Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Arrow Left Previous Page
Page / 2
Posted: 3/30/2016 8:44:26 PM EDT
Link Posted: 3/30/2016 9:52:39 PM EDT
[#1]
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.
Link Posted: 3/30/2016 10:00:19 PM EDT
[#2]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 3/30/2016 10:08:08 PM EDT
[#3]
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.
Link Posted: 3/30/2016 10:32:16 PM EDT
[#4]
Link Posted: 3/30/2016 11:10:17 PM EDT
[#5]
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.
Link Posted: 3/31/2016 7:56:57 AM EDT
[#6]
Bridgeport at one time made their own vises.  Look for one of those on ebay or CL.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile
Link Posted: 3/31/2016 9:23:15 AM EDT
[#7]
Quoted:
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...
Link Posted: 3/31/2016 1:02:04 PM EDT
[#8]
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.
Link Posted: 3/31/2016 10:34:49 PM EDT
[#9]
Link Posted: 3/31/2016 10:49:51 PM EDT
[#10]
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.
Link Posted: 4/1/2016 11:42:16 AM EDT
[#11]
Link Posted: 4/1/2016 11:43:59 AM EDT
[#12]
Just watch tooling height stack up.
Without an actual knee it is all to easy to run into height problems.
Link Posted: 4/1/2016 11:47:56 AM EDT
[#13]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Just watch tooling height stack up.
Without an actual knee it is all to easy to run into height problems.
View Quote

More than once has a goofy collet size saved me from that.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile
Link Posted: 4/1/2016 1:05:44 PM EDT
[#14]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Just watch tooling height stack up.
Without an actual knee it is all to easy to run into height problems.
View Quote



+1
Don't get hung up on having a swivel base.  Just swivel the vise on the table and enjoy the extra headroom.
Link Posted: 4/1/2016 1:11:55 PM EDT
[#15]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



+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
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 4/1/2016 5:52:03 PM EDT
[#16]
Link Posted: 4/3/2016 3:59:12 PM EDT
[#17]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


who do you find "equivalent" to Kurt?
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 4/3/2016 5:33:55 PM EDT
[#18]
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.
Link Posted: 4/4/2016 11:29:36 AM EDT
[#19]
Link Posted: 4/5/2016 4:42:52 PM EDT
[#20]
Link Posted: 4/6/2016 7:22:34 AM EDT
[#21]
Today only "APRSALE" will get you 25% off orders of $99 or more at Enco... (no free shipping though)
Link Posted: 4/6/2016 10:42:48 AM EDT
[#22]
Link Posted: 4/6/2016 4:34:17 PM EDT
[#23]
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.
Link Posted: 4/7/2016 11:52:17 PM EDT
[#24]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 4/11/2016 1:12:28 PM EDT
[#25]
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 1:19:05 AM EDT
[#26]
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 8:56:46 AM EDT
[#27]
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.
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 9:52:23 AM EDT
[#28]
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 8:17:38 PM EDT
[#29]
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.
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 9:29:20 PM EDT
[#30]
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 9:41:16 PM EDT
[#31]
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.
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 10:03:43 PM EDT
[#32]
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 10:10:01 PM EDT
[#33]
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.
Link Posted: 4/12/2016 11:47:40 PM EDT
[#34]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
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.
View Quote

Ever tried an Orange?

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile
Link Posted: 4/13/2016 8:27:27 AM EDT
[#35]
No I'm not familiar.
Link Posted: 4/13/2016 9:32:58 AM EDT
[#36]
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
Link Posted: 4/13/2016 11:37:30 AM EDT
[#37]
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.
Link Posted: 4/13/2016 5:43:50 PM EDT
[#38]
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.
Link Posted: 4/19/2016 3:07:19 PM EDT
[#39]
Link Posted: 4/19/2016 11:25:49 PM EDT
[#40]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
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
Link Posted: 4/25/2016 1:26:32 PM EDT
[#41]
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/
Link Posted: 4/27/2016 5:17:17 PM EDT
[#42]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 4/30/2016 9:06:58 AM EDT
[#43]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


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
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 5/9/2016 6:16:07 PM EDT
[#44]
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.
Link Posted: 5/9/2016 8:00:36 PM EDT
[#45]
Link Posted: 5/12/2016 9:45:47 AM EDT
[#46]
Link Posted: 5/13/2016 4:48:13 PM EDT
[#47]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



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
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
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.
Link Posted: 5/13/2016 4:53:35 PM EDT
[#48]
one word: KURT
Link Posted: 5/13/2016 5:00:23 PM EDT
[#49]
Link Posted: 5/14/2016 9:54:19 PM EDT
[#50]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
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.
Arrow Left Previous Page
Page / 2
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top