Vise Grips Sheet Metal Tool Q.

[Stuey]

Hi guys, I've got a question.

I recently ordered a pair of vise-grips 8R sheet metal tool, and the jaws were curved really badly. Even with a death-grip tightness, it wouldn't evenly hold onto a piece of alum sheeting, and even marred it where the edges met. I requested a replacement from McMaster, and they promptly sent it my way.

Although the curve on the replacement tool is much less severe, it is still prominent enough to leave a large gap unless I use super death-grip locking power.

I'm aware that some seaming tools are curved a bit to prevent marring soft metals like alum, but it seems to me that this is just poor construction or quality control. On the first pair, the jaws didn't even line up completely. There was some overhang, but if I'm paying the premium for vise-grips, I expect them to precise out of the box.

By the way, made in Taiwan. =(

I ordered these to aid in my bending sheet metal in situations where using my mini brake or a wood & mallet method isn't possible. Do any of you have any suggestions regarding alternative tools? I think I just might opt for a standard $35 hand seamer.

 

[Red Green]

those look to be just low quality mine that are older line up nice and have an even gap across them

 

[Franz©]

Get used to the new Quality Vise Grips.
Vise Grip is owned by Rubbermade, and the whole damn chebang is moving to mainland China.
Funny thing is Vise Grip was making plenty of profit when Irwin owned the brand, Rubbermade just figured profits would be better making **** in China.

 

[Merkava_4]

Both your photos show the defect but the second photo REALLY shows it. I wasn't aware that Vise-Grips were made in Taiwan now; I knew that Irwin was making some of their tools in Taiwan, but I would've never dreamed they'd move Vise-Grips over there too.

 

[Merkava_4]

Get used to the new Quality Vise Grips.
Vise Grip is owned by Rubbermade,

Wait a minute, the box in the photo says Irwin on it . . . ?

 

[krusty the clown]

sad day indeed........my 30 year old pair is a perfect example of american craftsmanship!

 

[eschoendorff]

That's just sad. Really... inexcusable. I would take or send them back.

 

[Merkava_4]

Man what the hell is happening here?!? The brand Irwin used to be synonymous with high quality. You don't suppose they're going to start making Hanson taps and dies over there too?

 

[Merkava_4]

You're supposed to be able to clamp a 4x8 sheet of 20 gage in between those jaws and carry it!

 

[krusty the clown]

if people will buy **** pliers why not **** taps and dies.

 

[Merkava_4]

Taps and dies are the last thing on the face of the earth I would ever buy made in Taiwan. There are certain situations where quality is a necessity.

 

[krusty the clown]

i hate to admit it but i had a set of taiwan taps.......had to have one that day to finish a job. $5 at the farm supply. used them once, then found an old ace superset at a pawn shop for $20 about a month later..........the taiwans hit the trash can.

 

[Merkava_4]

krusty,

You should check out some of the stuff made by Union-Butterfield some time.

 

[krusty the clown]

i'm not sure but i may have some.....sounds familiar. i ahve a box full of drills, taps, knockout punches and hole saws that were my dads. i'm sure i've seen the name in there somewhere.

 

[Stuey]

A lot of Vise-Grips are still made here, but I guess non-traditional designs are being outsourced? I also had a problem with their locking "wrench" style pliers when I purchased them from Amazon. After they swapped my pair for a perfect one, I was convinced that that incident was a fluke.

I've been noticing a general drop in Irwin's quality though. Before the winter holidays, Lowes had a promo on an Irwin drill bit set. For <$10 I thought what a deal. They turned out to be **** bits in cases that didn't close properly.

So do you guys have any alternative tool recommendations? I'm still in need of a seamer/sheet metal tool.

For the second photo, I didn't apply too much pressure between the jaws, but it does show how ridiculously curved the jaws are. Although as I said, death-grip clamping pressure marred my sheet and still didn't close the gap.

 

[arkracing]

Yeh I just bought several pairs of ViseGrips from Sears utilizing the $5 coupon deal. Every one of them said "Made in USA with global components". Still made me nervous, but I figured they still have the lifetime warr. and Made in the USA still sounds good anyway I guess.

