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Orange vs Schunk 3-axis vises?

trochoidalpath

Cast Iron
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
I couldn't sleep the other night and I was looking through the Schunk catalog at their KSC vises. I'm really happy with my Gen4 Orange vises, but I'm curious if anyone has run the Schunks and has first-hand knowledge of how they compare? I like the low-profile reversible jaws and fully encapsulated screw for sure.
 
When we first purchased our Hermle 5x we tested a handfull of vises, about 6 or 8. The Schunk was the best I got my hands on, with Lang a close 2nd place. We have a few Orange vises on some of our 3x machines. You ask how it compares, well it doesn't, the Schunk is in a different class of vise, in my opinion the Orange compares to Kurt, which is more of an "economical" vise.
 
When we first purchased our Hermle 5x we tested a handfull of vises, about 6 or 8. The Schunk was the best I got my hands on, with Lang a close 2nd place. We have a few Orange vises on some of our 3x machines. You ask how it compares, well it doesn't, the Schunk is in a different class of vise, in my opinion the Orange compares to Kurt, which is more of an "economical" vise.

Thanks! Anything in particular really stand out to you?

It seems like the OVs are quite a bit more versatile — much easier to switch from 1 to 2 station, I don't think you can convert a KSC like that. But I sometimes see a little jaw lift with the OV, and it doesn't have quite the clamping range that you can get out of the KSC, at least on paper.
 
Thanks! Anything in particular really stand out to you?

It seems like the OVs are quite a bit more versatile — much easier to switch from 1 to 2 station, I don't think you can convert a KSC like that. But I sometimes see a little jaw lift with the OV, and it doesn't have quite the clamping range that you can get out of the KSC, at least on paper.

I've found that every time I get jaw lift in my Orange vise, it is due to contamination. Disassemble, clean, hone and reassemble. tadah.
 
I've found that every time I get jaw lift in my Orange vise, it is due to contamination. Disassemble, clean, hone and reassemble. tadah.

For sure. I have also found that it's more likely to happen at the extreme ends of travel, which unfortunately I use pretty regularly. It's something I know to check for, but it can slow down setups.
 
I have nothing negative to say about our competitor's products, but it's definitely a different type of vise at a different price point.

You may be interested in checking out our 2nd generation Delta vises, which we'll begin rolling out later this month. The largest variation will be 5" x 15".
 
Thanks! Anything in particular really stand out to you?

It seems like the OVs are quite a bit more versatile — much easier to switch from 1 to 2 station, I don't think you can convert a KSC like that. But I sometimes see a little jaw lift with the OV, and it doesn't have quite the clamping range that you can get out of the KSC, at least on paper.

If you're looking for a vice similar to the KSC that can easily switch from one to two station, look at Gerardi Compact Grip (Art. 650).

Downside is they don't have an enclosed screw like the KSC.
 
Thanks! Anything in particular really stand out to you?

It seems like the OVs are quite a bit more versatile — much easier to switch from 1 to 2 station, I don't think you can convert a KSC like that. But I sometimes see a little jaw lift with the OV, and it doesn't have quite the clamping range that you can get out of the KSC, at least on paper.

We were trying to find a vise to hold finished ground blocks, as accurately as possible. The Schunk was the only one that did not twist, lift or move anything when it was clamped without beating with a lead hammer to get flat. We had one vise, a quality manufacture I might add, where the block stayed perfectly flat, but it lifted every time .004! The Schunk will get you to within less than .0005 every time, in every circumstance. The only drawback is the jaw swapping around, but I'm willing to deal with it for the accuracy. The Lang is nice, but the part stamping is out of the question.
 

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Awesome custom riser pad! We went with 5th axis here and its pretty bad at holding hardened square blocks. Its pretty good using the dovetails on raw stock.
 








 
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