Stupid VISE Question

[Phil S.]

I see a lot of posts on here relating to various vises like a Wilton or other Big Name vise Manufactories that you guys hold in high regard. Can someone explain to me what is the big deal is about a vise. I bought my vise 10 or 15 years ago from HF has CHINA written on the side of it and I haven't had a problem with it.

 

[mjozefow]

They are an essential tool in the shop. I broke several cheap China vises before I knew about the good ones. Once I got a good one I was hooked.

If you like your HF one then that is great, but there really is no comparison in quality to say a Reed or a Parker.

 

[Catamount]

I've had a HF breaker bar in my tool chest for 10 or 15 years. I'm sure it "works" but for some reason I always reach for the better, quality breaker bar.

I can't tell you how much more I enjoy wrenching with a quality well-built wrench rather than a Chinese wrench.

This same feeling applies to vises.

 

[yiranhu]

I see a lot of posts on here relating to various vises like a Wilton or other Big Name vise Manufactories that you guys hold in high regard. Can someone explain to me what is the big deal is about a vise. I bought my vise 10 or 15 years ago from HF has CHINA written on the side of it and I haven't had a problem with it.

I'm a "fan" of HF because I don't have lots of money to spend on tools and I'm not a professional and a lot of their stuff is serviceable (some are quite good). I recently bought a HF vise cuz I needed it to do something simple. I looked at the internal construction of that vise and it really is a *************. The way that the "nut" (that the lead screw is threaded into) is attached to the body is very flemsy. Don't get me wrong, if you use it to hold something tight so that you can drill or weld or something, it will be fine. But if you tried to press something in, then I can see it breaking very easily. My university's student workshop has some bigger better constructed vise... those feel much more solid and I'm never scared to crank them down to press something.

 

[spongerich]

One flaw I've noticed in the cheap imports is their inability to hold something securely when you only want to apply light pressure. I had a fairly decent import that I bought 20 years ago... when you cranked it down hard, it was great, but if you just wanted to apply a little pressure (to avoid marring something fragile) there was too much play in the jaws and it wouldn't hold securely.

If I put the same thing in my Reed or Wilton, I can screw it down until the jaws just barely touch the piece and since there's no play in the dynamic jaw, everything is held securely but gently.

Since a good used Reed, Prentiss, or Parker can be had for the same cost as a new HF or other import, I just don't see any reason not to own one (or two, or five...)

The Wiltons are very nice too, but you need to get lucky to find one at a decent price.

 

[Skin]

my brother was trying to pry a bearing off a shaft and had it in his HF vise with a pry bar on it, eventually it gave. The vise that is, snapped clean in two. Was the last HF vise he purchased, didnt even bother exchanging it under warranty. Some stuff at HF works, some stuff doesnt, since what happened to his a HF vise its just one of those tools i wouldnt depend on under real strain.

We use a 5" Fuller at work, its taken a hell of a beating and never complained. Given how cheap and reliable old vises can be had thats where i'd shop if i were budget concious.

 

[mjozefow]

Here is a quick example:

My Reed 108 Non-swivel 8" vise weighs 255lbs.

The 8" SWIVEL from HF or wherever weighs less than 100lbs IIRC.

 

[T1320T]

Although I do have a small percentage of cheapo China ****, I'd recommend going w a stout vise... consider it a lifetime investment. As mentioned above, the holding power of the cheapo tools is different, think about this.. if you're doing something little like sharpening mower blades, do you really want to worry about the blade flying out of the vise & takin your head off??
The only vise I've had a problem w was an Olympia brand, it was at least 20 yrs old. I locked down on an axle, put a 5' long helper pipe on the handle & snapped the cast iron jaw.. imagine that.

 

[welderwink]

I get buying a 1/2 china wrench. How often are you putting a super heavy load on it? But a vise is something you expect to use with bigger stuff. You use a vise when you cant physically hold something yourself and work on it. Which generally would be bigger items. So would you really want to trust a china vise? I wouldn't and I am not even one of those HF haters.

 

[blaze_125]

I took a car part to a buddy of mine one day. I think it was the steering knuckle or something... anyway... we had to hammer something out of it. My buddy set it up in his big @ss old vise and pound the thing with a BFH. I mean... he pounded on it as hard as he could. The part never moved. Not even a little and we were able to get the job done.

A few weeks ago I tried to do something similar in a cheapo vise I had on the workbench. After 2 or 3 strokes on the part, it got loose and landed right on my toes. Thank god for steeltoe boots.

That's one of the many reasons why you need a dependable vise.

