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Posted: 3/30/2016 8:44:26 PM EDT
I know the industry standard is a Kurt vise, but I'm trying to keep my expenses in control.
I learned the very hard way, that Grizzly makes (or should I say "distributes"?) a crappy "precision" milling vise. I think I want to go with a 5" model. A 4" fit nicely on my G0759 (G0704), but the first one I bought had issues, and the replacement one they sent was even worse so now with a chance to go bigger, I think I will. Almost everything I've seen says that a 6" is too big for this mill. anyway, I understand that Glacern makes a decent vise (?) I'm not too sure about Shars, as all the vises of this type look like Kurt Klones. just need something that comes out of the box, ready to go. needs to be flat and square and can hold a part down in the jaws...the 3 things the grizzly couldn't do |
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Glacerns are generally well regarded to the non pros. Not sure what they cost but I think you can get a Kurt for like $489 minus 20% plus free shipping if you wait for the Enco weekly coupons. Enco probably has another brand that would work fine also, with the same coupons.
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Glacerns are generally well regarded to the non pros. Not sure what they cost but I think you can get a Kurt for like $489 minus 20% plus free shipping if you wait for the Enco weekly coupons. Enco probably has another brand that would work fine also, with the same coupons. View Quote Agreed. If you aren't on Enco's mailing list you should be. |
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I have nothing to add except that I misread the title and was wondering why you would ned a vise for a milking machine.
Yeah I know this isn't GD. |
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Agreed. If you aren't on Enco's mailing list you should be. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Glacerns are generally well regarded to the non pros. Not sure what they cost but I think you can get a Kurt for like $489 minus 20% plus free shipping if you wait for the Enco weekly coupons. Enco probably has another brand that would work fine also, with the same coupons. Agreed. If you aren't on Enco's mailing list you should be. I like Enco. But they're like Kohls or Bed Bath and Beyond... don't buy anything without a coupon. I kinda hijacked this thread, and keep everyone up to date on the specials that cross my desk... http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_49/300927_Mill_and_Tooling_Suppliers.html I found a Tormach (5"), a Kurt (4{) (they only make a 4 or 6"), but that is on the outer edge of costs. Shars has a 'precision' 5", but they're out of stock.... the hunt continues.... thanks for your input |
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Travers tool has good stuff, even their own brand TTC
Have had one of these for several years, - may be a little big for you, it's 6" http://www.travers.com/6-tiltlock-78-open-precision-machine-vise/p/61-421-267/ basically a Kurt clone. |
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Bridgeport at one time made their own vises. Look for one of those on ebay or CL.
Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Glacerns are generally well regarded to the non pros. Not sure what they cost but I think you can get a Kurt for like $489 minus 20% plus free shipping if you wait for the Enco weekly coupons. Enco probably has another brand that would work fine also, with the same coupons. View Quote Enco just had a 25% off & free shipping that I took advantage of... it will probably be at least couple months before they repeat that. The best discount I've ever had from enco was 30% off because I hadn't ordered anything in a while. What was said above is true, don't buy it from Enco unless you have a discount. Get on their mail list, put together your "order list" and then just wait for the right discount. 15% off doesn't get a 2nd glance from me, 20% off but still have to pay shipping doesn't even get a glance. 20% off & free ship, 25% & free ship, or 30% are the only coupon I will buy things on now... That being said, the used market for kurt vices has it's ups and downs. I've seen people (even here on arfcom) selling used kurt vices for cheap ($200). I would be patient and find a used one for a good price. You can check ebay but don't expect a deal unless you get lucky; get on the machining forums and watch the classifieds or post a wtb ad... |
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I got a Kurt II cnc vise on Ebay for around 400. It hurt at first, but I have never regretted spending the $ for it.
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the more I look at the Tormach 5" CNC vise, the more I want it.
looks more versatile and compact than the KurtKlones. http://www.tormach.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=31759 but they don't say anything about it being made in the USA, like they do for the 5" machinist version http://www.tormach.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=30553 "buy once, cry once" typically works out in the long run, but it's hard making that decision. |
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Find a Kurt or equivalent brand. Not a clone sold by some importer. I own 3 Kurts and 1 clone. If I wasn't so stubborn and addicted to fixing shit, the clone would have been scrapped.
