Is this vise any good?
- Thread starter visedog
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R5P7Duster
Well-known member
While it looks nice, I'd have to say for a 6" vise, that seems very light. I have a 5" Morgan that goes around 125 lbs. I have no experience with this particular brand, so this is just my opinion.
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flushcut
Well-known member
How much $ ?
It's been my experience that vises like that use cheap cast iron and tend to have internal flaws in the castings. It doesn't take too much effort to crack one or take a chunk out of it inadvertently. But my main beef is with the painted jaw inserts---that's a deal breaker for me.
About $70.
flushcut
Well-known member
That's not that expensive. Buy and beat the piss out of it to see if it holds up.
WittHay
Well-known member
Various brands of 6" vises are available in Canada. They all look the same and weigh about 70 lbs. The one in the picture is a Jet.
india does make a higher grade of steel and cast products than China. John Deere has a tractor plant over there and a lot of drawbar pins and other pins used in farm applications come from India
india does make a higher grade of steel and cast products than China. John Deere has a tractor plant over there and a lot of drawbar pins and other pins used in farm applications come from India
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I don't work on a farm anymore but if I saw made in India on a drawbar pin I would run lol !!!
Indian steel is known for its high quality worldwide. One of the oldest steel companies in the world is in India (TATA, est. 1868) now with branches worldwide, including in UK and Netherlands. It has rolling mills in the US (Bethlehem, PA, and Warren, OH). Another Indian steel company is ArcelorMittal, which is the largest steel company in the world.
You'd never know it from the quality of Indian-made Record bench vises and woodworking vises----substantial downgrade from UK-made versions.
General Geoff
Well-known member
I've no doubt in my mind that India can produce superior steel, but most of the export products from there are built to a price point too low to expect it.
WittHay
Well-known member
I know what you mean about some Indian made products. those wrenches from the 80's were some of the poorest quality tools i have ever seen
But the JD 5403 tractor shown in the picture are surprisingly good solid tractors, they don't leak oil and are simple enough that not much can go wrong with them
Ordered some aftermarket parts from a US company called a & i products. Some of the front end parts were made in India
But the JD 5403 tractor shown in the picture are surprisingly good solid tractors, they don't leak oil and are simple enough that not much can go wrong with them
Ordered some aftermarket parts from a US company called a & i products. Some of the front end parts were made in India
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Don't be fooled by the low price point of Indian made steel goods. This is only due to low labor cost of production, and not because of a decline in quality.
BTW I am getting an Indian made version of Record quick release vise next week, and will post about its quality.
BTW I am getting an Indian made version of Record quick release vise next week, and will post about its quality.
That vise is a joke.....a 'real' 6 inch vise (Reed, Athol, Parker, etc.) is more than twice as heavy......that said, it could be cost-effective as an 'expendable' welding table vise, where the strength of a real vise is not needed.
Added on edit.......I'd tend to suspect that is the sort of tooling intended to be sold from a catalogue photo, to corporate purchasing 'decision makers', who have never worked on a shop floor in their lives, and wouldn't have the vaguest idea of the difference between 'real' and 'fantasy' equipment.
cheers
Carla
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WittHay
Well-known member
That the strange thing about these vises compared to the old American vises, how much lighter they are.
A 6" Gray Tools vise like the one in the picture weighs 44 lbs. According to their catalog, it is made of 60,000 psi ductile iron. I believe they are made in Argentina
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R5P7Duster
Well-known member
Didn't realize he was in India. I was simply stating my opinion. I'd take my 1940s Morgan over that vise any day though.
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I'm guessing you have some sort of Morgan combination vise (with pipe jaws), as their machinist vises are not that heavy. A Morgan 150 Machinist is only around 90 lbs.
I would love to get my hands on a good old American (Morgan, Reed, Wilton) or English (Record, Parkinsons, Paramo) vise, but they are unfortunately unavailable here in India. The Indian vises I have been using haven't let me down yet.
Yeah but does anyone trust those claims on the imports? I pay no attention to them. Ever used a "3/4 hp high output industrial grade" Chinese bench grinder?
Just my experience ymmv
I see a few more made in India tools as years go on over here, but mostly they are bottom of the barrel cheapies like a full set of wrenches at harbor freight for like $6.99 or whatever.
I think the box stores have some levels that are India, badged by Empire maybe?
Just google Delhi iron pillar and see what you get (rustproof iron pillar standing in the open for 1000 years 
). They don't make em like they used to, but still the quality of Indian iron and steel is pretty good. Yes, the system has become very corrupt and many cheapies are being off-loaded as exports, but there's a lot of good stuff too (if you have the discernment). 
). They don't make em like they used to, but still the quality of Indian iron and steel is pretty good. Yes, the system has become very corrupt and many cheapies are being off-loaded as exports, but there's a lot of good stuff too (if you have the discernment). Cracking down on steel dumping to help one's own country...what a novel concept.
https://www.google.com/amp/m.econom...rease-in-january/amp_articleshow/57330300.cms
Was the dumping coming from china? If yes, can they not buy influence in the Indian government? Chinese steel owns a few of the top level US politicians, they fight tooth and nail against our own industry.
https://www.google.com/amp/m.econom...rease-in-january/amp_articleshow/57330300.cms
Was the dumping coming from china? If yes, can they not buy influence in the Indian government? Chinese steel owns a few of the top level US politicians, they fight tooth and nail against our own industry.
China is India's No.1 adversary. Any Indian politician caught pandering to China will be committing political suicide. Yes, there may be some dubious Indian companies serving as front for cheap Chinese goods and that's where anti-dumping measures come in. The current Indian leadership is very proactive in curbing Chinese dumping ... we may soon be in a border conflict with China, but that is another story!
