Michael G 22nd January 2014, 07:55 PM To my annoyance I managed to blunt a cutter on the weekend when I set it to clear the fixed side of my vice and it bottomed on the moving jaw (alright - the clearance was less than 0.25mm, but the jaw had still moved!)
While a Kurt or Glacern would be nice, the cost plus freight is too high for my liking.
Vertex do an angle lock style vice (model VA-4) which looks solid enough
https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/V304#
Anyone got one/ had experience with one?
Michael
Ueee 22nd January 2014, 08:39 PM You probably know what i'm going to say already.....
Of all the things i have bought in the last few years (except machines of course) Gregs Glacern would be on the top of my list as the best thing i have bought, no questions asked. It is precise, strong, well made. It is a joy to be able to go to the mill and clamp something in the vise without having to think twice about how well it is held and how well aligned it is. I think it is under 20lbs without the base? They really are worth every penny IMHO.
Ew
welder 22nd January 2014, 09:42 PM Glacern say the shipping weight is 33lbs
for a 4 inch :no:
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/importing-glacern-mill-vise-128172/
Toggy 22nd January 2014, 09:53 PM Well; I am a mere peasant and have to suffer with a 6" Vertex angloc.:)
As yet I have no complaints. Muuuch better than the one that came with the "soggy noodle".
I have not yet used the 8" dovetail slide with gib strip adjustment vice that came with the Rossi. I have since seen them advertised new and were about the price the mill cost me.
I would hope that it is as good as the price.
Ken
RayG 22nd January 2014, 09:55 PM Hi Michael,
I'm another one of the poor cousins who has to suffer in silence looking at others with their Kurts and Glacerns.... my Vertex 150mm is just fine, no complaints and no problems. I think they are excellent value.
Ray
simonl 22nd January 2014, 10:10 PM Hi Michael,
Sorry to hear about your cutter. Last year for my birthday I bought a Vertex K type vice. It's OK but I find when the alignment is crucial, the jaws lift a bit on clamping. This is very noticeable when using parallels under the workpiece as one is usually loose when the jaws are tightened. A soft mallet usually fixes the problem but I should have bought an anglock instead.
While I'm not overly demanding on the quality of my tools (I have a lot of Chinese stuff and find it OK) I found the vertex K type vice a bit disappointing, mainly in the finish. Especially compared to the Vertex 8" RT which by comparison seems better finished IMO.
Couldn't afford or justify a real Kurt.
Cheers,
Simon
variant22 22nd January 2014, 10:28 PM Vertex do an angle lock style vice (model VA-4) which looks solid enough
https://www.machineryhouse.com. (https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/V304#)
Michael
Michael, I own two Vertex anglock VA-5 vices. They are rock solid. I liked them so much I got myself a Vertex K-type for little jobs and a 200mm Vertex rotary table. Vertex are much better quality than I expected. For the price one can't go wrong.
PS: There is a reason Glacern source their vices from Vertex..
andrew_mx83 22nd January 2014, 11:04 PM I have the 6" anglock from vertex. Its a good bit of kit, and good value. I am amazed how much holding force you can get on such a small area with it. Ive only had a pull out once, which i rectified by going to a lower parallel. I was taking some pretty big cuts on round bar being held by ~4mm when it pulled out.
I do find occasionally that one parallel will be tighter than the other, but that may be operator fault. I did find its limit of opening at 147mm the other day, annoying when i wanted to hold 151mm :S
Ive worked out how to get it to hold upto approx 300mm but im not too keen on drilling holes in it just yet.
Hafco had another 6" anglock which had about 10mm more opening and (i think) taller jaws, i went in to buy that one but the vertex was much better finished so i bought that instead. Ill be going back for another one shortly. Cant wait to have 2, or even 3 of them lined up on the big mill for working multiple parts at once.
Ueee 22nd January 2014, 11:12 PM On the Glacern you can move the jaw plates to the outside of the Jaws, giving you about 300mm opening. Can you not do this with the Vertex's?
I'll second what Ken said, the vices that come with the soggy noodle's are next to useless as they are.
Ew
andrew_mx83 22nd January 2014, 11:23 PM Not yet. Ill have to make new, taller jaws to sit outside and come over the top. Would also have to take the normal jaws out, which im loathe to do. Is any accuracy lost or realignment needed after doing this?
Ueee 23rd January 2014, 12:05 AM Is any accuracy lost or realignment needed after doing this?
Not with the Glacern. The removable jaws should be ground parallel and the fixed and moving jaw should be dead square and parallel.
Michael,
There is always the possibility of myself or Josh/Ray grinding a Vertex vice for you to bring the specs up. Be even better to do a batch of them......
Ew
Michael G 23rd January 2014, 07:13 AM There is always the possibility of myself or Josh/Ray grinding a Vertex vice for you to bring the specs up.
Thanks Ewan - it's a worthwhile idea but at the moment my concern is mainly about jaw lift. I was pleasantly surprised to find that after replacing the bearings in the head I was getting parallel to 0.05 without trying. That in itself is a big improvement. At this stage I would look at getting a vice and using it a bit before doing any tune up work.
Michael
Toggy 23rd January 2014, 07:31 AM Ewan,
My vertex angloc already has the threaded mounting holes on the outside of the jaws.
Ken
variant22 23rd January 2014, 09:52 AM Ewan,
My vertex angloc already has the threaded mounting holes on the outside of the jaws.
Ken
Same here..
Ueee 23rd January 2014, 09:51 PM Thanks Ewan - it's a worthwhile idea but at the moment my concern is mainly about jaw lift.
I would think that since the Glacern is made from Vertex castings then the jaw lift would be just as good on the Vertex as it is on the Glacern. Maybe i should pull the glacern apart and maybe a vertex owner could do the same and we could play spot the difference?
Ew
RayG 23rd January 2014, 10:25 PM Hi Ewan,
The Vertex I've got is the VA-6, I think the Glacern GSV-690 is as close an equivalent as I can find in a quick search.. There's hundreds of different models.
http://www.glacern.com/thumbs/gsv_03.jpghttp://www.glacern.com/thumbs/gsv690_07.jpg
http://www.vertex-tw.com.tw/Archive/_eng/products_category/VA-6-81.JPG
Ray
Michael G 24th January 2014, 06:54 AM I would think that since the Glacern is made from Vertex castings then the jaw lift would be just as good on the Vertex as it is on the Glacern.
Looking at the pictures Ray has posted, I don't know that the Glacern is made from Vertex castings. It is more likely that the Glacern castings are made by Vertex. There are a couple of small differences between the two that if you were manufacturing would represent cost for no good reason.
Michael
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