_ Any GMT (Glacern) vise owners ?

[iMisspell]

Thanks everyone, the people over at GMT owe you all a discount on your next purchase I just need to decide which one im gonna get (probably the Standard).

Also thanks for the tips, drilling the bolt head for added fixturing is clever...
My 'Y' has around 12" travel, so i put the 'X' scale on the back-side of the table (so vise over hang is not an issue), but will keep in mind looping off the back drip edge.

[Steve Steven]

I have a 4" Glacern vise, its very good. Its a bit tight, takes some turning to move the jaw. I cut off the coolant lip on the front to get back lost Y travel, works fine.

Steve

[gdavis2265]

I modded the Glacern a bit by drilling and tapping the 1/2" bolt to accept a #10-32 - I then made this adjustable angle bar that can be locked down to do repeat work. Also tapped the side of the jaw and installed the flip up stop to hold 0,0. (not my ideas, but they work great)

[gdavis2265]

I can't say enough good things on this vise - It's been great - I also built an extra heavy duty three spoke handle (used from day one) and have really never needed the factory one to clamp things down. I really love how far this 6" vise opens - I believe it is over 9 inches, this comes in handy quite often.

[Dan Dubeau]

Considered asking glacern about it? They seem rather top notch enough that they might be interested in taking that vise off your hand for dissection/testing and send ya a new one.

I don't have one of their vises. but I do have one of there drill chucks for my mill... My only regret is I didn't buy another for my lathe tail stock.

Never considered contacting them about it until you said it. Honestly it takes maybe 20 minutes to pop it off, regrind it, and put it back in service. Not a big deal, and I'm sure it would take longer and cost more to ship it back, etc, etc.

When I buy budget tools, I don't expect high dollar performance. Plus I don't get very many opportunities to get out in the shop and crank some handles anymore since moving to the cnc dept full time. So I take every chance I get.

[Black_Moons]

We bought 2, Two years ago (three maybe?) to replace a couple offshore Kurt clones for a pair of Haas VMC's. These vises have been in daily use, doing everything from squaring up blocks* to small production runs, but mostly one offs. For home use, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. But for daily shop use, If I had to buy again, I would have spent the money on a Kurt. You will need to spend an hour or so going over them to break sharp edges if you don't like slicing your hands up.

*one of the vices has held up fine, and is the same dimensionally as it was the day it arrived. The other is due to have the fixed jaw (not jaw plate, but the actual jaw block) ground square again. I don't know why (bad metallurgy?) but this is the second time I've had to do this, as it gets about a thou and a half out from top to bottom. It's as if the jaw is getting deformed from repeated closing. Both vices get used by the same guys (me and another) and we're not ham fisted monkeys using cheater bars, so It leads me to believe it's just bad metallurgy. This same vise also seems to get jammed up with chips in the screw more often too, so I don't know, maybe this one is just evil . The paint is starting to chip off on both too, but they get blasted with coolant daily, so I'm not too worried about that. In a home shop I'm sure the paint would hold up fine.

Guess I should clarify that they were the 6" kurt style (can't think of the GMT model)

Considered asking glacern about it? They seem rather top notch enough that they might be interested in taking that vise off your hand for dissection/testing and send ya a new one.

I don't have one of their vises. but I do have one of there drill chucks for my mill... My only regret is I didn't buy another for my lathe tail stock.

[Arthur.Marks]

re: 8" opening vs. 6"
I expect a lot of folks forget the "other" jaw positions because they're needed so infrequently. Just a friendly reminder of them. Wish I could add to the feedback, but I have no personal experience with Glacern brand vises.

[Boucher]

I have the 6" Premium and have been very satisfied with it. The jaws are movable to accommodate larger work. If I were starting over I would go with a pair of 5" Glacerns.

[Dan Dubeau]

We bought 2, Two years ago (three maybe?) to replace a couple offshore Kurt clones for a pair of Haas VMC's. These vises have been in daily use, doing everything from squaring up blocks* to small production runs, but mostly one offs. For home use, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. But for daily shop use, If I had to buy again, I would have spent the money on a Kurt. You will need to spend an hour or so going over them to break sharp edges if you don't like slicing your hands up.

*one of the vices has held up fine, and is the same dimensionally as it was the day it arrived. The other is due to have the fixed jaw (not jaw plate, but the actual jaw block) ground square again. I don't know why (bad metallurgy?) but this is the second time I've had to do this, as it gets about a thou and a half out from top to bottom. It's as if the jaw is getting deformed from repeated closing. Both vices get used by the same guys (me and another) and we're not ham fisted monkeys using cheater bars, so It leads me to believe it's just bad metallurgy. This same vise also seems to get jammed up with chips in the screw more often too, so I don't know, maybe this one is just evil . The paint is starting to chip off on both too, but they get blasted with coolant daily, so I'm not too worried about that. In a home shop I'm sure the paint would hold up fine.

Guess I should clarify that they were the 6" kurt style (can't think of the GMT model)

[QSIMDO]

5" Standard here.
Quality product, accurate & well finished.
Actually consider it better than my Kurt 4".

[dp]

I bought a 4" standard vise and it is one of the seven wonders in the world of vises. The accuracy exceeds my ability to detect any error, it is very well made, and the only complaint I have is to cool Glacern label fell off. It is butter smooth and very satisfying to use.

I've relegated my 6" Enco standard vise to my welding bench.

[iMisspell]

Been searching around, seen some old threads here talking about GMT vises, looking for opinions from anyone who have used a GMT vise for a while.

Im looking to get a 6" Standard (a "Premium" has crossed my mind, not sure how much i would kick it up on its side) for "basement work". Wish the Premium had the same 8"+ capacity as the Standard, anyway, looking for opinions/experience with ether.

Thanks for any input.