Wilton Cross-Slide Drill Press Vise, 3" Jaw Width & Max Opening, 3" Jaw Depth (Model CS3)

My rating will stand at two Stars based on the condition I received this Vise in. It was not deburred after being cast, they just painted it. It looks like they went after the Acme thread holes with a scaled-down two-man auger. All the milled contact surfaces seemed to have had the last thing that touched them be a 40 grit grinding wheel. The gib shims were absolutely horrible with both having been bent at an angle due to hammer strike for retention indent. The maximum travel on either axis was less than 1 inch before it bound up and I could not take the slop out even after adjustment unless I pulled the shims completely out. However..... after many hours of tearing it down and basically rebuilding the entire thing, it is now a five-star vise with zero slop and travel that you can engage with your pinky spinning it. I used a very stiff stainless steel bottle brush on all the inside threads and did the reverse on the Acme threaded rods. I then filed, stoned, and sanded every surface starting with 60 to 80 grit on the paper after I got there, and finishing up with 400 wet/dry paper. I had to deburr the entire thing, every single piece that had casting burrs and drill marks from the auger, haha. I then went to work and flattened all the points of the gibs on a stone, and filed down the shims until they were flat on both sides. The retaining plates at both ends we're all messed up and I had to flatten and sand those down as well. I literally took apart the entire thing and put it back together. A buddy of mine that is a machinist said "yeah, that looks like one of their new Chinese ones.That company 'branched out', haha". Anyway, to quote another Gentleman on a machinist/vise forum that I was trolling for information on how to fix this Bottom Dollar bargain piece of pot metal crap, after he basically did the same process and repair to another Chinese piece of crap with success, " Now she slides like hot butter drippin' off a biscuit". In my opinion, and the opinion of a local machinist that I brought it to after I reworked it, because I am a carpenter not a machinist but found myself in need of a decent vise, it is now in the $300-400 range of 3 inch cross slide XY vises. After I reassembled it, I hit it with Wilson's gun Grease because I had nothing else and it seemed appropriate... It'll do.

I am not a machinist, and I've never used a mill. But I needed to cut some slots in a bracket I fabricated, and later I needed to mill out a 'trough' in an existing casting. I have attempted slotting before just using a drill press, and I thought there should be something better - and this is it. I bought a cheap assortment of bits to go with it, and I know I will find many uses for it in the future. With nothing to compare it to, I can't really give 4 stars, but I'm happy with it. One thing I've noticed - with my drill press, the table can't firmly resist side-to-side movement. So, it's best if I can arrange for my milling passes to be toward/away from the column.

So many reviews up and down about these things.. This one is great. There is a requirement before use, though. Its coated in rather dirty grease. Do NOT use it like that or you'll be writing a bad review like the others. You need to completely disassemble this and clean every screw & corner with degreaser (wd40 works too). Pay attention to how the pieces come apart cuz they need to go back correctly and on the correct sides. Then inspect your alignment rails. They will be cut roughly. SAND THEM DOWN. Don't overdo this, or you'll mess with tolerance too much, but all edges contact the track, so even out those rail edges, and then gloss them up with some 800 & 1000 grit wet sanding. I also glossed the main tracks. (Mine moves like butter drippin off a hot biscuit with the tracks oiled) The turn knobs can be tightened and loosened. There's not a ton of "in between" tight & loose, but I was able to find a good spot. If they're too loose, the axis you're not turning will have a tendency to fall back because of the heavy threading. This can mess your project a bit, so be attentive or you may gouge your work. It's not as annoying as it sounds, once you've spent time with it and figured out how it should feel. I cut some lower thingy-ma-bobs, and they all turned out great. With a good bit, at a high enough speed, you'll put out good pieces. Feel free to get to me with questions, I'll answer as soon as i can.

Impressed with the rugged industrial quality of this vice. You can tell right out of the box, this tool is built to work - and last. Only 4-stars because the gibb keys required work as others had stated. It was not just adjusting, but some serious hand work was required to get them flat and smooth. A indent had been punched at one end to act as a retainer when the adjustment screws had been loosened. The punch process deformed the end of the gibb enough to not allow proper adjustment. No biggie for me - only 15-20' of filing and stone work to get them in shape. But if not skilled enough to repair - an owner would not have a stable and repeatable vice. But for me, it was cheap time to get a quality vice with smoothe and true travel. For me, the tell tale sign of quality was the mounts for the acme screws. They were made from 3/16 steel - not the thin stampings on othe low quality vices. The ways were true and smoothe, not much work required. Just a quick hit with a stone, a good cleaning and fresh grease.

Anyone thinking that this vise will turn their drill press into a milling machine is in for a big surprise. Yes it does a fair job if you take small cuts and feed slowly. I was working with aluminum and got acceptable results. Don't expect to hold any kind of tight tolerances with this setup. There is just too much flex in a drill press for that. Expect to spend a day on a project that could be completed in a few hours on a Bridgeport. The quality of the vise is better than the typical offshore stuff but not , of course, at the level of the more pricey American made offerings from Wilton. While it is no substitute for a mill costing several thousands more it is an inexpensive way to kinda own a milling machine. Just an update. After using this table a number of times I find it is time to replace the bearings in my drill press. Lesson learned. The side loads on the bearings caused by the table lead to their failure. A drill press is not a milling machine.