Project Farm Vise Test

[scooby074]

PF's testing vises. Place your bets.

 

[F-22]

Was waiting for this for a while!

Sadly most of them are quite cheap - I think copies of the old British Record economy models, all made from grey cast iron...

I hope for a round 2 with some premium offerings. Milwaukee-Morgan still makes them em in the USA, Reed offers a nice vise as well. Top end Wilton industrial bullet vises use ductile iron which would be nice to see how it performs, likely blows all the competition.
Maybe also consider some European cast iron vises - the Heuer is really nice but it's an oddity, the usual design is a Leinen vise or a Gressel, and both are still made today, and I think they do use ductile or nodular iron. That would be really nice to see because the core design is also very different (fixed front jaw, dovetail guide). Also as an alternative to the Wilton, the Czech York still makes neat little vises (also sold as the Wilton super junior).
Turkish Kanca brand also makes some top end drop forged vises. The vise-anvil they sell is really interesting and probably extremely durable.

Heuer price is a bit off, that's a ~250€ vise in Europe, so basically around the same money as the Yost in the US.
Also maybe measure a few more important things on a vise. A key thing is how much space you have around what you're holding. The Heuer design is very smart cause it's very vertical - jaws extend to the side, so you also have loads of space under the jaws. On most of the economy designs of other vises, the guide is wide and gets in the way a lot more (a big issue I see with the fireball vise design as well). Also the Heuer is the only design with adjustable slop due to the X guides.

Also, would be nice to know if the Heuer bent back after the strength test, or how much it stayed bent. It's a steel vise so it is elastic, unlike cast iron which is brittle... Steel vises are okay for hammering on, while even moderate blows on cast iron eventually slowly lead to a total failure (cracks spread further and further with each blow).

Larger vises usually use larger spindles with a more coarse thread pitch so that intial comparison didn't tell much - should've tested vises with same jaw width.

Big fault of those economy vises is the slide. It's not enclosed from all sides like on a Wilton, it has a weak side on the bottom, and the nut also binds on the spindle since it's only supported from the bottom - of course vintage heavy duty vises came around that issue with sheer mass...

 

[benny27]

his selection of tools in his test I always think is a bit off. mostly lower end brands and like in the ratcheting screwdriver test. He had the big set of bits for PB swiss for like $150ish instead of just the driver for $60. which would have been more on par with the other scredrivers. And if I remember right in the ratchet test his only higher end pick was a mac and it was the only flex head in the bunch.

 

[Draftpick1]

this video has some better choices

 

[vwpieces]

I had the Huer for 15+yrs. No regrets on that one.
I thought $300 was a lot...

 

[Shiftless]

Testing procedures like that are interesting but in my mind, do not represent how people actually use bench vises on a day to day basis. Who NEEDS 10,000 pounds of clamping force?I’d like to see how some of the older revered brands would do in those same tests.
Reed, Morgan, Athol, Hollands, Wilton C series, and others.

Maybe decide which car engine is the best by testing several running wide open throttle 24/7 on a dynamometer and watch them break? How many of us run W.O.T. for more than a little while?

 

[finn]

Was waiting for this for a while!

Sadly most of them are quite cheap - I think copies of the old British Record economy models, all made from grey cast iron...

I hope for a round 2 with some premium offerings. Milwaukee-Morgan still makes them em in the USA, Reed offers a nice vise as well. Top end Wilton industrial bullet vises use ductile iron which would be nice to see how it performs, likely blows all the competition.
Maybe also consider some European cast iron vises - the Heuer is really nice but it's an oddity, the usual design is a Leinen vise or a Gressel, and both are still made today, and I think they do use ductile or nodular iron. That would be really nice to see because the core design is also very different (fixed front jaw, dovetail guide). Also as an alternative to the Wilton, the Czech York still makes neat little vises (also sold as the Wilton super junior).
Turkish Kanca brand also makes some top end drop forged vises. The vise-anvil they sell is really interesting and probably extremely durable.

