The Vise
Hesitant to start tearing the machine apart and afraid of what work it might need, I decided to start work on the vise. Obviously abused, I spent a lot of time digging rusty swarf out of th4 vise. They used lots of water-based coolant and never cleaned the chips. Cleaned up, but not so pretty. While it is a Kurt-style vise, it was definitely not a Kurt, but pretty solid considering the abuse and neglect it had seen. There was a groove cut in the bed just in front of the fixed head, making it impossible to place a parallel there. The solution? Just add a second jaw, covering up the groove. That will do for now. Some paint and a handle, and I'm good to go for now. I also got a re-build kit form Kurt and replaced the provided parts.