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Need help with deciding on Kurt vise

J

Johnnandre223

Member
Hi I was just wondering if this vise would be worth it to buy it’s a Kurt du68 fixture vise looks to be in good condition 3 of the jaws are made by Kurt and 3 or 4 are shop made by someone it’s 500$ Canadian for it I haven’t been able to find much info since Kurt no longer makes them any help would be appreciated thanks.
 

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The one in the middle looks like a normal Kurt. The one on the left looks like cheap Chinese (or Taiwan) clone. The one on the right is this fixture vise. I never seen anyone use one for general machining work. I am guessing the vise jaws are soft and you are supposed to machine them to size to make a fixture. I.e. the "fixture vise" is a tool that makes making fixtures easier. Fixtures are cornerstone of a lot of machining production work.

They have "extra jaws" made to be ready to machine for other projects.

How much do they want for the middle one - that is the one you want for cheap.
 
Thanks you can get steel jaws for the fixture vise to set it up like a normal Kurt vise but it is expensive last I saw it was 348$ usd for the du68 steel jaws. The one in the middle he won’t sell and the only other one I found was a d688 similar to that one and they wanted 1200$ cad for it which I thought was way over priced since it was not in the best condition and I haven’t found anything on price for the du68 so I’m not sure if it is a good deal yet or not
 
Yea that’s what I’ve seen for d688
I’ve also been looking at those toolmex vises or shars tegara 590v I’ve heard good things about both.
That was a guy selling used Kurt vises they had chunks missing from the jaws from accidentally milling them it was a guy in Washington trying to sell them for 1200$ Maybe a month ago I saw it on Craigslist and Facebook market place
 
For what it's worth take a sharp look at Glacern Machine Toolswww.glacern.com

I have used a 4 inch Glacern vise on my Craftex CT129N mill/drill for several years now, more than satisfied. Believe @David_R8 also uses a larger Glacern vise. What I'm saying here is ask the people who use one, it's that simple.
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Wow look at how clean that machine is and the floor around it!

Glacern are finished (supposedly) in the USA from unknown elements (China or India). Toolmex should be made in Poland (Bison) but there was some talk about them moving some production to Taiwan.

There are few others as well - usually cheaper then Kurt by a tiny bit - i.e. around 400+ USD. I noticed they all have unmovable steel block with a milled bar vs. a key for the cheap stuff.
 
Tom Kitta said:
Wow look at how clean that machine is and the floor around it!

Glacern are finished (supposedly) in the USA from unknown elements (China or India). Toolmex should be made in Poland (Bison) but there was some talk about them moving some production to Taiwan.

There are few others as well - usually cheaper then Kurt by a tiny bit - i.e. around 400+ USD. I noticed they all have unmovable steel block with a milled bar vs. a key for the cheap stuff.
Click to expand...

When I first received my Glacern vise via Toronto I carefully examined the unit for some kind of external marking to suggest where manufactured and couldn't find any. Glacern does an excellent job as it relates to accuracy and finish, most likely from very rigid standards for whoever makes their castings, and yes my jaws are replaceable. For me my gut feeling suggests to rule out China or India, just saying!

Thanks for your comments, safety and good housekeeping is paramount in my shop with woof wandering around.
 
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Glacern refused to say from "where" - so its a mystery - it could be also Taiwan or central / eastern Europe.

Bottom line is whatever the product is well made - more so then where it was actually made. We should support well made Canadian tools - but there are no Canadian manufactures that I know of - especially in the "well made" category.
 
Thanks for the replies I really appreciate the help I’m looking for at the vises you mentioned I’m done using Chinese or cheaper vises I’ve gone through a few now and would rather just buy one good one I’ll post what vise I decide to go with the biggest thing I want is accuracy and for the vise to actually hold the parts I’m working on my last Chinese one kept coming loose on me and eventually just broke and destroyed the part I was working on
 
Opinions, I pined over the price of a Kurt for yrs. Then Thomas Skinner had a sale and I bit. Never Looked back, My finished product is substantially better than it ever has been, and I haven't changed my practices. Would it need to be Kurt, no but Quality is the answer. I am with Tom, you want one like the one in the middle, no compromise! You will find it.
 
@turner I also bought mine at TS! One of their competetors had a sale, and I phoned and asked for the same price, and I got mine for a deep discount...

I also bought my kurt clone there for a little over half the price; They both seem to work well!
 
I got fed up with trying to make my Chinese vise (magnum brand from KMS) accurate. It still sucks after all my attempts to machine the bed flat, the casting are obviously not stress relieved after casting. I bought a Kurt DX6 3 years ago and I'm very happy with it. On the othet hand I can't blame inaccurate work on a crappy vise anymore.
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Shooting from the hip and sharing my experience. While it's true one cannot make a silk purse from a sows ear and Kurt vise are generally recognized as the Rolls Royce of holding systems and everything below that is considered pure crap. Not true, there are several excellent vise holding concepts out there that I refer to as Cadillac level where one certainly doesn't need deep pockets. Understanding the capability of one's mill and vise is the basic essence of safe designed for any operator all-be-it should you become overly rambunctious with same you will most definitely pay the price.

Several years ago I watched an experienced machine shop operator hogging a piece of mild steel on a mill held with a KURT vise trying to save time, (time equals money you know), you guess it worked free wasting the project.

Bottom line nothing but nothing is perfect, just saying!
 
I don't have any experience with high end vises other than the Kurt I bought but I think you really do get what you pay for. The DX6 is selling for $900 right now at KBC. I paid about $100 less 3 years ago and was lucky enough to get free shipping, I got my daughter to pick it up on her way home from Vancouver. The machine work on this vise is beautiful and it has thrust bearings and on the lead screw as well as wiper brushes and seal to prevent chips getting into the threads. It is still as smooth operating as the day I got it. With my old vise I was always dealing with rough action caused by chips and it was a major pain to disassemble and clean it. Not only does it function light years better than the old vise but I think it is nice to look at too. For those reasons I think the price is reasonable.
 
Not all clones are crud - I've used a bunch of vises, and I found ways to use them all. The nicest ones were the Kurt DX6 and a clone of the K633. I've used 2 of those Taiwanese swivel base vises in 5 and 6 inch, and they work find - especially for what you pay for them. I have a British clone of a Whitworth vise that holds surprising ly well, and a Chinese clone of a Eurovise which I have no complaints about.

I still love my Kurt and don't regret the cost.

If you can't hold the work well (and a big part is a good vise, but not all) then you can't do good work at all. That being said, you can make most vises work well - as long as it is rigid enough to hold the cutting forces.
 
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