Heuer price is a bit off, that's a ~250€ vise in Europe, so basically around the same money as the Yost in the US.
Also maybe measure a few more important things on a vise. A key thing is how much space you have around what you're holding. The Heuer design is very smart cause it's very vertical - jaws extend to the side, so you also have loads of space under the jaws. On most of the economy designs of other vises, the guide is wide and gets in the way a lot more (a big issue I see with the fireball vise design as well). Also the Heuer is the only design with adjustable slop due to the X guides.

Also, would be nice to know if the Heuer bent back after the strength test, or how much it stayed bent. It's a steel vise so it is elastic, unlike cast iron which is brittle... Steel vises are okay for hammering on, while even moderate blows on cast iron eventually slowly lead to a total failure (cracks spread further and further with each blow).

Larger vises usually use larger spindles with a more coarse thread pitch so that intial comparison didn't tell much - should've tested vises with same jaw width.

Big fault of those economy vises is the slide. It's not enclosed from all sides like on a Wilton, it has a weak side on the bottom, and the nut also binds on the spindle since it's only supported from the bottom - of course vintage heavy duty vises came around that issue with sheer mass...

Watch the video again.

At least one or more was ductile iron, not common grey iron, and I recall one being cast steel. Many tests ended when the screw failed, not the body, and early handle failure occurred several times, well before the casting structurally failed.

Having said that, I once had a catastrophic struct failure of an imported vice. It wasn’t pretty and was potentially dangerous.

 

[Benito]

his selection of tools in his test I always think is a bit off. mostly lower end brands and like in the ratcheting screwdriver test.

Because the channel's real name is Project Farming for Amazon Affiliates

 

[dnschmidt]

I agree he needs to ask his viewers which stuff to test prior to doing the test as he always picks the wrong stuff. For example in his either grinding wheel or flap discs test (don't remember which it was) he didn't include Pferd, Walter or SAIT which is nuts. In this case I would have strongly suggested the new Doyle vise at Harbor Freight as it seems really good for the price. He should put into his videos what he's thinking about testing and ask for suggestions as to which to test.

 

[Sasquatch912]

I agree he needs to ask his viewers which stuff to test prior to doing the test as he always picks the wrong stuff. For example in his either grinding wheel or flap discs test (don't remember which it was) he didn't include Pferd, Walter or SAIT which is nuts. In this case I would have strongly suggested the new Doyle vise at Harbor Freight as it seems really good for the price. He should put into his videos what he's thinking about testing and ask for suggestions as to which to test.

He does ask. I told him he needs to review multimeters and he responded. You just have to post and he will answer unlike many higher viewed YouTubers

 

[ATC]

I agree he needs to ask his viewers which stuff to test prior to doing the test as he always picks the wrong stuff. For example in his either grinding wheel or flap discs test (don't remember which it was) he didn't include Pferd, Walter or SAIT which is nuts. In this case I would have strongly suggested the new Doyle vise at Harbor Freight as it seems really good for the price. He should put into his videos what he's thinking about testing and ask for suggestions as to which to test.

You won’t get any better results that way. The average person watching his videos doesn't know you can buy tools outside of Lowes and Home Depot. Very few people out there actually KNOW tools compared to the masses

 

[ItsNemo]

Because the channel's real name is Project Farming for Amazon Affiliates

Bingo. It's whatever he can order on amazon and provide links to, and throw some HF in for good measure.

 

[finn]

I agree he needs to ask his viewers which stuff to test prior to doing the test as he always picks the wrong stuff. For example in his either grinding wheel or flap discs test (don't remember which it was) he didn't include Pferd, Walter or SAIT which is nuts. In this case I would have strongly suggested the new Doyle vise at Harbor Freight as it seems really good for the price. He should put into his videos what he's thinking about testing and ask for suggestions as to which to test.

Every episode of his includes a plea to the audience asking for suggestions on what to test for future episodes.

I doubt many, if any at all here, have sent in suggestions, so this type of complaint rings hollow, at least to me.

He tends to test brands that are commonly available. I don’t ever recall running into a Pferd or SAIT, or some other obscure brands.

Then, again, I wasn’t specifically looking, either.

 

[F-22]

Watch the video again.