Those sheetmetal ones shown look like true garbage - maybe it is time to check out the Grip-On brand that makes the Snap-Ons

 

[Merkava_4]

So do you guys have any alternative tool recommendations? I'm still in need of a seamer/sheet metal tool.

http://www.grip-on.com/idusflash/front/index.html

 

[eighthd]

There are still some of the original vise grips out there. If you look on the side it will have dewitt nebr. on the side. If it dosnt have that on the side I dont buy them.

 

[krusty the clown]

http://www.kleintools.com/ToolCatalog/index.html

klein makes a better pair than visegrip anyway

 

[scotte]

have you tried clamping the end of the cheap ones in a vise and forcing it?

i don't think you can hurt them any worse than they allready are

 

[Merkava_4]

klein makes a better pair than visegrip anyway

You mean their seeming pliers? Yeah those are sweet if you don't need them to lock.

 

[Stuey]

http://www.grip-on.com/idusflash/front/index.html

Ah, so those are the same as Snap-On's Blue Point version?
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=55458&group_ID=13183

If I can't find the Grip-On, I'll try the BP since I can get a $50 Snap-On gift card through my credit card rewards program.

The Vise-Grip was $17, I'd be willing to pay the $2$ for a pair that worked as it should.

have you tried clamping the end of the cheap ones in a vise and forcing it?

i don't think you can hurt them any worse than they allready are

I'd rather just return them than waste the $17. Although they appear cheaply made, the steel is still heavy duty stuff and would probably break my $20 vise.

 

[Merkava_4]

Ah, so those are the same as Snap-On's Blue Point version?

Yes they be.

 

[Stuey]

Alright, so I guess my next course of action is to try to hunt down the Grip-On version or wait for a Snap-On gift card, or give up on wanting a locking tool and pick up the Klein or alternative seamer.

I'm still pretty raw over the fact that two out of two of the Vise-Grips were ****. Ordinarily I might think that the vendor could be at fault, but I ordered from McMaster, and they've always served me well in the past. I'm 100% sure that the tools are brand new, so there must be something wrong with Irwin.

 

[Franz©]

AND, lets not forget Newell Rubbermade also bought BernZoMatic, and is moving it from upstate NY to guess where?

 

[Stuey]

I just received a call from McMaster Carr after I sent them an emailing explaining that I wanted to send back both the original and replacement tool. They said that they're selling these pretty much every day and that there hasn't really been many problems before.

They offered to have someone check a third pair before sending it out to me. McMaster rocks, but Irwin is now on my sheet list...

 

[Uncle Buck]

So sad indeed! So much for Vise Grip........I guess anymore that I buy will be used from now on! Another one bites the dust!

 

[jimmycrackcorn]

Chadstoolbox is the only site i have seen that carries Grip-ons full line but they cost more as the ones off the truck, minus the shipping

http://chadstoolbox.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4812

 

[v8garage]

A lot of Vise-Grips are still made here, but I guess non-traditional designs are being outsourced? I also had a problem with their locking "wrench" style pliers when I purchased them from Amazon. After they swapped my pair for a perfect one, I was convinced that that incident was a fluke.

I've been noticing a general drop in Irwin's quality though. Before the winter holidays, Lowes had a promo on an Irwin drill bit set. For <$10 I thought what a deal. They turned out to be **** bits in cases that didn't close properly.

So do you guys have any alternative tool recommendations? I'm still in need of a seamer/sheet metal tool.

For the second photo, I didn't apply too much pressure between the jaws, but it does show how ridiculously curved the jaws are. Although as I said, death-grip clamping pressure marred my sheet and still didn't close the gap.

You might want to look on e-bay or flea market, swap meet etc. for an old pair. I have two that are over 20 years old and they still have flat jaws that align perfectly.

 

[DiStOrTiOn]

Maybe rubbermaid needs to learn why they shouldn't move production of previous quality items overseas to become ****, thereby ruining a brand name, the U.S. economy, and everyday tool user's lives. What say you guys to a massive letter writing campaign? Send em enough snail mail complaints that they can't ignore it?

 

[jimmycrackcorn]

Hey the vise-grip name is established, your fathers used them, your fathers father, may have used them. When you think of locking pliers, vise grip comes to mind. Now take the name and water down the production, $$ the user loses. I still have old vise-grips and are stamped USA, the newer one's just say Vise-Grip. I think quality in all these companies are dropping even S/O has dropped in quality, i feel stuff back then was much more durable and built to last. You can even see it with machinery tools like lathes and mills. Soon will be driving around in cars that are mostly made of plastic and fiber materials.