I have zero regrets spending the money on Kurts. |
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Find a Kurt or equivalent brand. Not a clone sold by some importer. I own 3 Kurts and 1 clone. If I wasn't so stubborn and addicted to fixing shit, the clone would have been scrapped. I have zero regrets spending the money on Kurts. View Quote who do you find "equivalent" to Kurt? |
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Just watch tooling height stack up.
Without an actual knee it is all to easy to run into height problems. |
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+1 Don't get hung up on having a swivel base. Just swivel the vise on the table and enjoy the extra headroom. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Just watch tooling height stack up. Without an actual knee it is all to easy to run into height problems. +1 Don't get hung up on having a swivel base. Just swivel the vise on the table and enjoy the extra headroom. Unless you are doing multiple setups and in a rel rush this works well. Get some precision angle plates and use them to position the vice. Index one side to the collet (X or Y) then place required plates to build the desired angle. Bottom edge of vice against plates. Make sure you have checked vice jaws are alignment with base edges. With object tightened in vice. |
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what do you think reasonable tolerances are for flat/parallel/square?
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Find a Kurt or equivalent brand. Not a clone sold by some importer. I own 3 Kurts and 1 clone. If I wasn't so stubborn and addicted to fixing shit, the clone would have been scrapped. I have zero regrets spending the money on Kurts. who do you find "equivalent" to Kurt? I can't remember off the top of my head, but they will also be expensive. Kurt is THE go to brand for vises. There are some older companies that may have good vises. I believe Yuasa might be one of them and newer companies like Glacern that seem to have a good rep. Don't worry about a swivel base. They aren't needed most of the time, eat up head room, and are less rigid than bolting direct to the table. |
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If your shopping for something like this you need to be on Travers, Enco and MSC mailing lists. ( Travers was my goto source for odd sized taps. )
I waited until the proper deal came along then jumped on a 25% off with free shipping (no exclusions) to get my 24" X 36" granite surface plate with stand. MSC often offers 35% off on orders of $299 - which seems like a lot until you are shopping for big ticket items or need some expensive tooling. Seriously when a 10pc package of name brand inserts can cost over $200 this adds up quick. Keeping CNC machines tooled while doing production defines the phrase - "You have to spend money to make money." Kurt used to make 5" vises, they discontinued them because they were just not in demand like the 4" & 6" are. Buying your milling vise is a buy once cry once proposition - you can spend the money up front and depend on the product. Or you can cheap out on the purchase but find yourself fighting little issues on certain types of setups for the entire duration of your owning it. Glacern is definitely worth considering - they do make a quality product. I sometimes buy threading inserts factory direct from Isreal on ebay - I can save a lot of money that way, if I can plan ahead 3-4 weeks for delivery. |
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as noted in an earlier post above, I belong to all those sites, except Travers....which I just signed up for.
I went to MSC with the latest codes to price a Kurt D-40.... didn't get the 30% I was expecting, so I didn't buy. Todays 15% off at Enco had the vise cheaper... still not the best deal. I don't really want the D-40 type, if I don't have to. I'd much rather have a 'cnc' type that you can flip on it's side. best I've found, price wise, with a not too questionable quality, was the Tormach. so, as interested in obtaining a replacement vise ASAP, I'm not going to throw a lot of money at one if I can wait a bit and save. so, if anyone hears of a great deal at a distributor that sells Kurt or Tormach, please let me know. I did find Orange brand vises, damn sexy things, made Here. but made of unobtainium |
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I bit the big one, well, okay, "medium sized" one and got the 5" Tormach CNC vise
there was a similar generic one on ebay, but I couldn't find anything about 'em on-line as far as reviews or reputation go.. so I went with the Tormach, which is way more established and they do have a warranty. I promise I'll buy a Kurt when I buy my Bridgeport (/type) mill. |
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Today only "APRSALE" will get you 25% off orders of $99 or more at Enco... (no free shipping though)
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Today only "APRSALE" will get you 25% off orders of $99 or more at Enco... (no free shipping though) View Quote yeah, of course, it makes sense. I just bought my vise, well, I got the type vise I wanted... but $414.73 ea for a D-40 isn't bad 'tall eta: MSC has a sale today as well at upto 35% off... Kurt D-40 = $498.82 Enco still the better deal at 25% off.....go figure. |
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Those sale ads for MSC are deceiving, rarely is anything that sells well discounted 35%. Another note of irony is that MSC owns Enco but neither will price match. I bought 4 Kurt 675's from Enco last year when they had them on sale with free shipping, about $70 less per vise than MSC who has a branch local to me.