At least one or more was ductile iron, not common grey iron, and I recall one being cast steel. Many tests ended when the screw failed, not the body, and early handle failure occurred several times, well before the casting structurally failed.

Having said that, I once had a catastrophic struct failure of an imported vice. It wasn’t pretty and was potentially dangerous.

Baileigh is ductile iron, all the other are grey iron. The Baileigh did perform okay and is probably a good deal.

There was no cast steel vise - cast steel vises are extremely rare. Very old Record and Dawn vises and not much else...

The handle on the cheap vises fails because of the cheap construction. They are made with loose tolerances, the spindle has a pin and a spring to take up the slack. A higher end vise has a rigid front plate that holds the slide in. That keeps the spindle a lot stronger - the cheap vises aren't safer because the spindle breaks, the spindle needs to break because the cast iron can't handle any serious forces.

Heuer uses a spring aswell, but the spindle does not use a pin to hold the spring on - it uses the circular circlip whoch does not induce big notching effects.

 

[finn]

Baileigh is ductile iron, all the other are grey iron. The Baileigh did perform okay and is probably a good deal.

There was no cast steel vise - cast steel vises are extremely rare. Very old Record and Dawn vises and not much else...

The handle on the cheap vises fails because of the cheap construction. They are made with loose tolerances, the spindle has a pin and a spring to take up the slack. A higher end vise has a rigid front plate that holds the slide in. That keeps the spindle a lot stronger - the cheap vises aren't safer because the spindle breaks, the spindle needs to break because the cast iron can't handle any serious forces.

Heuer uses a spring aswell, but the spindle does not use a pin to hold the spring on - it uses the circular circlip whoch does not induce big notching effects.

I thought the $500 German vice was cast steel. Maybe I’m wrong, though. Not going to watch it again, as I hopefully have a lifetime supply of vices that do an adequate job for me.

The handles I saw that failed bent 90 degrees or so. He had to put a socket and ratchet on them to turn the screw. Not sure what tolerances have to do with that failure mode. He was using a cheater on them…. Well, except for the one vice that had a bent handle out of the box. Don’t remember which one that was.

I do agree that some of the vices have short or weak handles that are designed to limit load (short) or bend in order to prevent catastrophic failure.

The vice I broke was grey iron, and I was foolishly using a cheater on the handle to push a spindle apart. Sounded like a gunshot, and heavy metal parts went flying when it exploded.

 

[garfunkle24]

How are you guys arguing about materials when the video CLEARLY states at least 2 of them are forged steel?

 

[F-22]

How are you guys arguing about materials when the video CLEARLY states at least 2 of them are forged steel?

Yes two were forged steel, the rest were grey iron apart from baileigh which was ductile iron. Cast steel is an entirely different thing though.

 

[dnschmidt]

Every episode of his includes a plea to the audience asking for suggestions on what to test for future episodes.

I doubt many, if any at all here, have sent in suggestions, so this type of complaint rings hollow, at least to me.

He tends to test brands that are commonly available. I don’t ever recall running into a Pferd or SAIT, or some other obscure brands.

Then, again, I wasn’t specifically looking, either.

There is nothing whatsoever obscure about the leading manufacturers of abrasives on the planet with respect to Pferd, Walter and SAIT. Go into any welding supply store in the country and they will have these brands. You don't go to the Home Despot if you're looking for the products used by professionals. He does ask for what to test (like vices for example) but he never to my knowledge asks for specific brands and models of anything to be tested.

 

[garfunkle24]

Yes two were forged steel, the rest were grey iron apart from baileigh which was ductile iron. Cast steel is an entirely different thing though.

Yes I know. I re-read your posts. From earlier ones it's clear you know about steel vises. I think the confusion between you and finn arose when you said:

Baileigh is ductile iron, all the other are grey iron. The Baileigh did perform okay and is.....

This sounded like you were referring to ALL the tested vises so I think finn inferred that you were saying all the vises were iron of some sort and none were steel of any kind.

I think you were more trying to say that none were CAST steel, even if some were forged steel.

