Side by side CAD render vise comparison on 1100 table. Orange, Kurt D688 and Kurt DX6

[eltejano]

Gathered up these 3 vises because I wanted to see the differences and side by side comparisons and I thought it may help someone here. So here it is.














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[mountaindew]

Nice models and renderings!
My Tormach 5" cnc vise hangs over back more then your Kurt 6" vise looks like in the pictures. It was a couple years ago but I looked at dimensions and went with the more expensive Tormach because it fit better. BTW I think parts of those Kurt vises are made about 2 miles over the hill from me.
Anyway nice pictures

[eltejano]

Nice models and renderings!
My Tormach 5" cnc vise hangs over back more then your Kurt 6" vise looks like in the pictures. It was a couple years ago but I looked at dimensions and went with the more expensive Tormach because it fit better. BTW I think parts of those Kurt vises are made about 2 miles over the hill from me.
Anyway nice pictures

The biggest reason I am looking at the 6 inch vise over the Tormach 5 inch is because I have 2 other mills including a Bridgeport. I use 6 inch vises on these and would be a pain to have one size dedicated to one mill. Keeping the 6 inch vises allows me to interchange setups and vise jaws when ever I have to with no hassle. If all I had was the Tormach, I would get a few 5 inch vises.

Thanks.

[SomeWhatLost]

and, 6" vises just work so wonderfully with the 1100...
sure, my 6" GMT's (hey, they were cheap... so what if I don't have a kurt, I am not a pro...) hang over the table a little bit, generally, when I am using the vise I don't need the full Y travel anyway...

but anyway, cool rendering...

[eltejano]

Here are a few more with the Kurts and the Tormach 5 inch vises.

[IMT]

I use soft jaws frequently. I can buy 6" jaws for just a little more than the material costs me to make my own.

GMT vise is as good as the Kurts I used.

[GLCarlson]

Two observations. The new Kurt appears to include a keyway longways as well as across. That's a good thing. Second, I use my GMT reverse mounted long axis with the X axis, and find that to be perfectly satisfactory despite the obvious deviation from what seems to be conventional placement. My GMT is a CNC style- that is, no mounting ears (like the Tormach). I would not consider any other style now. It's just too handy to be able to flip it up on a side when needed.

[eltejano]

Two observations. The new Kurt appears to include a keyway longways as well as across. That's a good thing. Second, I use my GMT reverse mounted long axis with the X axis, and find that to be perfectly satisfactory despite the obvious deviation from what seems to be conventional placement. My GMT is a CNC style- that is, no mounting ears (like the Tormach). I would not consider any other style now. It's just too handy to be able to flip it up on a side when needed.

The more I consider it, the more the Glacern is looking like something I may go with instead. The mounting holes through the body and the fact that they will grind them to match if you buy 2 is a huge plus.

[SomeWhatLost]

and you can actually put them side by side... throw in a set of monster jaws (or whatever soft jaws you can find cheaply), mill them together and you are good to go... worked perfectly for a large doohicky I was playing with lately...

but anyway, if you are considering GMT, may be good to wait for one of their many sales... the black Friday sale is usually pretty good.. think the have one july 4th too if you dont want to wait that long...

[MichaelHenry]

Too bad Orange doesn't make a shorter version of the back jaw plate. I played with a model of their vise on a model of my 1100 table and it looked like I'd lose at least an inch of travel in Y with one of their vises

[eltejano]

Too bad Orange doesn't make a shorter version of the back jaw plate. I played with a model of their vise on a model of my 1100 table and it looked like I'd lose at least an inch of travel in Y with one of their vises

They had talked about making a smaller vise but then never mentioned it again a few years ago.

[mountaindew]

The biggest reason I am looking at the 6 inch vise over the Tormach 5 inch is because I have 2 other mills including a Bridgeport. I use 6 inch vises on these and would be a pain to have one size dedicated to one mill. Keeping the 6 inch vises allows me to interchange setups and vise jaws when ever I have to with no hassle. If all I had was the Tormach, I would get a few 5 inch vises.

Thanks.

I understand! Most of my tools are additions to the same line for convenience I dont like to walk across the shop . I have 4 of the exact same cordless screw/drill guns, impact and a flashlight. all use same batts. I sprinkle things like box knives, rulers, huge sets of driver bits on every almost every bench.



only have one of those orange hammers

[eltejano]

I understand! Most of my tools are additions to the same line for convenience I dont like to walk across the shop . I have 4 of the exact same cordless screw/drill guns, impact and a flashlight. all use same batts. I sprinkle things like box knives, rulers, huge sets of driver bits on every almost every bench.



only have one of those orange hammers

I am the same way, I like continuity, interchangeability and standardization to my tools.

[84scrambler]

Another option is the 3600V Kurt vises. I went with two of these on my table and really like them.

[eltejano]

Another option is the 3600V Kurt vises. I went with two of these on my table and really like them.

These are the ones I am actually probably going with. I may go with the Glacern because they are way less. If I have the money, I'll go with the Kurt ones.

[R.DesJardin]

I have two Tormach machinist vises on one machine and two Kurt D675's on the other. The one Kurt I've have from before I bought he Tormach, I found the second one later so I had a pair. I typically don't build the same parts on both machines so jaw interchangeability isn't a concern. I use aluminum soft jaws 99% of the time.
Yes, I too have tools at each work area.

[mountaindew]

Another option is the 3600V Kurt vises. I went with two of these on my table and really like them.

I like these cad models! My sprutcam machine model cant even show the chip pan without throwing error . so My simulated chips hit the floor.

My big tool upgrade this week is new Anti-Fatigue Grip Mats for each area. Have to change how I clean but my legs will thank me.

[eltejano]

I like these cad models! My sprutcam machine model cant even show the chip pan without throwing error . so My simulated chips hit the floor.

My big tool upgrade this week is new Anti-Fatigue Grip Mats for each area. Have to change how I clean but my legs will thank me.

I need a mat on my floor badly. The hard concrete gets old.

Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

[IMT]

I don't like using mats. Pain to clean. If you get shoes made for working on concrete you don't need the mats. I have a pair of Red Wings boots with the soft rubber diamond pattern sole. It's like having the mat attached to your feet. I can work in the shop for 12+ hours and my feet don't hurt, 4 hours or so in tennis shoes and my feet are screaming at me.

[mountaindew]

I don't like using mats. Pain to clean. If you get shoes made for working on concrete you don't need the mats. I have a pair of Red Wings boots with the soft rubber diamond pattern sole. It's like having the mat attached to your feet. I can work in the shop for 12+ hours and my feet don't hurt, 4 hours or so in tennis shoes and my feet are screaming at me.

Sound thinking, good shoes are one of the most important human accessories. I would do same but I can list a number of excuses or reasons. #1 I am in and out of shop all the time and it is literally part of my house. I also have foot issues and only solution is tennis shoes that get replaced about every 6 months. Hard to explain why, but a fact of life "I use to climb mountains". I would like better toe protection more then anything. The fastest i move is when something falls to floor.

Turns out the mats I put down were not as heavy as I was thinking. Not what I wanted but long slim and light, easy to move and clean up and trip over. but I can roll tools around easy enough and time will tell if this works but so far I like them.

Oh and this weeks shop upgrade is more led lighting. So nice to have light without 600-1000 watts of heat. Unplug all the ceiling 4ft tube lights for the warm months. Keep them mounted and ready to plug back in for winter months.