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Those sale ads for MSC are deceiving, rarely is anything that sells well discounted 35%. Another note of irony is that MSC owns Enco but neither will price match. I bought 4 Kurt 675's from Enco last year when they had them on sale with free shipping, about $70 less per vise than MSC who has a branch local to me. View Quote True - MSC bought out Enco. I have ordered items from Enco and they arrived with some having the MSC P/N not the Enco catalog number. I now keep a "Wish list" on my iPad touch for items I need from the Enco catalog - so when the next 25% off with free shipping add comes along I am ready. I hope that Tormach vise works out for you, small U.S. design company that has all the products they design made in China to there specs. The quick change straight shank tooling for micro mills is neat but I won't use it because the tooling can and does pull out under heavy cuts. I'll use U200, Cat 30, BT30, NMBT30, CAT / BT / NMBT 40 or 50 - but no straight shanks for me. |
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GMT has a couple vises on sale in their spring cleaning event.
GSV-550-snd 5 Inch Standard Vise - scratch & dent [ photo ] $425.00 $299.00 GDV-620FE-snd 6 Inch Double Vise - scratch & dent [ photo ] $1799.99 $899.99 |
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Why did you have the G0704 thread locked? I've been following it and was going to chime in after I get mine complete. I'm presently doing a CNC conversion on it.
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Why did you have the G0704 thread locked? I've been following it and was going to chime in after I get mine complete. I'm presently doing a CNC conversion on it. View Quote it was turning into a Grizzly hate thread. Just Sunday the upper gib lock on the Z-axis stripped, rendering it useless. threads are in the z-axis slide I have not abused this thing in anyway, and it fails me at every (~) corner. if you're really interested in my keeping the thread going, and there are others interested, I'll ask to have it re-opened. and/or you can always ask questions via IM too ETA: just heard back from grizzly. the z-axis gib lock requires a new z-axis slide. extensive repair if I were to do it myself, or send it back to them.. I'm thinking of saying just take the whole thing back and refund my money. |
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Damn man, you are having a hell of a time with this machine. I have a PM-727 sitting out in my garage that needs to be unpacked and set up, but just haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully Matt at PM does a better job with QC than Grizzly.
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Damn man, you are having a hell of a time with this machine. I have a PM-727 sitting out in my garage that needs to be unpacked and set up, but just haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully Matt at PM does a better job with QC than Grizzly. View Quote that looks to be a much better constructed machine than the Grizzly. http://www.machinetoolonline.com/PM727M.html |
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Fwiw I have 4 Glacern double vises in a production machine that have seen roughly 15,000 parts since January. They've been excellent vises.
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The biggest reason I bought them was they opened further than the same size Kurt double vises which meant we didn't have to make special over hang jaws for the job. But they've proven durable.
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Nice nice equipment, surprised you haven't heard of them because the founder is a pretty regular PM contributor.
http://www.orangevise.com PS- love the RPD |
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Thanks!
Those do look nice. Especially the jaw system. We've taken to doweling jaws in Kurt vises just to get some side to side repeatability. |
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BTW - many of those double vises, too much pain to set it up.