 

[190Octane]

There is nothing whatsoever obscure about the leading manufacturers of abrasives on the planet with respect to Pferd, Walter and SAIT. Go into any welding supply store in the country and they will have these brands. You don't go to the Home Despot if you're looking for the products used by professionals. He does ask for what to test (like vices for example) but he never to my knowledge asks for specific brands and models of anything to be tested.

Who do you think are the majority of viewers… people who will go into Lowes or Home Depot, or people who will go into a welding supply store?

 

[F-22]

Yes I know. I re-read your posts. From earlier ones it's clear you know about steel vises. I think the confusion between you and finn arose when you said:



This sounded like you were referring to ALL the tested vises so I think finn inferred that you were saying all the vises were iron of some sort and none were steel of any kind.

I think you were more trying to say that none were CAST steel, even if some were forged steel.

Yeah, sorry... Cast steel vises are so cool. I wish it were possible to get those old Dawn offset steel vises in Europe, but I doubt any were exported at all.

 

[dnschmidt]

I have several forged steel TOPTUL bench vices which obviously as a distributor I bought cheap. They're very good and for the money I paid for them simply exceptional. Here's the listings: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-613725/Forged-Steel-Bench-Vise.html

I also have one of their cast steel vices which they also make: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-324906/All-Cast-Steel-Bench-Vise.html also very good.

Yea, it still pisses me off that they didn't support me better because TOPTUL makes really good stuff. But the past is the past and I can't change that. My mon had an expression that I've followed my entire life which is: "When the price is right you buy and when you buy you buy big." That's come in handy many times in my life.

 

[finn]

Yes I know. I re-read your posts. From earlier ones it's clear you know about steel vises. I think the confusion between you and finn arose when you said:



This sounded like you were referring to ALL the tested vises so I think finn inferred that you were saying all the vises were iron of some sort and none were steel of any kind.

I think you were more trying to say that none were CAST steel, even if some were forged steel.

Yup! I remembered steel, but got the forged part wrong.

mox nix.

 

[finn]

Who do you think are the majority of viewers… people who will go into Lowes or Home Depot, or people who will go into a welding supply store?

If I can’t get it at Farm and Fleet, it’s obscure. I think we have one welding store in the county.

…… of course there’s no Farm and Fleet either.

A couple of really good breweries, though…

 

[BeansBaxter]

"

He does ask for what to test (like vices for example) but he never to my knowledge asks for specific brands and models of anything to be tested.

There are some videos where he says that users asked for specific brands to be tested, usually as a follow-up to the original video. For example, the penetrating oil series includes brands that viewers requested.

 

[dnschmidt]

Who do you think are the majority of viewers… people who will go into Lowes or Home Depot, or people who will go into a welding supply store?

All three are readily available on Amazon. If he never introduces the masses to superior products how will they ever learn about them?

 

[Benito]

If you're watching a tool testing channel and they won't include certain types or GOOD tools because they can't be found at Home Depot or Amazon, I'm afraid you're not watching a tools testing channel. You're watching one of those influencer feeds they stream on Amazon and Instagram.
I'm not totally grouping PF in with this, because he does sometimes include Snap-On, European brands and other retailers he doesn't turn a buck from. But I will say it's rare and less and less common for him.

Try to find the best ratchet, flarenut wrench, air hammer, diagnostic tools, and a laundry list of other categories just sticking to those couple retailers and you will not end up with the best tool. Just the best they can sell you.

 

[Max]

He does ask. I told him he needs to review multimeters and he responded. You just have to post and he will answer unlike many higher viewed YouTubers

No disrespect meant to the PF guy, but he isn’t going to be able to test multimeters the way an EE does at EEVblog.

Multimeters – EEVblog

www.eevblog.com

 

[slowtwitch73]

The short thin handles are do to them being ****** vises, not some conscious choice to minimize possible damage. All about the bottom line.. less materials, lighter weight for shipping, smaller footprint for boxing etc.

 

[F-22]

The short thin handles are do to them being ****** vises, not some conscious choice to minimize possible damage. All about the bottom line.. less materials, lighter weight for shipping, smaller footprint for boxing etc.

