High quality vise manufacturers

bmwpower · Jan 24, 2007

Trying to make sure I look at all the players that are/were in existance. No econo stuff. Foreign stuff is great as long as it is high quality.

So far I have:

Athol
Columbian
Erie
Heuer - Made in Germany
Morgan Milwaukee - website
Morgan Chicago
Paramo
Parker
Peddinghaus - website
Reed - website - LIFETIME warranty
Record - appear to be owned by Irwin now
Ridgid - website - LIFETIME warranty, made in Germany - 75K psi forged
Rock Island
Starrett
Wilton - website - good ones are 60K psi
Yost - website - LIFETIME warranty - 30K psi

Any others?

wantedabiggergarage · Jan 24, 2007

bmwpower said:
Trying to make sure I look at all the players that are/were in existance. No econo stuff. Foreign stuff is great as long as it is high quality.

So far I have:

Wilton

Athol

Columbian

Parker

Any others?

Yost (must be at least 10 characters)

Rory Bellows · Jan 24, 2007

.......... Reed

Herb · Jan 24, 2007

Rory Bellows said:
.......... Reed

Charles Parker

bmwpower · Jan 24, 2007

Herb said:
Charles Parker

Thanks, but I already have it listed above. Or is it only known as Charles Parker?

ZRX61 · Jan 24, 2007

Paramo, made in UK (Sheffield)

russlaferrera · Jan 24, 2007

Record (England), Starrett, Jet

wilbilt · Jan 24, 2007

What about Peddinghaus? I have seriously considered them.

http://www.piehtoolco.com/index.html?target=dept_833.html&lang=en-us

bmwpower · Jan 24, 2007

russlaferrera said:
Record (England), Starrett, Jet

Is Jet made in China? Or do they have USA made stuff?

mulepackin · Jan 24, 2007

Rigid used to make a good vise. Couldn't say anymore.

wantedabiggergarage · Jan 25, 2007

mulepackin said:
Rigid used to make a good vise. Couldn't say anymore.

Should be Ridgid. They still sell their vises, but don't give a local for manufacturer.

bmwpower · Jan 25, 2007

wantedabiggergarage said:
Should be Ridgid. They still sell their vises, but don't give a local for manufacturer.

You are correct. I changed it.

Their vises look sweet! 75K tensile strength - the strongest I've seen yet.

jwith68 · Jan 25, 2007

I picked up a Ridgid F60 on eBay a couple of months ago. Appears to be stout, but I haven't used it yet. They are made of several individual steel 75ksi forgings and then welded together. Very impressive build quality, but not surprising because they are made in Germany! Not sure who is actually manufacturing them, there are no markings other than Ridgid's.

You might also want to include these guys on your list.
http://www.milwmal.com/home.htm
The Morgan-Milwaukee vise line. Some of these look indentical to the old Morgan-Chicago vises you find, probably some history available if you could find it.

bmwpower · Jan 25, 2007

jwith68 said:
I picked up a Ridgid F60 on eBay a couple of months ago. Appears to be stout, but I haven't used it yet. They are made of several individual steel 75ksi forgings and then welded together. Very impressive build quality, but not surprising because they are made in Germany! Not sure who is actually manufacturing them, there are no markings other than Ridgid's.

You might also want to include these guys on your list.
http://www.milwmal.com/home.htm
The Morgan-Milwaukee vise line. Some of these look indentical to the old Morgan-Chicago vises you find, probably some history available if you could find it.

Another thing I saw, too, for the Ridgid vises.... LIFETIME WARRANTY. Might be worth looking at.

I will check on the other model you mentioned.

bmwpower · Jan 29, 2007

Any others?

christian · Feb 18, 2007

I have at least 3 bench-mount vises from the ~50's-60's.
All work perfectly.
Ridgid
Wilton
Yost

Need to check on the other two or so.

All work perfectly and were all handed down from my grandfather. I would sell you one but I like them too much.

bmwpower · Feb 19, 2007

Added some more...

chevy302dz · Feb 19, 2007

bmwpower said:
Trying to make sure I look at all the players that are/were in existance. No econo stuff. Foreign stuff is great as long as it is high quality.

So far I have:

Athol

Columbian

Heuer - Made in Germany

Morgan Milwaukee - website

Morgan Chicago

Paramo

Parker

Peddinghaus - website

Reed - website - LIFETIME warranty

Record - appear to be owned by Irwin now

Ridgid - website - LIFETIME warranty, made in Germany - 75K psi forged

Rock Island

Starrett

Wilton - website - good ones are 60K psi

Yost - website - LIFETIME warranty - 30K psi

Any others?

While the old Columbian vises are indestructible, do the new ones really compare?

bmwpower · Feb 19, 2007

chevy302dz said:
While the old Columbian vises are indestructible, do the new ones really compare?

