Kurt vise disassembly

Jeffro said:
I know this is an older thread. Hoping someone will see the post. Attempting to remove bolt from bottom of Kurt vise. These are the bolts holding the fixed jaw.I got one out, been soaking the other. Tried impact, used a extension bar, no heat yet.. I twisted a 1” piece of 1/2” Allen in socket with extension twice. My torq maxes out at 150 ft/lbs and it does not budge.
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Dan Krager said:
It's a long story in detail, but the short of it is this: commercial mixes of penetrating stuff don't penetrate quickly. Kroil and WD40 are good, but the winner by a factor of 10 is something you mix yourself. 50/50 solution of acetone and automatic transmission fluid. It's a mixture not a solution so you have to shake well before use. Apply liberally and it should loosen within 24 hours.

A 36" long 3" diameter shaft in a ditcher machine was bound up with bearings rusted on and the huge nuts on either end refused to budge. Two days of commercial stuff, heat (lots of heat) the nuts finally came loose with an 8' extension. The shaft simply refused to budge. I introduced the farmer to this mixture and late in the day we applied it and gave up. Next morning, the shaft had fallen out! True story.

Patience, my friend, Patience.
DanK
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I have read about acetone and tranny fluid. The first week of soaking was in fact that concoction. I tried PB blaster the next week or so. Started a couple of days ago with krill. I read some where these may have been torqued at the factory north of 200 ft/lbs. I have never seen a 1/2” Allen twist like a pretzel. I have been cutting 1” sections hoping to get it to crack. Allen wrench belonged to my grandfather. He retired in 1972. I am pretty sure it made in USA.
 
When I did my Kurt, those bolts were hard to get out, but not that hard! I soaked them in Liquid Wrench overnight. I used a hex key and a hammer (yeah, yeah, I know!). Make sure the hex key fits tight. Tap the fixed jaw a bit as well; it might knock loose whatever is holding that tight.
 
Impact wrench with tight fitting key and lots of down pressure to keep it in the hole.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 
ARC-170 said:
4. Has anyone ever bought a new nameplate? The paint on my nameplate is totally gone. The stamped serial # is still there, though. I'm guessing they aren't for sale to prevent fraud, but maybe if I send in photos or something they'll sell me one.
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Yes, I got new ones from them
IIRC they were FREE

www.hobby-machinist.com

In the mailbox this morning!!

From Kurt, after an inquiry about replacements for the crappy name tags on the used vise I picked up in MN last week. Impressed with the customer service even though I have never bought anything from them!!
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com
 
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Still trying occasionally. I’m running out of Allen wrench. I’ve twisted 5 pieces of 1/2” in in a socket with extension bar. I have been giving it a shot with the impact hoping it would help. My understanding, the base has precision ground blocks. The fixed jaw sits on the, 2 blocks. The blocks have an interference fit. I’m beginning to think it’s the torq. As, the other bolt I was able to remove has no corrosion. I am now trying to fit a versa on 1 mill. As I sold the D688 that was on the mill. Guy got the vise for $225. The vise was tight and clean. I told him I felt like I was robbed, somewhat jokingly.
 
Jeffro said:
Still trying occasionally. I’m running out of Allen wrench. I’ve twisted 5 pieces of 1/2” in in a socket with extension bar. I have been giving it a shot with the impact hoping it would help. My understanding, the base has precision ground blocks. The fixed jaw sits on the, 2 blocks. The blocks have an interference fit. I’m beginning to think it’s the torq. As, the other bolt I was able to remove has no corrosion. I am now trying to fit a versa on 1 mill. As I sold the D688 that was on the mill. Guy got the vise for $225. The vise was tight and clean. I told him I felt like I was robbed, somewhat jokingly.
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The jaw sits precisely on the bed of the vise. The keys are tight, just to keep the jaw in place laterally. In reality, they don't really matter, since on a vise like this, you just indicate off the fixed jaw anyway.
 
I have my vise apart right now doing some much needed maintenance on it. The fixed jaw on mine has a 3/8×1/2 machine key. Nothing special but it does fit into the body snug.
Those bolts might be pretty tight if they haven't already been removed before.
Joe
 

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Does anyone have a picture of how, or exactly where the keys are. The bolts in the bottom are 3 1/2” oal threaded portion 2 1/4”. I talked to Kurt tech yesterday. I went through what I’ve done, to remove the bolts. He said the only thing left would be to drill bolts out.
 
You can see how the keys are in the 1st picture of #18 (liljoebrshooter's post), at least in the body of the vise. There are just two keys that go between the two.

Drilling that guy out seems like it would be pretty terrible. Trying something like heat is probably a bad idea, just because it might warp something. Are you intending to have the bed ground? Or just get the nut out? Or is there another reason to want it apart? Perhaps you can accomplish what you want without taking it apart?

My only recommendation would be to get an allen key impact socket, and go to town with your best impact gun. Alternatively, the same socket and a really large breaker bar :) I remember I ended up having to do the latter on an old D60.
 
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