Tormach Quality?

wrmiller

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I am not doing CNC work, but am interested in Tormach's 5" machinist's vise, and was wondering what people here thought of their products/workmanship/quality. I know it's USA made and pricey, but if it's good quality and accurate, I'll pop for it.

Thanks,
Bill
 
Are you sure the Tormach vices are made in the US? I know there machines are not. I can't speak to the quality of either, as I don't own either.
 
I'm just repeating what they say on their website, and verified that I read it correctly before I posted this. :)

They say the machinist vise (not the CNC) is "made in the USA".

Bill
 
I'm just repeating what they say on their website, and verified that I read it correctly before I posted this. :)

They say the machinist vise (not the CNC) is "made in the USA".

Bill


Which vise are you considering? They show 2 different vises. If you're looking at the standard milling vise, as much as I like Tormach products, ( I own a PCNC 1100 Series II and I love it ) I would say look at the Glacern vises They are considerably less money. I have 3 of their 4 inch vises, and they are every bit as good as a Kurt. I just wish they made the 4 inch vises in a reversed pattern so the fixed jaw was on the front of the vise instead of the back. Then I could accurately work with X+ Y+ dimensions.

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I don't know about their vise but i'll say the 6" shars I purchased is way off. it leans to the right .005
I'm going to have to regrind the base then it will be good. there must have been something under it when they machined all the top surfaces
steve
 
Their 5" vise and their machines are fantastic quality.

I have also used a vise from Shars which is a great vise too. It's their 6" cnc vise.

Wade
 
I owned an 1100 with the 5" vise.. Nothing bad to say about any of it.. High quality, no issues. I know the machines are manufactured out of the U.S. but I thought the vises or the vise handles were made in Cali. Step jaws are good with it and if you make a set of soft jaws you are good to go.
 
I haven't purchased any of their vises (shame on me as at the moment what I am using is pure junk!!!), but I have bought a gazillion of their offerings and as of today, not even one of them has taken me to regretville. Au Contraire! Their stuff is pretty good!

A good deal of their items must be imports as there would be no way they could sell at such affordable prices. But I think they go with the higher quality versions. You know, like Grizzly and Harbor Freight sell pretty much the same thing, but in most cases HF is like a fuse.

I keep hearing wonders about the Glacerns, though. Anybody here knows if the Tormach Vises are actually made by glacern? They look so similar, although this comes from looking at pictures, not careful comparison on actual units.
 
AFAIK the Tormach mill vise is a rebranded Conquest Mini MAG.

bob
 
The Tormach vise sure looks like a nice one. I just purchased a 5" Glacern for my new mill when it shows up and although I have not had a chance to use it yet it looks to be every bit as good a quality as our Kurt 6" at work. I am sure I won't put it through as much abuse as the one we have at work. Our Kurt has held up well against the torture our guys put it through. It is only about three years old but looks like it is 30.

Mike.
 
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