Interesting Decision to make....

[Corndoggeh]

I picked up this 10" woodworking vise today at a yardsale for dirt cheap. Looks almost new and has the quick release. However, I also have this old Morgan 300A thats on my restoration list. Which one should I keep? On the one hand the chinese one has more features to it and is much larger, the nickle/chrome plating is definitely a plus for me because I won't need to rub it with an oil to keep the rust away, but I can tell it is lower quality especially the size of the handle feels abnormally small compared to the size of the vise as well as the dogging pin needing to be locked in with a wingnut. On the other hand this Morgan vise needs a lot of attention to get into working order as it looks like someone mushroomed out the dogging pin with a hammer. Its also smaller and has no chroming to the handle or other parts. Biases aside, which one is worth keeping around for my eventual woodworking bench build? Is it worth having a massive 10" vise like the chinese one or is the 7" Morgan more than enough to get any job done?

And no I will not send anyone "that POS morgan vise" so that they can spare me the trouble of throwing it away


http://i.imgur.com/5DrYqga.jpg

 

[James-W]

My thinking is that if you sell one of them you most likely will not get much money for it so you may as well keep them both.

 

[Craptain]

Well if this is for a bench you haven't even built yet where is the problem with time in restoring the Morgan?
On the other hand, the Chinese vise is relatively large and would have some advantages down the road. So the question really is could you live with an oversized pos with flaking chrome in a few years, or a smaller high quality piece of traditional iron that is still big enough to do the job whilst needing an occasional wipe down.

Of course you could mount both of them I suppose?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Davefr]

It looks like the Chinese vise has quick release. That feature is worth it's weight in gold. Keep that one as long as it works good. It also looks like it's better built.

Woodworking vises have an easier job then machinist vises so I'd look the other way wrt COO.

You could still keep your eye out for a non Chinese vise with quick release. (ex: Record from England)

Sometime you shoot yourself in the foot if your sole criteria is COO. I know that's blasphemous here but sometimes it's true.

 

[Corndoggeh]

Anyone else? I would like to hear some more opinions on this, please. Thanks to those who already have given theirs!

 

[crguy]

It's a No Brainer - Get rid of the Chinese ****.

 

[JimNC]

The 300A doesn't look like a very complicated restoration, I'd flip the other for a small gain and get to work.

 

[Roberts210]

Dump the Chinese ****. Sell the Morgan and keep your eyes open for a Record.

 

[Jon_E]

I have a Shop Fox vise, remarkably similar to your 'chinese' vise right down to the color, and a vintage Brodhead-Garrett. Neither one is on a bench yet. I am definitely ditching the Shop Fox vise in favor of the B-G, and I have a line on several more B-G's that I am going to purchase and restore. It's kind of a no-brainer to me, the quick release is not enough of a bonus. There are a lot of vintage USA and British vises out there with QR on them to make searching for a decent one worthwhile.

 

[Packard V8]

Neither are top-quality woodworking vices, but either is better than not having one. You're not married to either; keep one and look for the next better one.

jack vines

 

[RodneyW]

I tend to go for old iron. Sell off the Chinese one and keep the Morgan. If you find a better one before you build your bench, buy it then either sell the Morgan or install both.
Who says you can only have one vise?
Rodney