck for my drill press as a Christmas present one year and I recall getting a "never again" comment from my S.O. because of the UPS fiasco. Nice chuck though.

D:cool:
 
Tecnico said:
I saw a couple of mentions of using a border service agency, what's involved there? Do you have to come to the border to collect things or do they forward the shipment. I'm not at a border point unless you consider a seaport to be one....
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There are threads in here on that topic. You can go to the border or have it forwarded. Some people on here swear by it - others, not so much.
 
Tecnico said:
I saw a couple of mentions of using a border service agency, what's involved there? Do you have to come to the border to collect things or do they forward the shipment. I'm not at a border point unless you consider a seaport to be one....
Click to expand...

There are at least four types:

1. Outfits that give you a US Address where things get delivered to. They email you when you get a package. You have to go get it.

2. Outfits that you ship to in the US but they import it for you and then deliver to you or hold for you.

3. Outfits that do everything including delivery. AND GET AN IMPORT CERTIFICATE for things that are not normally allowed.

4. A buddy of yours in the US who helps you out.

Too many individual outfits to list. Just pick your poison and google it.
 
Janger said:

Workholding For Machinists Book By Tim Stevens, ('eb') | Indigo

Buy the book Workholding for Machinists by tim stevens at Indigo
www.chapters.indigo.ca www.chapters.indigo.ca

@Tecnico I'm gonna weigh in here as well. I've had good vises and they are worth it. However - in the short term another option for you is to get a clamping kit, $100ish. Learn how to work hold with that. This book explains a lot. Actually the cover picture explains an awful lot on it's own. Study the picture for lots of ideas on how to use a clamping kit. Put off buying the vise till you can get a good one and just use the clamp kit. Look for Vertex as another choice made in taiwan and very good products.

Instead of that shars vise you might as well buy one of the busy bee vises for far less money.

View attachment 23334
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up on this one @Janger I was just down in the shop a few days ago and made a mental note to find some workholding resources this one might be just what I am looking for.
 
Rauce said:
...
Also, I would add that I think the best place to find a good brand name 6” milling vise is industrial auctions. They usually get separated from the machines so you’ll often see a dozen or more vises in one auction. They don’t go for super cheap but you could easily get a Kurt or similar quality vise for $200-400.
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I've been cruising around these industrial auctions for ages. Just blew way too much money at yet another one! Among other things I brought home was an 8" Rohm I got for $125. Ya I know its too big but I couldn't resist the price. It needs a cleanup real bad though. Yet another project to add to the other millions of projects I have waiting in line already.
 
Canadium said:
I've been cruising around these industrial auctions for ages. Just blew way too much money at yet another one! Among other things I brought home was an 8" Rohm I got for $125. Ya I know its too big but I couldn't resist the price. It needs a cleanup real bad though. Yet another project to add to the other millions of projects I have waiting in line already.
Click to expand...
The Millen auction in stoney creek? I picked up a Bison 4-Jaw for the Hendey there yesterday.

I think an 8" could work on a Bridgeport if you don't mind how far it sticks out. I did the same thing a few years ago and picked up a cheap 8" vise but in my small shop I kept bumping into it.
 
Rauce said:
The Millen auction in stoney creek? I picked up a Bison 4-Jaw for the Hendey there yesterday.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed! I was worried that we might be bidding against each other! Was tempted to connect with you to coordinate that. There were some pretty good deals there. I had the impression the bidding was not very aggressive. As if the economy is faltering and the business guys were largely absent. Might post about what else I got somewhere else so as not to derail this thread if I haven't already.
 
Canadium said:
As if the economy is faltering and the business guys were largely absent. Might post about what else I got somewhere else so as not to derail this thread if I haven't already.
Click to expand...
Or so busy they have no time for auction watching.

Everyone I talk says they are crazy busy right now.....hope the interest rate hikes aren't too big a dose of cold water....its been good times the last two years despite Covid.
 
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