The boxing issue is likely very important here. A proper handle makes the box much larger. They could make a disassembled handle and a nut on one end but that is either ugly if it's a standard nut or expensive if it's special.

 

[General Geoff]

We on this forum live in a different world from most folks who see tools as a means to an end. The overwhelming majority of the population is far more interested in what gives them the most value per dollar, not what's actually the best available.

Heirloom quality anything is a niche market.

PF can't reasonably afford to spend $25,000 on a roundup of the finest machinist bench vises on the market today.

 

[F-22]

We on this forum live in a different world from most folks who see tools as a means to an end. The overwhelming majority of the population is far more interested in what gives them the most value per dollar, not what's actually the best available.

Heirloom quality anything is a niche market.

PF can't reasonably afford to spend $25,000 on a roundup of the finest machinist bench vises on the market today.

I googled it a little bit and it seems Projectfarm likely earns near 30,000$ per month from Youtube. Now, I don't know how accurate those estimates are, but I guess it's not that far off, his channel got really big.

While I know he still can't make a full video of premium vises, he could easily afford a couple higher end ones too, just for the perspective of what a proper one can withstand...

In the end, if they remained whole he could also make a giveaway or whatever. But hey, he earns 30k per month and I don't, so what do I know )

 

[Sumboodie]

We on this forum live in a different world from most folks who see tools as a means to an end. The overwhelming majority of the population is far more interested in what gives them the most value per dollar, not what's actually the best available.

Heirloom quality anything is a niche market.

PF can't reasonably afford to spend $25,000 on a roundup of the finest machinist bench vises on the market today.

"Only the best" is likely a tiny percentage of tool users. More best I can afford to spend.

 

[Sumboodie]

I googled it a little bit and it seems Projectfarm likely earns near 30,000$ per month from Youtube. Now, I don't know how accurate those estimates are, but I guess it's not that far off, his channel got really big.

While I know he still can't make a full video of premium vises, he could easily afford a couple higher end ones too, just for the perspective of what a proper one can withstand...

In the end, if they remained whole he could also make a giveaway or whatever. But hey, he earns 30k per month and I don't, so what do I know )

That's crazy!

The videos aren't that good. I'd have guessed maybe $1k a month.

 

[SlotlessMan]

His target is the Amazon type consumer, not so much GJ type. His numbers prove the masses watch his stuff.

 

[Sumboodie]

His target is the Amazon type consumer, not so much GJ type. His numbers prove the masses watch his stuff.

I mostly fast forward through till the end. Generally don't care about the details, more the final #s.

 

[JeepYJ]

His target is the Amazon type consumer, not so much GJ type. His numbers prove the masses watch his stuff.

You can buy almost any brand from Amazon, excluding the tool truck brands. If you expand your searches to Amazon in other countries you can get even more options for top tier tools from around the world if they offer shipping to the US.

 

[BlackHorseSaga]

this video has some better choices

That was an infinitely better video. The 1750 Wilton held up extremely well.

 

[ItsNemo]

That's crazy!

The videos aren't that good. I'd have guessed maybe $1k a month.

YouTube earnings are typically $1-5 per 1000 views, and that's just off youtube itself...that doesn't include what he might make through merch or affiliate links or anything else. He will likely be at the upper end of that scale, as it's a niche that has higher advertiser interest (as opposed to say gaming videos). Given he gets on average 500,000-1,000,000 views per video, four per month, plus any views of his back catalog of videos which is probably another million or more videos per month, that's easily in the $20-30k range.

 

[BlackHorseSaga]

YouTube earnings are typically $1-5 per 1000 views, and that's just off youtube itself...that doesn't include what he might make through merch or affiliate links or anything else. He will likely be at the upper end of that scale, as it's a niche that has higher advertiser interest (as opposed to say gaming videos). Given he gets on average 500,000-1,000,000 views per video, four per month, plus any views of his back catalog of videos which is probably another million or more videos per month, that's easily in the $20-30k range.

You've overestimated. It's more like $0.80 - $1.20 per 1000 views. Google takes 45% of that revenue from you, leaving you with 55%. Realistically, you're making $0.45 to $0.65 per 1000 views.