Good Bench Vise Recommendations

[caver]

I was watching the Tubes of You the other day and this was suggested. He even tests his own vice he built. It's a long video but i just FF between failures.
The vice he built is featured in another video. How strong are these bench vices

 

[LD1]

Nice videos. Some interesting notes

The first vise, the HF central forge 5" vise. Casting held everything he could throw at it. Held its own IMO with clamping force. And only with a 4' cheater pipe was he able to snap the thread-rod.

Same thing with the wilton tradesman. Broke the thread-rod (spindle) but notice the hollow jaws never posed a problem

Alot of the other vises failed or bent major stuff other than spindles. But didnt see jaw casting failures on them?

I agree that swivel bases are a weak link. Its a sacrifice that makes the vise much more user friendly. But I think that the wilton "bullet" series has one of the best swivel mechanisms and with the teeth, it DONT SLIP like the ones that just use the bar and friction.

I have a HF 6" vise from back when they were "pittsburg" brand and not central forge. I have abused it and never broke it. If I need more clamping force or tryign to "unthread" something and the HF keeps slipping around the swivel....I have a wilton https://www.wiltontools.com/us/en/p...jaw-round-channel-vise-with-swivel-base/28826 IT has been used and abuse and keeps on ticking.

The issue with some of the older vises (I have a columbian. I think its a 305)....is while it is solid and casting is strong.....they used some basterd stuff that you cannot get parts for anymore. It has a stripped out spindle nut. But its a funky looking piece with a dovetail base. The spindle threads are NOT anything that is common and CANNOT buy a tap for. Looks similar to this Wilton 11114-15 #4 Spindle Nut W/Pad-Repair Part. But is discontinued. Can no longer buy spindle or nut. I have thought about cutting it off, welding on a rod-coupling nut, and making a spindle out of all-thread.

But certainly a nice video. Wish some bigger vises were tested.

 

[bcp]

The part that fails first should be cheap and easy to replace. Sort of like a fuse.

Bruce

 

[goeduck]

The part that fails first should be cheap and easy to replace. Sort of like a fuse.

Bruce

Exactly, it would seem on the better ones they would build in a replaceable failure point for compression. On the hammering, I guess I have never hammered like that on something in a vise.

On the issue of hollow towers the bulk of strength is on the perimeter, not center.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: handles on vises were usually designed to be the breaking or bending fail safe point to keep vises from breaking (exploding) hence the shorter lengths and softer metal on handles. nobody has ever used their vise with a pipe on the end of the handle or hit with a hammer or used as a press have we? so that's pretty much how vises break or fail. it's pretty hard to bust a vise nut or dynamic jaw by just using the handle without bending it, but some of the pre WWII vise's handles handles might have hardened over the years now.

 

[Alan W.]

Found this in my great aunts shed. Does anybody know any details about this vise. It appears to be in good mechanical shape.

 

[drivesitfar]

Alan: you've found a nice old 1920's (or 1930's) Reed #32 combination vise. it's missing it's pipe jaws, but since it's maybe been sitting on your uncle's bench for 70+ years maybe the jaws are laying on the bench. that is one of Reed's first swivel base vises where the adjustment was on top of the bench instead of down underneath it like my old Reed #31. with the pipe jaws removed (or maybe missing) a lot of users liked them out of the way cause the deep throat gave them a few more options.

I posted a picture of my Reed 4c that is a newer and much bigger version of yours a few posts back and here's a few catalog pages and pictures of my old Reed 31.

it's worth some money (not a lot), but since it's a relative's and in pretty good shape once you clean it up i'd take it home and re grease it and it will last the rest of your life if you don't use it as a press, or anvil, or put a pipe on the handle to get more grip (use copper jaws for more grip).

