After breaking my vice, I was wondering what you use for a heavy duty bench vice (3 to 6 inch jaws). Whats a good brand/bad brand. Thank you, Chris

 

At work we all have Wilton vices. They are very nice. They are strong, tight and last well. The only drawback is the price.


Wilton at Sears

 

Thank you, charlez

I am watching for these to go on sale now. C.

 

Look for a vise that is forged instead of cast. The cast ones will break very easy if they are overloaded, the forged ones will not.

 

If it is not a Wilton, it is not a vise.

 

I'm using a Craftsman model 1 bench vice, been in hard use since 1927 (that's when craftsman started, right?) when my grandfather bought it. The other one I use I bought at a military surplus auction. It's a pipe fitters vice that was off of a ship. It'll hold 12" OD pipe in it's pipe jaws and pivots on all three axis. It took 3 people to put it in the back of my truck and another three to get it in my garage. It weighs 400 lbs easy but it only cost me $50.



Justin

 

I used to think Record vises were good until I broke mine.

Then I bought a big (but cheap) vise at Princess Auto (the Canadian equivalent of Harbor Freight, I think). It's one of those that swivel top to bottom & have pipe jaws on one side and regular jaws on the other. If you watch old reruns of Home Improvement, you can see the same vise with the Binford name on it.

Aside from the fact that the Bondo they used to smooth the castings popped out the first time I used it, it's served me very well. I have beat the crap out of it, welded on it, bent things in/on it, used it to crush stuff that's pi**ing me off (I have a bit of a temper... and it's still going strong.

I think the main thing is that it's BIG and the castings are HEAVY.

If I had any advice (pun intended), I would say if you can't afford quality, buy a bigger vise than you think you'll ever need. The Military surplus idea is a great, too.

Cheers,
Eric

 

eehoepp-

Sounds like the one I got from your description.

Mine is not doing well. The steel/iron seems to get damaged easily when hammering on it.

The jaws have hard steel inserts to grip with- but they have fallen out cause the screws stripped out.

Oh well- it cost me about $50.

 

My son broke my vice and now I'm looking to buy one too only it is a year and a half later than ya'll. I have looked at a WMH tool Group catalog. They have Wilton, Columbian and Jet vises. I'm looling at the 6", 8' and 10" ones. The Wilton 6" is $160.00. I can get a 10" jet for $140. None of the vises say forged. Some say ductile iron and give psi ratings. Does that mean it is forged? My last vise was a 8" cheap on but it worked for many years till my son dropped it. I can get free freight from WMH which is a big deal with vises. What do you think?

 

As note above Wilton is probably the best but they are pricey. I've been using a 5 1/2" Columbian for several years and it has stood up to a lot of heavy use and occasional abuse. Columbian is made by Wilton and resembles the Wilton very closely just not quite as nicely finished. I think that the newer Columbians are being made in China now but if you can find one marked "USA" on the side you will have a pretty good vise at about half the price of an equivalent Wilton.

 

I got prices on many vises today. I have no idea how a vise can be worth $1900. It was a Wilton. Fortunately There are some I can afford. I'm not quite sure yet but there is a 10" Jet that is afforadable, less than $200. It "looks" good and is the right size. I'll make adecision soon.

 

I have Wilton's in my home shop and in all my shops at work. They are a good vise. The one thing that I want in a vise, is the jaws set away from the base. That way you can grip long pieces straight down with the bench not getting in the way. I am not sure of the model numbers but I have 3 vise's at work. One you cannot put long pipes vertical in the vise because the bench get in the way. The other two this does not happen. The jaws are far enough away from the base. Those two get all the work. Have to replace the jaws every 2-3 years compared to never on the one. Some people dont need that feture in a vise, but it sure is handy.

And bless the inventor of the tripod chain vise. GOD I LOVE THAT THING! It is a must in pipe fitting.

 

I broke 2 six inch vises in a 2 week period pressing in U-joints (A Craftsmen and a Chineese No-Name) Bought the Wilton 8 inch Shop Vise fro $99.00 and I don't think I could ever brake this one and it's warrentied for Life, unlike the Craftsman which was on for 1 year.

 

I'm getting ready to MOUNT my vice on the CORNER of the my work bench. I was curious if there is a "BETTER" way to mount it.

How far in from the end of the bench???

I figured I would mount the front side back maybe 4-5 inches for strength, and mount is 1-2 inches away from the end ........... this way when I have LONG pieces the work bench wont be in the way.

ANy ideas?
Thanks

 

It can get a little tricky, you want it back far enough so it is in a solid part of the bench, but close enough to the edge so long pieces don't hit the bench top. Greg