[Gilmax]

I was looking at possible getting another 6 inch premium vise from Glacern and noticed they now have 4 inch standard and premium vise available with a 5.25 inch jaw opening. Seems like it would be a very nice fit for a lot Tormach users. Just thought I would mention it. Unfortunately their prices no longer seem very competitive. Their 6 inch premium vise has increased in price again and is now $700, pretty much the same as a kurt 3600V. Kurt D688 vises can actually easily be found cheaper than Glacern's standard 6 inch vise.

[Don Clement]

I Kurt D688 vises can actually easily be found cheaper than Glacern's standard 6 inch vise.

The Kurt D688 fits the 1100 quite well.

[MichaelHenry]

Don - do you lose any of your Y-travel to the front jaw on your D688?

Mike

[Don Clement]

Don - do you lose any of your Y-travel to the front jaw on your D688?

Mike

Mike,

Yes about an inch but that inch hasn't been a factor for me so far. The 8.8" opening on the D688 has proved to be very useful in using it with my 1100 though.YMMV

Don

[keen]

Hi guys. If you move that vise to the front T slot you don't have the Vise overhang at the back limiting that Y travel in close to the column. Is that is the inch you are referring to?

Then one thinks...ahh but if you do that then the vise will be closer to the table/enclosure at the front.

That is what I thought too for a long time...but it is strangely deceptive. Changing vise T slot really only shifts the Y slide/table position - the vise length limitation is from the spindle and stays the same.

I think....I am getting a headache !

Cheers, Keen

[Don Clement]

Hi guys. If you move that vise to the front T slot you don't have the Vise overhang at the back limiting that Y travel in close to the column. Is that is the inch you are referring to?

Then one thinks...ahh but if you do that then the vise will be closer to the table/enclosure at the front.

That is what I thought too for a long time...but it is strangely deceptive. Changing vise T slot really only shifts the Y slide/table position - the vise length limitation is from the spindle and stays the same.

I think....I am getting a headache !

Cheers, Keen

I use Kurt vise keys with the D688 in the center T slot and never have to dial in my vise. If the vise placement ever became an issue I would remove the vise keys and position the vise where needed and hold down using straps on the side of the vise. However the 1" loss has never been a factor for me. YMMV

Don

[MichaelHenry]

Thanks Don. I don't often need that lost inch, but once in a while it is really nice to have it.

Mike

[keen]

Hi Don - Anyway on thinking about it more clearly after a coffee, my point only applies to full enclosure clearance, not table enclosure clearance. Cheers, Keen

[Steve Seebold]

Glacern has gone absolutely crazy with their pricing.

I bought a 4 inch standard vise from them about 3 years ago and I paid $229.00 for it. Now that same vise is $429.00. Why the $200.00 price increase in only 3 years? That's almost a 100% increase.

A 4 inch Kurt vise is only $529.00. I think I'd rather pay the extra $100.00 and get the Kurt.

A 4 inch vise is big enough for what I do anyway. If I can't hold a half dozen parts in one hand, then they're too big for me.

[MichaelHenry]

Looks like Glacern is now selling a premium Modular vise that looks an awful lot like an exact clone of the early version of the Orange vise. [Orange was started by someone who had been involved with Glacern's startup] Lots of chatter about Glacern's business practices on a different metalworking forum and the views there on Glacern have been generally negative.

Then there's the YouTube video of the guy who found what looked like Shars paint under the topcoat of his Glacern vise. Who need reality TV when there is stuff like this going on?

[tmarks11]

Lots of chatter about Glacern's business practices on a different metalworking forum and the views there on Glacern have been generally negative.

Well, 15 minutes of googling has convinced me never to be a GMT customer in the future. Sounds like the machining talent left GMT, leaving behind people who like to hire lawyers.

[widget_maker]

What happened to the Glacern/Shars thread of a month ago? Was it removed because they are a site sponsor or something of the sort? Shame if so......

[GITERDUN]

This is a commercial site and those who pay for advertising get protection. There have been negative Tormach threads that disappeared in the past as well.

[Gilmax]

For those who may have not noticed. The price on the Glacern Premium 6 inch vise has been brought back to $599.

[Steve Seebold]

I bought a 4 inch vise from Glacern shortly after I bought my PCNC 1100. I think I paid about $250.00 for it, then I went back about 6 months later to get another one and that vise had gone up to $550.00 so I bought 2 Tormach CNC vises instead.

[Steve Seebold]

I bought 2 of Tormachs 5 inch CNC vises about 3 years ago.

These are really nice vises.

I have suggested an improvement to Tormach, but so far there’s been no change. The change I suggested was to reverse the vise and put the fixed jaw on the front like the Quad-1 vises.

Then one day I got a job to make some parts out of 4.5 inch wide material. Imagine my disappointment when I learned these 5 inch CNC vises would only open 4.25 inches with the steel jaws that come with them. Fortunately, I only use aluminum soft jaws from Monster Jaws and I was able to do a work around.

[Bob La Londe]

You do know you can move the jaw to the outside of the vise right? Then you can get full Y travel if you position the vise accordingly.

I ran a pair of Shars 8" vises that way on another machine for a year. Can't drill through, well you can, or you will drill your vise, but you can work with much larger work pieces that way. Its also a good argument for indicating vises in properly even when using soft jaws rather than skim machining to square.

[Steve Seebold]

A couple of days ago I stumbled on a couple of 4 inch Quad-1 vises for a really good price so I bought them. Now I have 2 6 inch and 2 4 inch Quad-1 vises and 2 5 inch Tormach CNC vises.

The Tormach CNC vises and the Quad-1 vises are cool because I can turn them on their side when I drill deep holes in long thin parts.

I make a couple of parts where I have to drill a .100 diameter hole 4.5 inches deep in a 7.5 inch long piece of 3/16 thick 7075 aluminum.

I’ve learned how to do it and now I can drill 200 pieces and none of the deep holes will break out the side of the part.

[Bob La Londe]

Yeah, the CNC mill vises are really cool for that. I have two import 6 inch and two import 4 inch like that. The only negative is having to make or buy a vise hold down for them when semi permanently installed. I also use my screwless vises from 1" to 8" as insert vises on the others for odd projects. When I had the 8" Shars setup on the Hurco with the top jaw on the ouside I'd often drop another vise in it to hold smaller parts so I didn't have to move the jaws back.