New ones are made overseas. Not sure of the quality, but I would have to assume it's of lesser quality than the old ones. Wilton owns the Columbian line now.

bmwpower · Mar 9, 2007

Added Erie vises (Erie, PA).

ron in sc · Mar 15, 2007

I bought a Wilton Tradesman 1765 which weighs 74 lbs. It will be much larger and heavier than my Sears vise with 4" jaws.

rocco · Mar 16, 2007

My Reed that i made a thread about. kind of a treasure found type of deal!

It is now painted Black.

rmack898 · Mar 17, 2007

I can't find any information on them, but I have a large Anchor vise, made in USA

Major Ramifications · Mar 18, 2007

Thanks, guys. When I read through the list, I couldn't believe that Reed was still in business. I bought a VERY old Reed machinist's vice at a garage sale about 15 years ago for $5. I have beat the hell out of it, and it has taken it well. Never having heard of them when I bought it, I figured they had gone out of business long ago. If they still make 'em anything like this one, I would recommend them.

Canadian Charlie · Mar 18, 2007

Record make some very serious vises if you intend to get one thats not made in the USA. I've owned mine for around 15 years now and it takes a beatin and keeps on going. Made in England and weighs a ton

krj · Mar 20, 2007

I got what I think to be a great deal this week on a vise.

http://tinyurl.com/38vk9t

29$ cdn for a vise that is guaranteed forever. You cant beat that! (yes... i know that it may not be the best vise in the world, but it seems to be really decent)

Major Ramifications · Mar 20, 2007

That link doesn't work for me.

krj · Mar 21, 2007

Major Ramifications said:
That link doesn't work for me.

If you dont live in Canada, use the postal code G0A 4S0 when prompted.... That should work.

914forme · Mar 21, 2007

russlaferrera said:
Record (England), Starrett, Jet

Record ( England ) is not as good as they where. Not bad but my beet is to go and find a good used one.

the dude · Apr 5, 2007

What about Bessey vises? Anybody had any experience with them. I like their clamps but have just recently seen their vise.

bmwpower · Apr 5, 2007

the dude said:
What about Bessey vises? Anybody had any experience with them. I like their clamps but have just recently seen their vise.

I think I saw some of them online. They look exactly like Yost vises, right?

Flash21 · Feb 13, 2009

Instead of posting a new topic, I thought I would add to the quality vise thread.

Anyone heard of Mercury US Made Vises?

Monte · Feb 13, 2009

bmwpower said:
Trying to make sure I look at all the players that are/were in existance. No econo stuff. Foreign stuff is great as long as it is high quality.

So far I have:

Athol

Columbian

Erie

Heuer - Made in Germany

Morgan Milwaukee - website

Morgan Chicago

Paramo

Parker

Peddinghaus - website

Reed - website - LIFETIME warranty

Record - appear to be owned by Irwin now

Ridgid - website - LIFETIME warranty, made in Germany - 75K psi forged

Rock Island

Starrett

Wilton - website - good ones are 60K psi

Yost - website - LIFETIME warranty - 30K psi

Any others?

- Fza Morsificio (Italy - Brands: Ursus, Leinen, FZA)

- Schlegel (Germany)

- Dolex (France)

- Gressel (switzerland)

- Kanca (Turkey)

superautobacs · May 3, 2009

bmwpower said:
You are correct. I changed it.

Their vises look sweet! 75K tensile strength - the strongest I've seen yet.

I remembered you saying this, and as I was browsing through Gray Tools' latest promotional flyer today, I found out that they have a forged combination vise with a tensile strength of 92K+ PSI.

Check their pdf file:
http://www.graytools.com/catalogue/bench%20vises.pdf

911mick · May 3, 2009

Dawn (made in Australia) are good

http://www.dawntools.com.au/?gclid=CPL5-p6foZoCFc0vpAodBHW--Q

bmwpower · May 3, 2009

superautobacs said:
I remembered you saying this, and as I was browsing through Gray Tools' latest promotional flyer today, I found out that they have a forged combination vise with a tensile strength of 92K+ PSI.

Check their pdf file:
http://www.graytools.com/catalogue/bench%20vises.pdf

If that's isn't made by Ridgid, I don't know what is. It looks exactly the the F series Ridgids.

TRTOOLSUPPLY · May 3, 2009

Here's one that is more of a easy locking type that holds work or jigs:

Heinrich Grip-Master Made in USA since 1946"screwless" operation

tigmusky · May 3, 2009

rex made in Ohio I pick up a big Rex a few years at the welding supply house in town. Fair price and works awsome. I would buy another.
Daye

wantedabiggergarage · May 4, 2009

bmwpower said:
If that's isn't made by Ridgid, I don't know what is. It looks exactly the the F series Ridgids.

I think the Ridgids are made by Heuer.
http://www.samstagsales.com/brockhaus.htm

bmwpower · May 4, 2009

wantedabiggergarage said:
I think the Ridgids are made by Heuer.
http://www.samstagsales.com/brockhaus.htm

It would appear that way, but they are ever so slightly different.

High quality vise manufacturers

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