# Need An Opinion Pls Gmt Gsv-550 And Swivel Base



## pepi (Dec 1, 2015)

I am purchasing a bench top mill.... PM 747 .

The question: is the GMT GSV-550 and Swivel base to much for this mill ?

Seeing a killer price, me to much of a boot to know if this product is a worthy item for the capabilities of the mill.

Regards,
Greg


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## Chipper5783 (Dec 1, 2015)

Start by losing the swivel base.  It is fair enough that there are applications where the swivel base is a nice feature but it comes at the price of a less head room.

I couldn't find the specs on the PM 747 (did you mean 727?) - regardless any bench mill is going to be tight on the work envelop.  You may be better served with a smaller vise.  After all, any larger components that you work on can nearly always be clamped directly to the table (I probably only use the vise to hold work pieces about 2/3 of the time).  What sort of jobs are you considering?  Do you actually need the 5" capacity often enough to justify putting up with that much metal for all those jobs that would fit well in a much smaller vise?


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## pepi (Dec 1, 2015)

Chipper5783 said:


> Start by losing the swivel base.  It is fair enough that there are applications where the swivel base is a nice feature but it comes at the price of a less head room.
> 
> I couldn't find the specs on the PM 747 (did you mean 727?) - regardless any bench mill is going to be tight on the work envelop.  You may be better served with a smaller vise.  After all, any larger components that you work on can nearly always be clamped directly to the table (I probably only use the vise to hold work pieces about 2/3 of the time).  What sort of jobs are you considering?  Do you actually need the 5" capacity often enough to justify putting up with that much metal for all those jobs that would fit well in a much smaller vise?



Yes 727, get plans and mills mixed up LOL,  and thank you.  You helped me to not make a $$ mistake, I totally agree with your reasoning. Will use the $$ for other tooling


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## Dan_S (Dec 2, 2015)

I would say it's a little big for your size table. The G0704 has the same width table as the pm-727.


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## pepi (Dec 2, 2015)

Dan_S said:


> I would say it's a little big for your size table. The G0704 has the same width table as the pm-727.




Yeah I ditched the idea, thanks for the picture, makes it even clearer.


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## joshua43214 (Dec 2, 2015)

Here is a pic of a 4" swivel vise (Homge I think) on my PM450G. I think the table is a tab bit wider than yours.



I also have a 4" Kurt with out a swivel base. On my machine, I think I might be able to fit a 5" vise to the center t-slot and not lose any y-axis travel - it would be tight though. I think 4" is probably just right for your mill, and it is the size that Matt sells for your machine. Matt sells both a 4" and a 5" for mine.

If the swivel base is not too much, I do recommend getting it. Just remove it for daily work, and put it back on when you need it. The Kurt bases are really expensive and not worth the money for the rare times it would get used. I am pretty sure the entire vise in the pic cost less than a Kurt base.
I have heard nothing but good about GMT vises. I love my Kurt, a good vise is so much nicer in so many ways than even a good Chinese vise.


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## fretsman (Dec 2, 2015)

I bought a cheap Shars vise and I'm ''kinda' pleased with it but do wish I spent a little more to get a better one.

I actually cut the back coolant lip to give more clearance for the G0704. Needed a lot of deburring and cleaning up but it is square, so I can't be too critical.


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## pepi (Dec 2, 2015)

fretsman said:


> I bought a cheap Shars vise and I'm ''kinda' pleased with it but do wish I spent a little more to get a better one.
> 
> I actually cut the back coolant lip to give more clearance for the G0704. Needed a lot of deburring and cleaning up but it is square, so I can't be too critical.
> 
> ...




What is this arrows ?  I like that vise looks good, you surfaced the bed and the jaws ?


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## fretsman (Dec 2, 2015)

I did not touch any of the surfaces, they looked really good out of the box. 

Your arrows are pointing to my part 'stop' that I added when doing multiple parts for repeat-ability.


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## pepi (Dec 2, 2015)

fretsman said:


> I did not touch any of the surfaces, they looked really good out of the box.
> 
> Your arrows are pointing to my part 'stop' that I added when doing multiple parts for repeat-ability.




Makes sense, had to ask, so you are making a living with that mill?
 The vise is the Shars correct? I ask cause I searched and saw the Shars, the ones pictured looked crude compared to that one. Your's has a sharp crisp profile. I am getting the vise Matt sells to start with, at first I was not sure the 4 in was adequate. I am a bit of a skeptic when I see  package deals and sets of things. 

The replies I have received pointed out like yourself the 4 in fits the mill and its work envelope.


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## fretsman (Dec 4, 2015)

Not necessarily a "living" but it is used to supplement sometimes. 

Yes, that is indeed a Shars and it's about 2 years old now (I think), so maybe they changed their design.


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