Japan made craftsman vise

[Kielbasavw]

I have an opportunity to buy a 5" jaw Japan made craftsman. Seems to be in fully working order. The guy wants $50. Does this seem like a decent deal? Anything I should know about it or look out for?

Been wanting a bigger vise for garage. Been looking here and there for a while. No other deals have really caught my eye.

 

[frankush]

Unless you're going to beat on the thing, it should hold up alright. I have one from the 80's or early 90's and it's held up fine. $50 would be top dollar, but it would have to be close to new for me to pay that.

 

[erty67]

I have a Japanese craftsman vise. it was beat on before I got it. It's still been good to me so far.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

 

[454ragtop]

Those are decent quality, about the same as the same vise made in USA. They're a light to medium duty vise though, $50 would be all the money around here.

 

[General Geoff]

Unless it's in really nice cosmetic shape to boot, I'd offer $40 max.

 

[1982fxr]

Those are decent quality, about the same as the same vise made in USA. They're a light to medium duty vise though, $50 would be all the money around here.

^^^^^^^^^^^this

 

[dumper]

they are okay light to medium vises, the weak spot being the rotating bases tend to break, as in crack. You list your location as LA- if so, I would wait for a better deal, as $50 is too much for that, even in perfect condition.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

IMO: $50 is a reasonable price if it's structurally in good shape. They're good reliable vises that will serve you for decades as long as you don't abuse it. I had a 4 1/2" C-man Japanese vise, mounted on my Kennedy Versa-Cart for over 20 years in Industrial Maintenance. It was very convenient to have at the machine I was working on, when needed.


Look the vise over VERY CAREFULLY. Check for cracks on the base. Check to see that the nut isn't cracked or has a broken thread. Is the spindle handle & the swivel base lock handle are in good shape (not bent to hell)? Is the spindle bent? Are the jaw faces worn out? How well do the jaw faces line up when the vise is closed.

One test that I do is to clamp a 2' stick in the vise with most of it sticking out one side. If I can't pull the stick out of the vise's grip, then the jaws are good. Then I repeat the test on the other side.

 

[Jazz1]

I had never seen Japan made craftsman vise. No doubt a good vise. Craftsman has to maintain credibility and not have substandard products produced. I'm thinking my USA made 5" was a good deal at $15.

 

[Davefr]

I have an opportunity to buy a 5" jaw Japan made craftsman. Seems to be in fully working order. The guy wants $50. Does this seem like a decent deal? Anything I should know about it or look out for?

Been wanting a bigger vise for garage. Been looking here and there for a while. No other deals have really caught my eye.

My first vise was a Japanese CM and I had no issues with it. It was very well built. (superior to most of the new Chinese vises).

$50 is fair if you need one soon and it's in good condition.

If you have lots of time and patience you can probably do better but if you have work holding to do in the short term you could do far worse then this vise.

 

[drivesitfar]

VW: you are asking a group that maybe averages owning 5 or more vises here on GJ. that said i bet i've seen more of that particular vise on maybe 50% or more of the old guy's benches around here. i've yet to see one that was broken in person, but know some of the apes using them with a BFH have busted the jaws. or bent the dynamic's slide using it as a press or again a BFH.

in your area your pricing could go as high as $100 so if it's in good shape and $50 i'd buy it if you need a good vise. just bear in mind that that 5 inch 25 pound vise doesn't come close to an old US 5 inch vise that can weigh 70-120 pounds hence they usually cost more.

good luck and if you want to spend some time with your grinder and buffer here's what one looks like shined up.

 

[SantaAna12]

VW: you are asking a group that maybe averages owning 5 or more vises here on GJ. that said i bet i've seen more of that particular vise on maybe 50% or more of the old guy's benches around here. i've yet to see one that was broken in person, but know some of the apes using them with a BFH have busted the jaws. or bent the dynamic's slide using it as a press or again a BFH.

in your area your pricing could go as high as $100 so if it's in good shape and $50 i'd buy it if you need a good vise. just bear in mind that that 5 inch 25 pound vise doesn't come close to an old US 5 inch vise that can weigh 70-120 pounds hence they usually cost more.

good luck and if you want to spend some time with your grinder and buffer here's what one looks like shined up.

Man, thats an understatement.

 

[Voi]

I have an opportunity to buy a 5" jaw Japan made craftsman. Seems to be in fully working order. The guy wants $50. Does this seem like a decent deal?

I picked up a 391-5187 this past summer. Almost didn't even go to the sale but I'm really glad I did as it's a much better vise than I expected. It's my "I don't care if I nick it with a grinder vise".

Gut reaction is that $50 is a bit high but it's probably a better vise you can buy new for twice the money.

However, you say you want a big vise and this one is a pretty light for 5".

I have half a dozen or so 4" to 5" Columbians and while they're not the heaviest vises either they sure seem more stout than this 391.

If $50 now is going to keep you from buying the next large vise that comes along then I'd try to get the price down or at least think twice.

 

[1982fxr]

it's a light-medium duty vise. I've had 10-15 Jap C-man vises...never seen a broken one.