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The good news was the Fed Ex man was able to get it here without too much drama. The box was in good shape, and I watched him carry it up the drive. About 50 lbs.



I’ll start right at the beginning. Morgan calls this a machinists vise. I do not. It is not a Wilton, and is a bit sloppy in and out compared to a Wilton. I wanted a utility vise to mount on the bench, higher than the Wilton on the post, that had the ability to swivel. It will work perfectly for that. There is no anvil on the Morgan vise, a good thing, I think.
The vise jaws might be the nicest I’ve ever used, very uniformly cut with flat diamonds, with T shaped backsides that are pinned from the back of the jaw. This eliminates the holes for the screws getting mashed when you clamp something. Only these jaws are available for this model vise, there is no smooth jaw option. The jaws are 1018, hardened to around 54c. I have half a notion to order another set of jaws, and put them on the surface grinder, to make my own set of smooth jaws.
One thing that bugged me was the lousy paint applied at the factory. Not as in paint you want to wax, but, I just wanted good quality, with even coverage on all parts to keep the rust at bay. I think the vise was assembled with lube, and the thing was hit with a mop of paint. Lots of uncovered and thin areas, and grease that had a coat of paint on it. Terrible quality. The color was safety blue. I had the chemistry on hand to mix continental blue, I think the number for safety blue is 7724, continental blue is 7729, very close match. I cleaned, masked, and reshot the thing before I installed it:



The castings had little prep, and what was there was a bit rough. There was cheap lube applied, a bit messy and not in a few areas I would have liked it to be. I cleaned it all off, and relubed with synthetic EP grease.

After the paint dried, I got ready to assemble and bolt it down:





It sits on a 1/8” piece of formed aluminum that is bolted to the bench top. When I got it all done, I hi lighted the lettering, mostly because we are in the middle of an ice storm, and there was nothing else to do.

Another pet peeve. The screw and handle were raw steel, not so much as a smear of oil. Is it that tough or expensive to clear zinc plate the steel parts to keep them from rusting?
I cleaned the rust off it, and shot it with clear coat:



All done:





The aluminum soft jaws were from a different vise that happened to fit pretty well.I have sheet lead around the shop too, should I need something softer than the aluminum.

A used 3” or 4” Wilton would have worked well, if I could find a decent one-I never have. They are always priced really high, too, and usually need new jaws and a part or two, driving the cost up to higher than the equivalent size new Morgan.


Best,
Ted


I like the old color better.
Wish they would have just gotten more of it where it belonged. By the way, you haven’t actually seen the old color, because I hit it with 220 grit, a green scotchbrite, and wax and grease remover. It looked lighter after all that.
Can you mix and shoot urethane?

Best,
Ted
Originally Posted By: Ted Schefelbein

Can you mix and shoot urethane?

Best,
Ted


I have a top tanked spray rig I guess I could if I needed to....

Why didn't you just clean and paint the old vise ?
Posted By: Buzz Re: Morgan Milwaukee 3 1/2” vise review. - 11/30/19 04:14 PM
Pretty vise, Ted. You must have lots of energy taking that thing apart and painting it. I still haven’t cleaned up the old Reed I bought. I think I will wait until spring when it’s warmer out there in my barn. Procrastination....the thief of time. However, I’m going down there right now and using my old Craftsman to work on a double release trigger for my Perazzi. Going to try and speed up the bottom barrel release. New mainspring first, then it may need a little filing. Hope I don’t screw it up. mad
Buzz,
The Reed is likely a better and heavier vise than the Morgan. The U closed on Wednesday, due to the storm, I’m off until Tuesday. I can’t blame you a bit for holding off until it is comfortable, temp wise. My shop is natural gas heated, and has an air conditioner for work in the summer. Time, for a change, wasn’t an issue.
You can’t hurt your Reed, Buzz. Take it apart, clean it up, paint it, or, don’t, and put it back together. Be careful with that Perazzi, however.

jOe, the old vise doesn’t need paint. I like having a vise at bench height to allow me to put a loupe over detail work, or, to sit my ass down on a stool, when I’m going to be there a while. I have more than one gun, and more than one vise.

Best,
Ted
Posted By: craigd Re: Morgan Milwaukee 3 1/2” vise review. - 11/30/19 06:18 PM
Heck of a write up Ted.
Just curious, Ted-- What is your main objection to a vise with an anvil?? I use mine a great deal-- But, I am a welder by trade, and our trade stemmed from the blacksmith's profession. RWTF
I don’t have a huge objection to a vise having an anvil. I have a problem with people who treat a vise like it is an actual anvil. Light truing, or tapping is OK, beating a cast iron vise like it is a steel anvil isn’t.
If the anvil isn’t there, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Best,
Ted
Originally Posted By: Ted Schefelbein




How many beer cans can you fabricate/crush in one hour ?
Never tried.


Best,
Ted

____________________________
Send me that sleever, and I’ll demonstrate why trousers ain’t a monoblock.

yOu happy now Teddy turd'heAd....

I see you got the cOOn Rapiods Sanitarium vise thread locked.
Originally Posted By: HomelessjOe

yOu happy now Teddy turd'heAd....

I see you got the cOOn Rapiods Sanitarium vise thread locked.



Anything that brings you angst, is good with me.


Best,
Ted


________________________
Hell, lock 'em all down.
Originally Posted By: HomelessjOe

yOu happy now Teddy turd'heAd....

I see you got the cOOn Rapiods Sanitarium vise thread locked.



That's rapids, not rapiods.

Just sayin'
Stan don't you have granpappy ground covey swatting story you could tell yer new bud Teddy....
No. Never killed turkeys, either.


Best,
Ted

________________________________
About like shooting a kite, ain’t it?
Not much doubt in my mind that a turkey would be too smart for you to hunt Ted.
Originally Posted By: HomelessjOe
Not much doubt in my mind that a turkey would be too smart for you to hunt Ted.


Anything you doubt is pretty much solid gold.

Best,
Ted

________________________________
Here, turkey, turkey.

Special Ted

You think your momma intentionally dropped you on yer heAd ?
Posted By: Colonial Re: Morgan Milwaukee 3 1/2” vise review. - 12/20/19 04:03 PM
For Gosh Sakes, shut up both of you!
Good luck with that
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