Wilton Import Vise - Personal Experiences/Like-Dislike?

[HanShotFirst]

So a couple of years ago I got this second hand for $50.00 and I really couldn't pass it up. At the time I bought this, had a very nice English Record 4" vise that I had been using for over 15 years, and I was very happy with it.

The Wilton Import turned out to be their model 69999 which has a 360 degree rotating head, and 90 degree swivel. Here it is with lead soft jaws in place.

Initially I just put it on the shelf. Now I'm a gunsmith, so my needs aren't anything that would ever be abusive to a vise, but I still need a vise I can count on. One slip up could cost me hundreds of dollars or more.

Another gunsmith I know said he had an import vise of unknown manufacture but it was basically the same as the Wilton I picked up. He had an old beautiful old Athol 5" that I drooled over a few times. Well he started using the 360 rotating import and hasn't gone back; he really liked that rotating head feature. So I thought I might as well take it for a test ride.

So i got my first real look at during mounting and I was happy with what I saw; It looked to be cosmetically pretty well made. I immediately cast some lead soft jaws, and have since made some delrin jaws.

Well, my Record has seen almost no used since I mounted the imported Wilton. I'm VERY happy with this vise. I try to buy American when I can, but there are times I just can't afford it. I don't see me replacing this vise, even though when I do buy import I often upgrade to American made, but to do so in this case just doesn't make sense.

So FOR ME, this vise has been just plain ideal. Again, I'm not abusive to vises at all, so I'm not sure someone who's primary use is mechanics would be as happy.

But here I am a VERY pro-Buy-American person giving two thumbs up to an import vise.

Just wondering if anyone else has experience with this or other imported vises good or bad?

 

[wagon]

That looks just like one of the Irwin Record 360deg vises. In any case, on that vise, one of the well drillers I know has one in his welding shop, where his workers use it. It has had the absolute **** beat out of it. As you'd expect, the dynamic jaw had a ton of play in it. They still use it.

It'll be impossible to destroy that when using it for gunsmithing.

I have a chinese vise that I picked up from a junk yard and cleaned up so it could be used. It works fine. I buy American as much as I can, and I'd love a Wilton 1755, but I can't justify it if my Chinese vise works.

I will say that tensile strength of Chinese vises tends to be stupid low compared to those from other places. Even if it does break, the price was right.

 

[T45]

Some times in life the correct tool is better than the incorrect tool.
...

 

[WittHay]

I was looking for a fixed base lower height vise for holding machinery parts. About the exact opposite as the Op's. I chose a new Record 6" mechanics vise.

There are limits on buying US made for shop equipment like jacks, stands and vises. There are only a few US manufacturers left and the price spread between import and US made is ridiculous.