Good Bench Vise Recommendations

[sea2summit]

Six pages and no mention of snap-on?

 

[LD1]

Had a snap on vise at a previous employer. Looked just like the bullet style Wilton's.

I would never buy on. At least new that is. I don't like paying a premium for a name and nothing more

 

[Scooby074]

FYI Wilton is in their 75 anniversary year and is offering a vise promotion packages, including a Tradesman with one of the BASH hammers. . http://www.wiltontools.com/us/en/75th-anniversary/

Varying prices on the net, but this place is offering it for $335 which seems like a good deal.

 

[ultrarunner]

In 1990 I bought a Wilton Tradesman for my service truck... it had to have pipe jaws and a small anvil.

I do use it regularly and in a pinch for threading pipe to make emergency repairs.

No complaints.... it is the only new vise I have ever bought.

Step Grandfather bought the Ridgid vise as a family present when I was around 13... he was over and needed to do something and found the vise Mom got with trading stamps lacking...

Both my brother's had vises laying on the garage floor that they had been given... first order of business was to at least carriage bolt them to the bench...

A lot of my friends have vises that are not bolted... can't fathom why they never got around to it.

 

[Jim Timber]

The anvil on the back of the vise is not there to be used, it's there to sell more vises. If you have to beat on something that's not in the jaws, use a real anvil or find something which isn't made of ductile iron and at it's weakest cross section like the little flat part of a bench vise.

 

[bigtiller]

I bought this 8" wilton from northern tool in 2010. I have been ruff with it on occasion, enough that the 3x6 bench it is bolted to was moving, and it is still as good as new.

30,000 psi ductile iron

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200096474_200096474

 

[newbury]

OK, it was raining pretty hard earlier, and this thread made me do it!!

You know, at some point in your life you have to face reality, so here goes!!

Hello, my name is Sawyer Rob, and I'm addicted to vices!! lol lol

<snip>
BTW, I don't know if this helped my addition any or not? lol

SR

Don't know about your addition, but it is clear that one of your vices is vises.

 

[farmer2009]

Have a NO. 224 1/2 R made by Reed. 4 1/2" jaw. 11" opening. Real handy.

My grandfather gave me a metal work bench he had setting out back he didn't need that his son (my uncle) gave him. A couple months later my uncle came looking for the bench. Knowing it was sitting outside unused. Finding out he had given it to me and I was using it inside he went back to his shop and built a new bench. He owns a machine and welding shop. Had this vise sitting there that he picked up at an auction. Asked my grandfather if I had a vise. When the answer was no he sent it to me. I asked what he was going to put on the new bench. He said new bench gets new vise. This vise was for the bench you have. So that's where I want it. Thanks.

Took some modifications as it was an open slat parts hanger. I added some 3/4" steel between the slats and positioned it to fit the vise. Then covered it with a 10ga top. I have moved the bench with cheater bars trying to loosen something clamped in the vise. It's all one person can do to slide this bench on a concrete floor. Had to sit it in here with the tractor.

 

[IslandTractor]

Nice uncle you got there farmer2009.

 

[fried1765]

Starrett was in Athol,MA, a once proud manufacturing center northwest of Boston. Now it is a shadow of its former self and mostly a butt of jokes related to the sound of its name.

Yes: When I drove my son to or from his school out in Northfield, Ma., as we passed through, I would often tell him: "Your'n Athol".

 

[bigtiller]

A Northern Tool sale bill in todays paper has Wilton vices 30% off in store only.

 

[dickfoster]

Was not sure where to put this. I did do a search, but not much came up.

My 30 year old 4" vice is showing its age. I keep finding I wish I had a bigger one sometimes. I do use the anvil and pipe holding jaws under the main vice, but was hoping to find something more versatile. Harbor freight is out, at least for this size as one I got my son lasted 3 years before striping out. I dont want to spend a lot of $$$, just wanting something that is good and has worked for folks. I'm guessing I need and 8" model. I have access to Lowe's, Home Depot, TSC. and Harbor Freight as well as ACE and TRU Value. Online is OK if shipping is reasonable.