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I was watching the Tubes of You the other day and this was suggested. He even tests his own vice he built. It's a long video but i just FF between failures.
The vice he built is featured in another video. How strong are these bench vices

Wow, I'm pleased that the Chinese-made vice with a 3/4" spindle that I got 30 years ago for $49.00 can likely outperform all of those the Wiltons. I know the base can handle womping as I'd had stuff clamped down that I was hitting with a sledgehammer!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My Reed is a 105R, and get's used a fair amount, they are good vises!

SR

 

[Alan W.]

Alan: you've found a nice old 1920's (or 1930's) Reed #32 combination vise. it's missing it's pipe jaws, but since it's maybe been sitting on your uncle's bench for 70+ years maybe the jaws are laying on the bench. that is one of Reed's first swivel base vises where the adjustment was on top of the bench instead of down underneath it like my old Reed #31. with the pipe jaws removed (or maybe missing) a lot of users liked them out of the way cause the deep throat gave them a few more options.

I posted a picture of my Reed 4c that is a newer and much bigger version of yours a few posts back and here's a few catalog pages and pictures of my old Reed 31.

it's worth some money (not a lot), but since it's a relative's and in pretty good shape once you clean it up i'd take it home and re grease it and it will last the rest of your life if you don't use it as a press, or anvil, or put a pipe on the handle to get more grip (use copper jaws for more grip).


More than likely it was my great granfathers.

Going through everything since my great aunts passing has been like opening a time capsule.

 

[rogerparker]

The best bench vise collections are here:
Best Budget Bench Vise
My vote goes to - Grizzly G7062 5 Inch

 

[clinter36]

Fireball Tool Vise test

I thought this Fireball Tool Video on vises was great.

 

[Zebrafive]

I have Wiltons all used when I got them, mainly from auctions.

 

[arto98607]

I bought a Record 4.5 inch vise back in the 80's and it still functions as good as new.

They are currently pretty pricey though.

 

[California]

I have Wiltons all used when I got them, mainly from auctions.

Barn find: I'm digging through the stuff Dad bought at yard sales 30~50 years ago and found an early Wilton 535 vise with Made In USA cast on the side in a third line of text, compared to the two-line (Taiwan?) 535's on Ebay.

This has obvously never been mounted or used. Some paint is flaking off the 'slider bar' (?) adjacent to the outer jaw, and the swivel nut underneath has a patina of rust, otherwise pretty flawless.

One like this sold on Ebay for $159 on April 20. Could I reasonably expect to get near that price if I list mine?

I'm clearing the barn of hundreds of 'treasures' but this and a couple of other vises are the only things worth trying to sell. I've moved several trailerloads of near valueless things to Goodwill over 20 years, and now I'm down to the stuff I saved because I thought I might use - but I don't need seven vises.

Any advice?

 

[5030]

My advice is, don't buy a HF vise. I made that mistake a while back. Won't stand up to much. They crack at the base.

 

[5030]

Fireball Tool Vise test

I thought this Fireball Tool Video on vises was great.

He beats the hell out of them....lol

 

[kenmbz]

From all the reviews I have seen of Yost and others under $170 on Amazon. Biggest complaints seem to be breakage.
Seems to be a lot of them that just break when you tighten them down.
I would love to buy a replacement vise for the one I had 30 years ago, but think the price might be too much for my wallet.
I have a small (4" light duty) craftsman vise that I use for electronics and light stuff. It is also 30 years old and probably could break one of the "heavy" duty 5" that I was looking at on Amazon.

 

[5030]

Bought a huge antique Wilton at a barn sale a few years back, think I paid 50 bucks for it and was well worth it. Needed a little cosmetic work but I can beat the hell out of it and it keeps on taking it. Good vise, least the old ones are.

 

[FTG-05]

I went through this last year year after breaking my china-made vise the 2nd time. After a couple months, I decided on the Capri-made 7" vise.

The pro's: Made in Taiwan in the same factory as Yost vises; 90KSI drop forged steel (not cast iron); it's huge!

Con's: Pricey at $350.

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