Comparing vise manufacturing

[buckwheat_la]

So it Sunday morning and I am bored, so I started researching vise manufacturing cast vs forging. Seems even though many cast vises are more expensive than forged vises, the general consensus is that forged vises are stronger. Am I missing something? (and before anyone tells me to use the search function, I searched forged vs cast, forged vise manufacturing, forging quality, and a slew of other ways of asking the question, and nothing came up)

 

[exmaxima1]

I have both types and both work comparably. The virtue of a forged vise (mine is a Ridgid) is that it will bend before cracking and it tends to be lighter than comparable cast vises. I like the feel of cast vises a bit more when clamping down hard, but no particular reason for that. If you need to move the vise on a regular basis a forged vise will save your back.

 

[seber]

The search function is pretty worthless. Use google "garage journal SUBJECT".

 

[buckwheat_la]

The search function is pretty worthless. Use google "garage journal SUBJECT".

Good to know, never thought of that

 

[zkling]

Don't forget fabricated / welded together vises. Which I personally think are very interesting.

I think you will find that most of the desirable vises turn into a numbers bragging contest and or aesthetics; not so much actual useability.

 

[buckwheat_la]

Don't forget fabricated / welded together vises. Which I personally think are very interesting.

I think you will find that most of the desirable vises turn into a numbers bragging contest and or aesthetics; not so much actual useability.

Fair enough. That being said, for the most part all vises do the same thing really. Clamp, swivel, etc. I recently looked at a Capri vise on Amazon, and seems to be a bang for your buck best vise avaialble. And lifetime warantee. Which made me wonder if its actually better than the old English Record one I own.

 

[davewo]

I fixed up this "vintage" French forged vise I found at the scrap yard. The greatest bennifit is that they have more clearance around the jaws for bending stuff or holding objects with protrusions. I have a giant Wilton for holding large pieces/pounding on, but if I was ever in the market for a "bench" vise, I would definitely look into the Rigid (or similar) forged vises.

View media item 49079

 

[buckwheat_la]

I fixed up this "vintage" French forged vise I found at the scrap yard. The greatest bennifit is that they have more clearance around the jaws for bending stuff or holding objects with protrusions.

View media item 49079

Nice looking restoration.

 

[davewo]

Nice looking restoration.

Thanks! If anyone is interested, here's the Rigid equivalent:

https://www.zoro.com/ridgid-combination-vise-swivel-standard-duty-66987/i/G1794204/

https://www.zoro.com/ridgid-combination-vise-swivel-standard-duty-26648/i/G0805962/

 

[zkling]

Fair enough. That being said, for the most part all vises do the same thing really. Clamp, swivel, etc. I recently looked at a Capri vise on Amazon, and seems to be a bang for your buck best vise avaialble. And lifetime warantee. Which made me wonder if its actually better than the old English Record one I own.

Even that appears to be a weldment. Check out the Milhoff vise as far as best in usefulness, in my opinion. It is welded out of plate and a few machined components. No where near the style of a Wilton bullet, but far more useful.

 

[NC Rick]

I think what the vise is forged or cast from is most important, along with the design. Forged good steel has got to be stronger per mass than cast good iron. Casting would allow for bigger sections and more mass in the vise. A really big forging would be expensive!

A well designed vise made from good materials is what would really count. I like the thinking of the forges steel vise being more compact and providing work space.

 

[matt_i]

Just on a cost basis, cast iron is cheaper/easier to pour than steel (lower melting temp).

Forging is extremely expensive, basically a steel ingot is cast and then beaten into shape with a press while still orange-red hot. The dies need to be made of special material to avoid high temp decarburization. The part can't be held and it can only take so many hits before it has to go back in the furnace and be reheated.

Forging aligns the grains in the microstructure with the direction of stress, in a basic essence. For a part which is stressed it can help in a weak area with the alignment of the grains. The hot work avoids cracking issues which could be present in cold-working a item plus of course easier to form a red-hot part with minimal strength. So in the vise the neck of the moving jaw would be a part which could benefit.

But, if you understand the differnence in designing for stiffness and designing for strength, to me the vise is a place that low mass isn't important...its encouraged, so the beef of the casting is probably the sweet spot.

 

[BFBOB]

Thanks! If anyone is interested, here's the Rigid equivalent:
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It's Ridgid. A play on words, a deliberate misspelling- it's the trademark of the Ridge Tool Co.