Can folks recommend what has worked for them? Pictures would help too.

Can't find the exact vise I have but it's a 5" swivel with pipe jaws, regular jaws, anvil etc. The swivel and rotate comes in handy for welding, grinding etc. Mine was made by Larin in China but it has held up very well even though I've beat the heck out of it and put some very heavy loads on it. It also came with plastic soft jaws you can use so you don't mar fine finishes or soft stuff. Not that it matters but mine is blue and I've forgotten where I got it. It looks like this one more or less.

Bessey 5" Multi Purpose Vise | eBay

 

[California]

Can't find the exact vise I have but it's a 5" swivel with pipe jaws, regular jaws, anvil etc. The swivel and rotate comes in handy for welding, grinding etc. .... It looks like this one more or less.

Bessey 5" Multi Purpose Vise | eBay

Oh man stuff I didn't know that I need! That looks extremely handy.

Reading threads here on TBN has cost me money on new toys I never thought of before.

 

[ultrarunner]

Bessy makes some good stuff... they had the best German Made clamps when I worked in the machine shop back in the 1980's... the price seems really low for Bessy... maybe things have changed?

A vise like this is very useful for all kinds of fab work...

Here is an ebay listing for the exact vise I mounted in my service truck 25 years ago... it has done everything including pipe threading work... I built my own slide and have often been asked where I bought it... benefits of having access to a tool and machine shop at the time.

Wilton 1755 Bullet Tradesman Vise Never Mounted | eBay

 

[dickfoster]

Oh man stuff I didn't know that I need! That looks extremely handy.

Reading threads here on TBN has cost me money on new toys I never thought of before.

Well this one has been handy and even though it was made in China it has held up well over the years. I forgot what I paid for it but it wasn't much. I've even put big long cheaters on it to press stuff together and it has never sprung like lesser vices usually will when abused like that.
I finally broke down and got a cheap Harbor freight bottle jack press when I started setting up my own gears and such but I still use the vise almost daily, it's good for almost anything you'd want a vise to do.

I've got one of these odd balls in the wood shop, a Zyliss Profi-King Plus.

I paid 20 bucks for it in a local surplus place. Even though it's aluminum die cast, it's a lot stronger than it looks and it was Swiss made, However it seems they are no longer around. They come up on ebay from time to time but if you absolutely have to have one right now you can buy one out of New Zealand for something like 400 bucks. After the video you know you want one of these too. LOL Reminds me of Ron Popeil.

 

[ultrarunner]

$20... a great find.

 

[GManBart]

No luck with Search Tempest either....well nothing of interest.

There are a couple of farm auctions coming up, one advertised with a shop and tools. What is a fair auction price on a good Wilton vice, say 6" jaws?

Just picked up a Wilton 600 (6" jaw, about 150lbs) off CL today for $350. The guy had four people contact him within an hour of the ad going up. I was only 25min away, and the only one that gave him a phone number, so he called me back. Honestly, I'm not really the biggest Wilton fan (have three of them), but this is a pretty impressively stout vise that will last nearly forever if taken care of.

A more useful/reliable alternative to SearchTempest is the CraigsAlert application....not sure if it's only for Apple products, or no but it's much better than SearchTempest.

 

[ultrarunner]

Doesn't even look that old as far as vices go...

Many years of service left in that beauty.

 

[GManBart]

Doesn't even look that old as far as vices go...

Many years of service left in that beauty.

Yeah, I pulled the dynamic jaw out and the date stamp was March 1990, so it's barely broken in!

 

[the old grind]

Uh, ~$1,200 for a new #600 'Bullet' most anywhere so, yeah ... you just about stole it. :dance1:

btw, I don't see copious hammer dings on handle, jaws, or the 'anvil' portion. You could nearly double your $$ o'nite (with or w/o a paint job) but uh, ... I wouldn't part with it either.