 

[kidney]

I feel pretty good about last years garage sale shopping. I bought about 9 pairs of old Vise-grips, they were all marked from Dewitt Nebraska. I think I paid 1 dollar for each one. I bought most of them from this old guy who had one on his table and I mentioned how much I like the old ones. He then, went to his tool box, and pulled out 4 more and sold them to me.

 

[krusty the clown]

Hey the vise-grip name is established, your fathers used them, your fathers father, may have used them. When you think of locking pliers, vise grip comes to mind. Now take the name and water down the production, $$ the user loses. I still have old vise-grips and are stamped USA, the newer one's just say Vise-Grip. I think quality in all these companies are dropping even S/O has dropped in quality, i feel stuff back then was much more durable and built to last. You can even see it with machinery tools like lathes and mills. Soon will be driving around in cars that are mostly made of plastic and fiber materials.

you mean like a corvette?

seriously though this world has been becoming disposable for a long time now. even in construction.......100 years ago a building was designed and bulit to last a lifetime, now it's designated a 10, 20, etc year building. even in home construction. around here there are homes still standing dating to prior to the civil war that are in better condition to homes built 20 years ago with similar up-keep. i guess the difference is the additude of the buyer/builder. at one time a home was to be lived in for a lifetime and your childrens lifetime. now people buy and sell homes like used cars.........i ahve a friend who is raising her children in the same home that her grandmother was raised in

 

[johnny1290]

Wow those pliers are awful. I'd expect that from 1.99 HF, but not from vice grip. That's sad to hear their quality is dropping. What great name recognition. I guess they can milk it for a while and get short term profits, but ultimately, if the world makes sense, I'd think they'd lose customers.

The people running the company are probably just looking to keep their bonus and make their price/profit targets, and let someone else worry about what it costs the company down the line.

 

[danski0224]

I ordered these to aid in my bending sheet metal in situations where using my mini brake or a wood & mallet method isn't possible. Do any of you have any suggestions regarding alternative tools? I think I just might opt for a standard $35 hand seamer.

If you just want a hand seamer, then do a search for "Fairmont Tongs". US made quality at a fair price.

A larger variety of seamers can be found at a specialty store like NA Bocker... mostly German made, no China or Taiwan stuff here: http://www.nabocker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=34

 

[wilbilt]

Hey the vise-grip name is established, your fathers used them, your fathers father, may have used them. When you think of locking pliers, vise grip comes to mind. Now take the name and water down the production, $$ the user loses. I still have old vise-grips and are stamped USA, the newer one's just say Vise-Grip.

I have some that were my grandfather's. I'm not sure what they have stamped on them, but they predate the release lever. Once you clamp them, they can be difficult to release without that feature.

 

[Stuey]

I received a second replacement pair of these locking pliers today.

They have the same damn curve! I know that some seamers are curved to protect aluminum, but these are marring my sheets? The curve isn't too severe, but it's enough to be annoying. If I was going to use these for ducting, I wouldn't care, but I wanted to use these on an alum enclosure where every nick and mar will be highly visible.

 

[Merkava_4]

I hope you know that this thread has made me into a NON-customer of ViseGrips for now on; but I pretty much hated them already.

 

[Stuey]

I hope you know that this thread has made me into a NON-customer of ViseGrips for now on; but I pretty much hated them already.

Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't show you Irwin's new labels then...

They took their "Made in the USA" label and added below it "with global components" so that at first glance one might not catch the difference.

I still don't know what to make of these pliers. They couldn't have added the curve intentionally. I mean, it's cutting into and marring my test piece!

 

[the intimidator]

Wow what piss poor quality those are I have a couple pairs of vise-grips that were my great grandfathers including a pair of the sheet metal ones pictured above and they all work as they should and have a straight gap with no curve. I fully expect them all to last longer then myself and one day (if people are still aloud to work on things lol) I am sure they will still be around to pass down to my kids. I guess I should go on a vise-grip buying spree and pick up all the good ones before all that is for sale is the new **** like that, hell I have no name locking plyers that look better then those pair and work just fine for light-medium use but when something requires a bit of force I always reach for the vice-grips