# Pm935 Vise?



## Alan H. (Dec 3, 2016)

I have decided to order a PM935 mill next week.  I am sure there are more than one threads here answering my question but I find this site difficult to search.  So forgive me if this had been asked too often already.

What size vise do you use on your 935 mills? 

I am leaning toward Glacern and assume the consensus would be a 4 or 5 inch vise. 

Thanks for the help!


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## Bob Korves (Dec 3, 2016)

Depends on the work size you plan to do.  5" would be about correct, but they are pricey for what you get, and you won't find many good used ones.  6" is probably overkill but very much a standard of the industry.  You can get used ones, lots of parts and accessories to fit them, and parallel sets are usually built to that length.  I use a 6" vise on my Millrite with an 8 x 32" table and am quite happy with it.


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## Rich V (Dec 4, 2016)

I have a Glacern 6 inch vice on my PM935. Yes it overhangs the table but it does not reduce the Y axis travel since the DRO scale is located on the inside of the table and extends the same amount as the vice.
I went with the 6 inch because in my experience the extra work holding length is often needed, in particular if holding large discs and such.


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## Duker (Dec 4, 2016)

H&A said:


> I have decided to order a PM935 mill next week.  I am sure there are more than one threads here answering my question but I find this site difficult to search.  So forgive me if this had been asked too often already.
> 
> What size vise do you use on your 935 mills?
> 
> ...



I originally had a 5" Kurt on my 935 and it was great and I was fortunate to find a handle that fit from a member here as the vise is not produced anymore and is a 5/8" versus the 3/4".  I use the Kurt now on one of my drill presses. 

However, I ran into a project where I needed two vises ( a long tapered sliding dovetail) where I needed a lot of precision ( not normal for most of my projects!) so I bought two Glacern matching machined 5" vises when they had a sale last year. They have worked very well. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## wrmiller (Dec 4, 2016)

I lucked into a used Kurt 5" vise that I use oversized (6") jaws in. For me, it's the best of both worlds.


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## Alan H. (Dec 4, 2016)

I'm jealous you were able to find a good used Kurt. Most of what I've seen available is a bit over the top skinned up and overpriced.

So looks like my alternative is to buy something new. Glacern has a promotion going now but having only recently being involved in the market, I'm not sure how attractive the pricing actually is.


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## Doubleeboy (Dec 5, 2016)

Nothing wrong with the Shars vices.  I have seen and used them.  Not as nice as a Kurt but at half the price should be fine for hobby use.


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## Hozzie (Dec 5, 2016)

I went with the 5" Glacern on mine.   I am happy with it and will buy more Glacern products.


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## bss1 (Dec 5, 2016)

+1 on what Bob K said. The 6" Kurt vises are more available and priced more reasonably because of it. There are much more accessories available for it as well. A big plus. A smaller vise may have slightly less overhang in the rear, but not much.


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## wawoodman (Dec 5, 2016)

+1 on the Glacern 5 inch!


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## Stonebriar (Dec 5, 2016)

I like the Glacern 5 inch


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## Alan H. (Dec 7, 2016)

Stimulated by the advice here, I did seriously shop for a Kurt 6" and it was significantly higher than a Glacern 5" delivered.   The Glacern has very good base pricing at the moment and free shipping.

Real bottom line is that I decided I wanted to go with something sized for this smaller mill.   The Glacern reputation is very good and my expectation is that I would be happy with one for this application.

So decision reached and one is on the way along with some other goodies I could not pass up with their current promotion.

Thanks to all for the feedback.  This is a great forum community.


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## jer (Dec 7, 2016)

I recently bought a 9x42 Supermax and for an additional fee took his Bridgeport 6" vice and 15" rotary table. I like the 6" vice size. I also have a 3" precision vice for the small stuff. I know there are better but these will do all I should ever need.


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## xplodee (Jan 9, 2017)

Fwiw I installed a 5" kurt on mine that I had lying around until my D688 arrived. Now that the 6" is on the machine I wouldn't go back to the 5" for any reason. The 6" fits the machine just fine and the added size is beneficial imo. The primary negative to the 6" is its weight but this is true on any machine.


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## bss1 (Jan 10, 2017)

I had the same experience with my Millrite. I had a 4" vise on it to begin with and came across a deal on a 6" Kurt. I was worried that it would be too big. But after mounting it, all was fine. It had a little hang over in the back when mounted in the middle position of the table, but not significantly more than the 4" it replaced. I have had the 6" Kurt for about 9 years and have never wanted to put the smaller vise back on.  I have purchased a lot of accessories that didn't seem available for the smaller vises or at least are much more available such as soft jaws, rubber faced jaws, oversized tall jaws, parabolic jaws for round stock, etc that have been very useful. Additionally things like stops and parallels are cheaper and easier to find. Considering that a 4" or 5" used Kurt cost more than a new 6", I wouldn't consider the smaller vise unless I had a mill with a table smaller than say 8" x 28".  But that size on up 6" all the way for me.


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