We had the Kurt CNC dual and it was almost never used for that reason. - I could set up a single vise and run the entire job often quicker than I could set up the dual. I was thinking buy the BIG IH mill, do the motor conversion and the CNC conversion and have a decent CNC... Well The IH is sitting on a moving dolly and has never been powered up. I got paranoid when other owners reported sand and chips in the gearbox and bearings and between seals. The sage advice that became the consensus was that before you put any hours on the machine you needed to tear it down and flush out the gearbox and bearings and maybe even replace the spindle bearings and pack with the proper Kluber Isoflex spindle grease. Well I never found my round-to-it, so it ain't been done yet. Instead I bought 2 Hurco CNC mills, with ground industrial precision ball screws not the cheapo rolled screws people use for home conversions. In the long run I got a much better machine for the same cost, just need to replace the OEM control computer with a PC running LinuxCNC and using Mesa interface cards to drive the OEM servo amps. The Hitachi Seiki HT-20 CNC turning center I just bought is full hardcore Fanuc industrial grade - no more hobbyist games... Its going to cost me about $8000 just to get the power installed At least I got a great price on the rigging and machine moving. |
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My Tormach vise is serving me well (for what limited use I can get out of it with this POS mill that it sits on).
the fit and finish is fine, holds well. I would not hesitate to recommend one for the hobby types. the only thing Tormach needs to fix, is the box it's shipped in...the vise barely got here, and it did receive some damage, that Tormach hasn't replied to from the email I sent them. One thing for sure, I will never buy another grizzly product. YMMV, as with anything in life. |
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My Tormach vise is serving me well (for what limited use I can get out of it with this POS mill that it sits on). the fit and finish is fine, holds well. I would not hesitate to recommend one for the hobby types. the only thing Tormach needs to fix, is the box it's shipped in...the vise barely got here, and it did receive some damage, that Tormach hasn't replied to from the email I sent them. One thing for sure, I will never buy another grizzly product. YMMV, as with anything in life. View Quote Mine won't. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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ETA, I realized the OP may not need a vise but I know a lot of people were following this thread. The seller in not me and I do not even know him.
Kurt 675 on Practical Machinist for $300 http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/tooling-parts-and-accessories-for-sale-or-wanted/fs-kurt-d675-used-few-times-nearly-new-318748/ |
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ETA, I realized the OP may not need a vise but I know a lot of people were following this thread. The seller in not me and I do not even know him. Kurt 675 on Practical Machinist for $300 http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/tooling-parts-and-accessories-for-sale-or-wanted/fs-kurt-d675-used-few-times-nearly-new-318748/ View Quote Location is everything. Note the shipping weight - 95lbs That's going to hurt your wallet if you don't have a good rated company shipping account. As to buying one - be sure to inspect the shipping packaging on arrival, and if it looks questionable (ie: Dropped) do not hesitate to reject it. If you accept it and find you need to ship it back for warranty repair/replacement it will be on your dime. I found a even better deal on Craig's list maybe 8 years ago and drove 120miles each way to pick it up. Was well worth the drive. Plus seeing it in person before laying out the cash lets you know what your getting. |
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Location is everything. Note the shipping weight - 95lbs That's going to hurt your wallet if you don't have a good rated company shipping account. As to buying one - be sure to inspect the shipping packaging on arrival, and if it looks questionable (ie: Dropped) do not hesitate to reject it. If you accept it and find you need to ship it back for warranty repair/replacement it will be on your dime. I found a even better deal on Craig's list maybe 8 years ago and drove 120miles each way to pick it up. Was well worth the drive. Plus seeing it in person before laying out the cash lets you know what your getting. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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ETA, I realized the OP may not need a vise but I know a lot of people were following this thread. The seller in not me and I do not even know him. Kurt 675 on Practical Machinist for $300 http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/tooling-parts-and-accessories-for-sale-or-wanted/fs-kurt-d675-used-few-times-nearly-new-318748/ Location is everything. Note the shipping weight - 95lbs That's going to hurt your wallet if you don't have a good rated company shipping account. As to buying one - be sure to inspect the shipping packaging on arrival, and if it looks questionable (ie: Dropped) do not hesitate to reject it. If you accept it and find you need to ship it back for warranty repair/replacement it will be on your dime. I found a even better deal on Craig's list maybe 8 years ago and drove 120miles each way to pick it up. Was well worth the drive. Plus seeing it in person before laying out the cash lets you know what your getting. I understand that... I'm only pointing out that it's available if somebody wants one. You don't generally get things for "free". The places that offer free shipping on these things have that cost built into the price. That being said, I know for a fact that a kurt vice will fit into 2 LFRB and ship for less than $30 if a person is willing to take the time to package it up right. |
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After much deliberation I finally ordered the 5" ENCO 425-7251. After it arrived earlier today I'm happy with the initial quality but thinking it may be a bit large for my need. I got it for 15% off and free shipping.
