picking a mill vise

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I have an older jet jdm 18 and I need to get a proper vise I think a 6 maybe to big so im thinking a 4 or 5 inch im looking at a new glacern or used Kurt any thoughts would be appreciated on pros cons of one vs the other 350P 30A spool gun cut master 51  syncro 250 other stuff " take a dog off the street and make him prosper and he will not bite you sad the same cannot be said for man" i didnt use punctuation just to piss you off
Reply:If you can afford a Kurt, you wont regret it. They are very nice and top quality. I have used Kurts and I have used Chinese imports. I have never had ant problems from the imports that I have used but there is a quality difference. The Chinese imports will still clamp your material and hold it. If you set it up right and get it dialed in will be as true as a Kurt. I think the area where a Kurt would shine above an import would be on a machine that is used daily especially for production use. The Kurt would outlast the import. When the import got wore and sloppy the Kurt would still be tight and true. I dont think you would use a home machine enough to wear out the import. What level of use will your vise see? Production - Kurt, Occasional use - import. Just me two cents on the subject.Making as much progress as a one legged duck in the middle of a pond, just going in circles.
Reply:No experience with a Glacern.Making as much progress as a one legged duck in the middle of a pond, just going in circles.
Reply:I second that, just don't use a hammer on the handle to tighten the vice....seen some do that.BTW, a 6" vice will allow you to hold the work better than a 4 or 5""one, and all you lose is about 1"on height, but take the revolving base off if it's got bolt slots on the sides, it's not needed, and you gain the extra height.I had (and still do have) a 6" vice on a Bridgeport.If you intend to do heavy work you will need to have keys on the vice bottom to suit your table slots.....(they need to be DEAD TRUE to the X axis) that's to prevent it from being knocked out of position when you do fly cutting etc, but for the most time not all that necessary.Personally I have found that removing the revolving base and having keys is a bit of a bother, as if you don't have the slots for the keys you need to mill them in dead true, or when you come to dial the jaws to the X axis true, you won't be able to move it if it's out of line, and  even a thou is too much over 6 ".The keys I have always made slack to make the vice able to be bumped true with a lead hammer......the keys are then just a way to be more or less in line at the start.If you do get a vice and the keys are a good fit to the table, but the vice jaws are out to the X axis, you're left with the choice of either remachining the key slots and making stepped keys or removing the jaws and re-machining the seating face at the back true to the table slots or a quick fix by shimming the jaws...Ughhh.If it's out only a couple of thou, the very best method would be to scrape the back face true and refit the jaws, doing the moving jaw seating face too.....you can get them and the keys to be a perfect fit.No matter how good the vice is price wise, if it doesn't have a pull down capability to the moving jaw, when you tighten the vice the job is always pushed up.....can't be helped.Ian.Last edited by puddytat; 10-16-2012 at 08:12 PM.