After a good degreasing and deburring I put the vise back together, eager to try it out. I swept it in with my Last Word and clamped a piece of mild steel in the jaws. The part lifted up about .030" when I closed the vise!!

I tried adjusting the locking collar and the jaw lift setscrew but it wasn't getting any better. The problem is that knowing a part needs to be there, and actually understanding how it works are two different things. Here is a pic of the little hemispherical doohickey that holds the jaw down when pressure is applied. The original Chinese part is the flat-topped one that is .030" too short. The other is the 4140 steel version I made on the lathe to replace it.

No more jaw lift...imagine that!

While I was at it I retapped the setscrew holes for the lift adjustment and locking collar to 1/4-28 and replaced the screws with some nice grade 5's.
Finally here are a couple of pics of the completed job.


Aside from the two casting voids and the part I had to replace the vise seems to be of better than average quality for a Chinese import and I think it will be a very nice addition to my shop. Plus it fits the x2 mill really well.
