WTB: 4" Milling/toolmakers vise

Just picked up a smaller cnc mill, similar size to that of a clausing 8520. I would like to pick up a low-profile 4" or so vise for the table. Think a kurt 4" would probably be too big, but maybe a 3" I could get away with. Also looking at tool-makers vises as well.

Thanks

The Kurt or the Asian copies are low profile if you remove the swivel base. I bought my 5" genuine Kurt without the base in 1975 and use it on my Rockwell mill, which is a little bigger than a Clausing. I have never wished I had the base. I use an Asian 4" copy of a Kurt on my Hardinge Mill, rather than my original Hardinge 4" vise, because I like the Kurt design better. I left the swivel base, which was included, on this vise because there is plenty of vertical room for it, but it is easy to use the Kurt design vises without a base. A CNC mill makes a swivel base especially unnecessary. I also have a 3" Asian copy of a Kurt, but have never needed to use it. It is not much lower than the 4" size. These import copies cost less than $100 and mine seem to be made well enough, but that does not mean they are all good.

Larry

the last chinese vise i tried was comically poor . if things don't fit properly on a tiny sized vise , you're really in trouble.

A friend has a 5" VERTEX taiwanese vise that's very decent . it was about $200 new IIRC .

I have a Glacern that I’m very happy with. And the 4” is on sale!

I bought a new Interstate copy of a Kurt.
Looked great but was not very well made.
In fact I'd say it is very poorly made.
I fail to grasp why someone would go to
all the trouble of milling and grinding
something like that and it be so badly
out of square to the point of not being
usable for precision milling. It's under
the bench, Maybe someday I'll disassemble
it and regrind it. I bought a Kurt and it
works very well. I'm using it on a Dyna Myte
DM2800 CNC Mill. Should have known You get
what you pay for.
spaeth

stick with quality. kurt, magnum, yuasa,eron, spi(eron) are usa/japan that i've known to be among the best.

i have a couple of those Ch-Enco vises .... they actually make really great welding fixtures.

I've got a 4" Kurt and a 5" Conquest Magnum. Both great vises and both about the same height. I also don't think they are much shorter than a 6" Kurt. If you're looking for low profile, you might have to look elsewhere.

T