Ductile Iron vs Forged - Yost FSV-5

[Lelandwelds]

IMO a vise should be made to withstand a cheater pipe. You should be able to wrap the handle around the knob without damaging the vise.

GJ spends a lot of time discussing what the "best" tool is, but the burning question in my mind is this:

Has anyone ever broken a vise, or seen one break?

Vises are meant to hold something while you file, drill, unscrew, thread, etc. What possible reason would cause you to reach for a hammer or cheater large enough to break one? You are doing something wrong or using the wrong tool.

I guess you could build one and model it after workholding or oilfield equipment. ( or anvils. Or hydraulic presses.)

 

[bczygan]

I'm keeping ALL my vices...!

 

[Ji m]

I've broken 2 Chinese 5" vices.

Big old heavy, rotator style with the pipe vice on the bottom that you can spin up into place instead of the 5" clamps.

Both cracked/broke off where the vice head meets the round draw bolt enclosure.

I broke one while working on a Jeep (maybe pressing a U-joint on..... memory is going),
I just remember hearing a loud crack and the head would spin free after.

My cousin bought the same vice I did at the same time,
when I broke mine he gave me his and I broke that one too,
same break, where the big moving clamp casting meets the draw rod enclosure part of the same casting.

This was all 20+ years ago,
I tossed one out and "fixed" the other with some less than pretty gorilla welds from my first stick welder.
Amazingly it survived the Frankenstein treament and it's still on a bench in the garage today.

I have a 5" Wilton of unknown vintage that has "ACCO Bridgeport Conn USA" cast on the side,
that I used for a while,
but its pretty worn out,
there's so much play in you have to spin the handle 3-4 times before the clamp moves.

I guess I should look into what can be done about it and mount that one up to a bench as well.

 

[fartymarty]

Want to work with it or want to admire it? Not much beats a rotator like I pic in an earlier post.

Agreed.

I have often wondered what was so special about a Wilton vise. I almost asked here about it. No I'm not "proud" of my cheap Chinese vise that I've abused for over 26 years. I am happy with it however, and I've lost interest in what is better about a Wilton. I've decided that any job that my vise is not strong enough to handle is probably a job that I don't want to do. I think the bottom line is that any vise is better than no vise. I've mounted mine on an equally cheap (Chinese I assume, I don't really know) tool stand that I tripled the top thickness of and filled the bottom with concrete and added some old rotors to over the years. Sure, if I see a Wilton going for cheap at a garage/estate sale, I'll pick it up. I think I might just clean it up and paint it and sell it rather than use it. I guess my ignorance or at least my vice gauche-ness is showing.

 

[atthebeach]

Vises can be broken.

The pictured vise is still in use in my shop despite the broken casting. Looks like someone might have used the flat area behind the rear jaw as an anvil. It is a 104 1/2 Reed vise with 4 1/2" jaws. This vise sat on the floor in the corner of my Dad's shop for many years. I suspect it came out of my Grandfather's shop and is probably of the pre-WW II era. I don't know when this vise was broken - probably before my Dad received it since he never seemed to use it..

If one wants to beat on a vise with a hammer, a blacksmith's leg vise is a better choice.