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After much deliberation I finally ordered the 5" ENCO 425-7251. After it arrived earlier today I'm happy with the initial quality but thinking it may be a bit large for my need. I got it for 15% off and free shipping. View Quote looks like the million (~) other vises sold with varying names on 'em. much like the one I got from that place with the bear check it for flatness and parallelism. I had to take mine apart because it wouldn't seat anything flat. (might want to do it anyway, just to give it a proper cleaning). when I had it apart, I broke all the edges with a stone, as they really needed it.. the parts wouldn't even sit flat on my surface plate. |
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GMT has a deal on vises this month
see this post: https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_49/300927_Mill_and_Tooling_Suppliers.html&page=3#i4576794 |
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looks like the million (~) other vises sold with varying names on 'em. much like the one I got from that place with the bear check it for flatness and parallelism. I had to take mine apart because it wouldn't seat anything flat. (might want to do it anyway, just to give it a proper cleaning). when I had it apart, I broke all the edges with a stone, as they really needed it.. the parts wouldn't even sit flat on my surface plate. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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After much deliberation I finally ordered the 5" ENCO 425-7251. After it arrived earlier today I'm happy with the initial quality but thinking it may be a bit large for my need. I got it for 15% off and free shipping. looks like the million (~) other vises sold with varying names on 'em. much like the one I got from that place with the bear check it for flatness and parallelism. I had to take mine apart because it wouldn't seat anything flat. (might want to do it anyway, just to give it a proper cleaning). when I had it apart, I broke all the edges with a stone, as they really needed it.. the parts wouldn't even sit flat on my surface plate. Yes, I had planned to check parallelism and flatness. With any vise in this price range it's more of a kit vise. I do have my scrapers ready but I'll wait till my G0759 arrives due to so many other projects. I haven't finished cleaning and installing my lathe yet. |
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Yes, I had planned to check parallelism and flatness. With any vise in this price range it's more of a kit vise. I do have my scrapers ready but I'll wait till my G0759 arrives due to so many other projects. I haven't finished cleaning and installing my lathe yet. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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After much deliberation I finally ordered the 5" ENCO 425-7251. After it arrived earlier today I'm happy with the initial quality but thinking it may be a bit large for my need. I got it for 15% off and free shipping. looks like the million (~) other vises sold with varying names on 'em. much like the one I got from that place with the bear check it for flatness and parallelism. I had to take mine apart because it wouldn't seat anything flat. (might want to do it anyway, just to give it a proper cleaning). when I had it apart, I broke all the edges with a stone, as they really needed it.. the parts wouldn't even sit flat on my surface plate. Yes, I had planned to check parallelism and flatness. With any vise in this price range it's more of a kit vise. I do have my scrapers ready but I'll wait till my G0759 arrives due to so many other projects. I haven't finished cleaning and installing my lathe yet. I hope you've read as much as you can, maybe explore some alternatives (even the same mill under a different label.) before buying a hairybear product |
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one word: KURT View Quote That is a one word FAIL - since Kurt discontinued the 5" vises about 25 years ago. My uncle has one and its very nice. They just didn't sell like the 6" or the 4" vices so they were dropped. Not saying anything bad about KURT as I have a pair of 675's on my mill. |
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