Vise question - older style vs newer Kurt style

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dansawyer

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I am looking to upgrade my milling vise. There appear to be 2 more common styles. The newer Krut style has the movable jaw mechanism driven by a threaded rod inside the frame. There is a vertical distance between the rod and the load. The older style looked similar but the rod was elevated and aligned with the center of the movable jaw.
The advantage of the newer style is it can be somewhat shorter, and lighter.
The advantage of the older style is it should offer better rear jaw vertical stability.
Is this true?
Can the gibs on the newer style be adjusted to provide a similar level of vertical stability?
I am leaning toward the older style. Should this even be a consideration?
(My current vise is good drill press qualtiy. When I place a part in the vise, square it on the base and front jaw, and lock it down there is a small but measurable rise on the end next to the movable jaw. My goal is to improve this to a negligable amount.)
 
Your comment that you want to eliminate lift, brings you to the newer style of vises (Kurt type). the older do not prevent lift. The newer pull down when tightening. There is a lot of difference between a quality Newer style and a knock off. Kurt, GMT, Orange and a few others are all quality. Most of the Chineese knock offs are poor attempts. They are usually not level, not square and sloppy.
 
The Kurt type vises also offer much more length between the jaws than the older style vises; they are the genuine go to if you are in the market for quality.
 
Check with Kurt. They sometimes have seconds for a good price break. I bought one from them and it took a long time to figure out why it was a second. There were some pin holes on the pad where it is bolted to the table. Doesn’t effect the function of the vise at all.
 
Vises have a long history, advancing in design as machinists required more and tighter tolerances. I feel there is no old versus new design. There is a difference between good American iron and Chinese knock offs. The "style" is more a matter of necessity. If you need the "Kurt" design, by all means Kurt is far and away the best. If you don't need a Kurt style, why bother?

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