Not overkill at all that is a nice vice and yes it does look to be a J&S. I like a vice of that pattern without the more usual two strips to rest your work on. So much easier if setting an angle wedge or little sine bar. Nice find.

Michael – I have a 3.5 inch on mine and find it "just so" but f I were you I would carry on with this monster and see how you get on. My guess is that before very long you will find that the height of your new vice will start to cause problems even with the mill head at its highest setting.

The positive side of course is that if your vice is sold on the auction site it would – with luck – get you enough cash to pay for a new three or four inch from say Axminster or similar. I only mention Axminster because I bought a 5" from them for my shaper a few months back when they were at an "offer" price and find it to be surprisingly accurate.

Rik

Michael, I think you owe it to yourself to have a requirement for a larger machine to fit the vice.

Pete

I suspect that you will find it necessary to have the vice only in the centre of the table. Anywhere else and the offset load on the ways will make it very hard to turn the handles.

If you don't intend to get a much bigger machine, you might consider advertising (here?) for a swap with a smaller version.

Just a thought, Tim