"DeepDiver" wrote in
:

I need a 6" Chinese Kurt-style milling vise (I can't afford a real
Kurt right now: even decent used ones sell high on Ebay).

It seems that there are at least two different Chinese designs
(probably quite a few more) for these vises. Without being able to
physically examine each in advance, I was wondering if any of you have
one or both of the two that I'm looking at, and could give me some
feedback.

Even if you don't have one of these vises, I'd welcome any comments or
observations as to which one you think might be better:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7504899012

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...943&item=75007
64085

(On the second one, scroll down to the bottom of the page for a larger
picture.)

Besides cosmetics (different paint job between the two, and the
chromed handle on the second vise), there are several other
differences I can see:

1. The first mill's mounting "ears" have open slots for the bolts to
secure the vise to the swivel base (or directly to the milling table);
the second vise's mounting "ears" have bolt holes.

2. The second vise has an oil port for the screw shaft
bushing/bearing; the first vise does not appear to have an oil port.

I realize that's not much to go on, but those are the only differences
I can see in the photos.

I've seen quite a few Ebay sellers auctioning the second style of
vise, but the first one ("Clark" brand) is new to me. I don't know if
the "Clark" name is more reputable or if they demand a higher quality
control on their Chinese tooling.

First off, I don't care for swivel bases too much. But, if you need one I
would go with the second one. Slotted holes tend to make the vise shift
when you tighten it down. It's not as bad when you are bolting it
directly to the table as you have more contact. On the swivel pedestal it
can squirt around quite a bit. The other thing I notice about the first
one is that it appears to have some oclusions in the casting on the
bottom. If the bottom didn't clean up during machining there is a pretty
good chance there are more voids hiding inside. To be fair you can't see
the bottom of the other, and they may have used filler where it's
painted. I've bought a couple of items from the second guys (Pits) and
have never had a problem. From their feedback it looks like they run out
of stock on some items from time to time.



--

Dan