Clausing 8520 Vise recommendations

[Mike Walsh]

Hi,

I plan to start doing some work on my Clausing 8520 soon, and was wondering what everyone is using for a machinist vise on theirs.

I see that MSC offers Kurt, Palmgren, Interstate vises... I'm not sure I need the rotary vise feature, and if I ever did, I think I can figure out how to make it work.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!
Mike Walsh

[jschoenly]

There is a milling vise that went with the Clausing mills (I have one and may think about parting with it) but you can't beat a nice little 3" of 4" kurt or kurt style angle lock vise. I have never found a use for the protractor bases for milling vises in my use, not to say that couldn't be handy. I however wouldn't base my purchase on having one. Personally, anything over a 4" jaw vise is too big for the clausing. PM me if I can help.

[Harold_V]

Having used a huge number of machine vises, I wouldn't even consider anything but a Kurt, and a swivel base is, in my opinion, worthless. It raises the cost of owning a vise, only to sit as a gatherer of dirt, and wastes valueable Z space. The only real benefit one offers is the ability to set an angle easier, but at the cost of also offering the ability to be improperly aligned when one hopes for a properly aligned vise. As a result of that discovery, the one I purchased with my first vise (for my own shop) sat unused once I discovered how poorly it performed.

For a clear understanding, you should know that this swivel base was for a BP vise, one I purchased new, with the machine. Not only was the swivel base of no use to me, neither was the vise, as it didn't hold parts square to the spindle. That was the reason I purchased my first Kurt, which solved the problem.

Yeah, I'm narrow minded. I don't like things that pose as something they are not.

Harold

[spro]

First check Suburban. There is a 4 " Clausing 8636 vise on ebay now. Current bid 40.00 but 3 days left. Item # 151951773181. This would be the original one and it is better than a standard mill vise of that time. Indications are it will sell for between 90-? but it isn't Kurt type. Shars has a 4" (anti-lift ) which is a semi modular and about 110. at your door. I've read some terrible reviews of pretend Kurt vises here.

[earlgo]

Cheapo me bought an angle lock clone from one of the big tool distributers, and it came with the rotating base. It had only one index mark on the vise to align with the degree marks, so I carefully lined everything up and marked the 180° position so there would be 2 index marks in case I couldn't see the original. The vise was turned 180° to put the new mark on the original 0° position and much to my dismay, the original index mark was off the 180° mark by a couple of degrees. I don't know how this is possible but Glenn W suggested that the index circle may have been not concentric with the axis. The base is a great paperweight and is rusting up nicely.
Oh, and I spent a couple of days re-machining the 'anglock' feature.
Heed everyone's advice and spend more money for a good vise.

--earlgo

[spro]

I read your review of that vise. Was it a Shar's ? Was it "modular" ? On ebay alone, there have been hundreds sold.

[earlgo]

spro if your question was addressed to me, I think it was Traverse Tool Co. The vise is an model QM16 Accu-lock precision machine vise. There is no manufacturer or country of origin to be found on the vise or papers but the operation manual and test certificate are written in Chinglish. I think I paid @$100 for it but it is long in the past.

A quick search found this:
QM16 Accu-lock Precision Machine vice, 1.high quality cast iron, 2.accuracy:0.005mm/100mm, 3.QM16100-200, 4.drilling, milling - details see: http://www.machineto.com/qm16-accu-lock ... e-10157932
Place of Origin:Shandong China (Mainland) Brand Name:OLIMA Model Number:QM16 Accu-lock Precision Machine Vise Type:Machine Vise
Drive Mode:Manual Accu-lock Precision Machine Vise:Full size


--earlgo

[spro]

Earlgo. Yes and thanks for the information. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
edit: I do appreciate the pic and identity research you provided about your vise. I was interrupted during reply and it seemed almost curt.

[Downwindtracker2]

Years back I bought a 4" Busy Bee for a drill press vise. I looked at it, put back in the box and bought their Groz drill vise. When I needed a vise for a little shaper, I dug out the 4".I took it apart, boy , it was sad. After a fair bit of time on the Toolmaker surface grinder it was <.001 out on the surface plate. The base was used as an adapter. I certainly could not recommend it. Maybe the current BusyBee or Grizzly is the same.

[SteveM]

If you can fit a 6" vise, you can pick up a used Kurt for what a new clone will cost. I see them on craigslist around here for $150-$200.

The smaller vises can sometimes go for silly money, as they are no longer making the 3" and 5".

Search ebay and sort by distance. If you can find one local, you have maybe a $50 advantage over anyone that needs to have it shipped.

I lucked out and got a 3" cheap. Needed a new spherical segment, but after that, it's great. Just managed to get a second one for even less. I may check them and see how matched they are, and maybe grind them to be a matched pair.

Steve

[SteveM]

Mike,

To see which Kurts will fit your mill, go here:
http://www.kurtworkholding.com/workhold ... lock_d.php
click on a vise and it will give you all the specs.

Also, see the PM I sent to you.

Steve

[Rex]

I would not want anything more than a 4" on it.
Kurt would be ideal, but Glacier gets good reviews and are cheaper.
If you have access to a surface grinder, you can make a decent vise from a cheap angle-lock "Kurt clone". I have done several that way - 2 last week.

Palmgren makes a nice little machining vise. I miss the one I had. Their 4" vise is shorter than a Kurt-style, and looks more at home on that small table IMO.