Mill Vise

Then I was offered a used lathe and mill (maybe 3 years old). They are both bigger then I was planning to purchase.............................. The price he wants for both pieces is around what I was going to spend for just the lathe new. So I don't think I can really pass them up. Plus I get all tools, accessories, etc. that he has for both pieces!!

Normally all the accessories cost as much as the lathe/mill.
That sounds like a great deal, congratulations!
Please follow-up with some pictures for us.
-brino
 
I bought a Mini Mill & tooling package from LMS several years ago. The vise that came with the tooling package only opens to 3 in. & I'm making an adjustable electric motor mount & belt tensioner for a bandsaw from a piece of CRS 4 in. wide that needs to be squared & several holes elongated. I removed the 3 in. mill vise & clamped the 4 in. piece of cold rolled to a pair of 1x2x3 blocks on the table & Indicated it in & tried to square the ends with the side of a 3/4 in., 4-flute end mill but couldn't get either end any better than about 0.030 in. from one side to the other. I looked at new 4 in. mill vises & found they were too pricey & may not fit the mill table.

Then it occurred to me to give my 4 in drill press vise a try. The mini mill table is slotted for 3/8 in. bolts or studs & the drill press vise has 17/32 in. mounting slots so I made sleeves for the hold-down bolts from 1/2 in. O/D copper tubing. After indicating the vise in & squaring the CRS piece again I found that both ends are within a few thousandths & with no more vibration than I had with the mill vise or hold-down clamps. Hopefully this tidbit of info will help get someone else out of a jam.
 
The Shars 4" viseis excellent. I bought mine with the rotating base but seldom use it as it occupies too much vertical space.
 
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