Thread: Importing a Glacern Mill Vise

thanks Greg for letting us all know who you used...now for that lathe/mill etc etc...

seriously though, did they do the customs and port stuff for you as well?

Yes, they did everything for $100 total. All they needed was an invoice or bill of sale from the supplier. They even let me pay by paypal (+5%) if desired.

I think I could use them for a heavy machine tool...depends on their lifting facilities over in the US.

Greg

Congratulations Greg.

The GMT range of vices and tooling looks pretty impressive, and not over the top, price wise.

Quality dictates an appropriate price.

Nice change from Chaiwanese lumps of cast iron.

Ken

Thanks Ken. When I started this metalwork caper I was surprised at the prices for good quality vises, and read many tales of woe with the cheaper ones. I have come to think that $350, while lots of money, is good value for a good tool which is so fundamental in the shop.

Hi Greg,
It turned up just in time to be an early christmas present, let us know what you think of it when you have a chance to use it. I would be interested to know what type of ball arrangement it has for the pull down feature, as it looks to be the same casting as my vise I bought from Titan machinery over here, just mine was completely made in China.
I too have read the reviews that people have put up on other forums and like you said, they have all been good and some even say equal to Kurt.
Thanks for the info on shipping, I doubt I will use but you never know,lol, though thinking about it I have been trying to get some 4wd plastic chrome grills from over their, the shipping consolidators want a fortune to send them.

Ken
They still are Chinese lumps of cast, but they are machined in the US to tighter tolerances by Sol at Glacern.
Glacern Machine Tools - About Us
Parlec are doing the same thing as well I think.

I believe Kurt vises are still completely made in the US, but who knows, that may change at any time.

Eskimo,
Are you looking for more machines to hide?

Dave

Hi Greg,

Would be interested to know what type of mill you finished up with. Knowing you, it will be a pretty smicko unit. I'll assume, you haven't made anything with it, until now with the new vice.

What I really like about the GMT vice, is it clean lines, and compactness. I think compactness is a word.

The Chinese are into everything, is nothing sacred?

How's the coffee pot going, that's probably made in China as well.

Ken

Hi Ken...

I lucked into a Deckel Fp-1, 1948 vintage. I'm giving it the treatment, so it'll be a few months yet before its running. (Although I am NOT going to do any scraping on it until after its running, if at all.). When I bought it almost all the paint had been removed by years of coolant, and a bit of looking revealed some criminally bad wiring. That was enough to prompt me to at least paint it while I was re-wiring.

The coffee maker isn't chinese in fact, but the kettle is.

Glacern gets their castings done in Taiwan* and they are obviously good quality. The machining and grinding is done in the US, and it shows.**

*Taiwan has lots of Meehanite cast iron foundries, maybe more than America by now. They have come a long, long way from the sponge-like castings they made in the 70's

**By that I mean that cosmetically it is perfect, and just tightening it on an object is a pleasing thing-it just snugs up without jaw movement or lift at all. Nice.

Sorry Ken and others about the misleading info, I thought I had read on another forum they where Chinese casting, I must have got it mixed up with imported castings.

The pull down feature on mine works great as well, no comparison to the standard supplied vise that come with the mill. All the jaws are ground nice but the bed which is supposed to be flame hardened looks like it was ground with the wrong type wheel, leaving the surface looking grainy, I will give it a grind when i get my surface grinder.
I am painting mine at the moment and have sanded most of the original paint off. I was expecting to find holes or voids but there where none, only some extra casting where the sand castings meet, maybe I got lucky.lol
Also mine didn't come with a thrust bearing so I had to add one, what a difference that made to the amount of torque needed to tighten it up.
The vise is about 2 years old now and has a some scratches on the jaws from keeping surface rust off it, but you can see the grain look on the ways I am talking about in the photo below.

How do you think the Glacern compares to the Vertex sold by H&F's?

Also if you have time could you post some pictures of your Deckel?

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

Eskimo,
Are you looking for more machines to hide?

Dave

yes,
I would like to get get a REAL lathe and mill .....for when I retire....if she ever lets me that is

Originally Posted by Dave J

How do you think the Glacern compares to the Vertex sold by H&F's?

Also if you have time could you post some pictures of your Deckel?

Dave

Hi Dave...

I haven't seen the Vertex to compare, and I won't shop at H & F so I can't say. I read that the Kurt clones used to only take 6 to 8 hours of work to make them useable, but the recent things US buyers have been getting from HF, Enco etc are rubbish. That's what drove me towards Glacern. Having said that, I bet there are some out there that are pretty good. I understand Vertex stuff in general to be OK. Its one of the few Asian companies to actually put their own brand on their products FWIW.

The Deckel might get its own thread. Its mostly in pieces all over the garage right now. I am doing forced labour making birdhouses and picture frames; its lying under a protective blanket of pine shavings as a result.

I still have to do a couple of hours on the drill press so I can close off that thread too, then get going on scraping in a 36" straightedge that finally arrived yesterday (by the same slow boat)

Greg

Originally Posted by gregoryq

I still have to do a couple of hours on the drill press so I can close off that thread too, then get going on scraping in a 36" straightedge that finally arrived yesterday (by the same slow boat)

Greg

Hi Greg
do you have a surface plate big enough?

Good looking vise

Just for the record, H&F are not the only company stocking Vertex. I bought my Vertex 6" Rotary Table from Standaco in Rooks Rd Nunawading, the same place I bought my DM45 mill. Tom is a great guy to deal with and he stocks a big range of Vertex stuff and he is cheaper than H&F

Originally Posted by eskimo

Hi Greg
do you have a surface plate big enough?

No, and I was too busy to go to an auction this week that had a 36 X 30. I think I am going to be able to get scraping time on one nearby though. I have a Biax power scraper, so I might get it done in half a day with any luck.

Greg

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Good looking vise

Just for the record, H&F are not the only company stocking Vertex. I bought my Vertex 6" Rotary Table from Standaco in Rooks Rd Nunawading, the same place I bought my DM45 mill. Tom is a great guy to deal with and he stocks a big range of Vertex stuff and he is cheaper than H&F

I didn't know that. I have been in to see them a couple of times. They are everything you say-and I was getting ready to buy a DM45 too when the FP-1 popped up on ebay.