 

[Packard V8]

If you've driven a Porsche and still think a Hyundai is good enough for you, then OK.

Same with vises. The China stuff has gotten less bad, just as Hyundai is a much better car today than a few years back. A Harbor Freight vise will do what most buyers need done.

Looking forward fifty years, those who appreciate quality will still be restoring Porsche, Athol, Parker, Reed, but I doubt anyone anywhere will ever restore a Hyundai or a Harbor Freight vise.

jack vines

 

[leftyz]

Here's a good reason not to buy Chinese vises: (many newer Wiltons are made in China)

 

[blaze_125]

^ They say a picture is worth a thousand words ^

 

[Steve V.]

To give you another example…Harbor Freight has a 6” “Industrial Quality” swivel base vise for $64.99 (on sale). Their vise is 8 13/16” x 18 3/16” and the shipping weight is 63 7/8 lbs according to their website. My Paramo 6” swivel base vise that I bought the other day for $60.00 is 12 ½” x 20” and weighs 105 lbs. Also, as mentioned by a previous poster the quality of the vise in terms of fit and finish and the ability to hold light pressure as well has heavy pressure is a night and day difference.

Harbor freight vise

Steve

 

[spongerich]

Here's a good reason not to buy Chinese vises: (many newer Wiltons are made in China)

*pic of busted Wilton*

A piece of duct tape will fix that up as good as new.

 

[jerryW]

I was thinking some JB weld!


jerry

 

[mjozefow]

A piece of duct tape will fix that up BETTER THAN new.

Fixed it!

 

[Packard V8]

I was thinking some JB weld!

Don't laugh - I was at a large flea market and saw a vise with suspiciously new shiny paint for the beat-up, worn condition. I had my buddy hold it down on the table while I tightened the jaws together. The rear jaw broke off, much like the photo above. The seller had used JB Weld to stick it back together, then spray painted it to hide the repair. Naturally, he denied everything, "It was just like that when I bought it."

jack vines

 

[Walterchang]

I just bought a hf drill press vise. The thing is not flat it rocks on the drill press table. It is junk, lots of slop in the jaw. I'm going to take it back next time I go by hf.

 

[06wt]

this is what cheap vises do

they break

 

[cheap bastard]

A long time ago, on a poor 20 year old's budget, I bought a Taiwanese Buffalo branded vice, 6 inch jaws, 6 inch throat. I bolted it to my 300 lb steel work bench that always has I beam sections, anvils and what not under it. Maybe a thousand pounds over all I suppose. Fast forward 20 years, I was using a 24" 3/4 drive breaker bar with an inch and a half socket to remove a very stubborn nut from a part that was not going to be saved. The nut was needed though. With a three foot pipe over the breaker bar I was leaning real hard. After a few pulls, including my feet on the shelf brace pressing like I was trying to lift my X-wife's sister, the vise snapped and looked just like leftyz picture.
I finally got the nut off, but I drilled holes in the bench top and bolted the part down.

 

[bubinga2]

Regarding the broken 4 1/2 Wilton: Any time the screw is above the beam then its a sign lessor quality. Similar to Sears good, better and best..... all from the same company. Not that its a bad vise, just not made for the strongest clamping power.

Regarding the broken Columbian: It's hard for me to tell but the photo looks like part of the break line in rusted and part of it is a fresh break. Perhaps it was cracked previously and finally gave way. Anyway I don't see many Columbian's broken.

 

[t100]

when I don't have school, I'm a part time apprentice at a race car shop, about 3000 sqft, 7 people work there. there are 15 vises in the shop, more vises than work benches.

 

[marty_p]

 

[sparky7]

I have wilton vises and a chinese one, they both work fine for me but the wilton vise was far cheaper used than the new chinese on. With any vise use it appropriately, if you are cranking down on somethin to the point you are going to break the vise you need to re evaluate what you are doing 'most of the time'

 

[1982fxr]

Regarding the broken 4 1/2 Wilton: Any time the screw is above the beam then its a sign lessor quality. Similar to Sears good, better and best..... all from the same company. Not that its a bad vise, just not made for the strongest clamping power.

Regarding the broken Columbian: It's hard for me to tell but the photo looks like part of the break line in rusted and part of it is a fresh break. Perhaps it was cracked previously and finally gave way. Anyway I don't see many Columbian's broken.

I had a Columbian like that. 2nd worst made of the imported multi-purpose vises i have seen after harbor freight's...harbor freight has by far the worst quality vises I have seen.

 

[airdale]

4 yr old thread.