shop vise advise

That Woden is a beaute. And for a steel! I paid over $140 in 1980 for my Record...

How wide are the jaws?
 
3 1/2" across the jaws. This one was a steal, and it looked like it had very little use. It's nicely machined, so
there's very little slop anywhere.
 
This may sound a bit strange, but I was able to find a Masterforce 6" vise at Menards that works as good as any I've had and at a price I couldn't believe.

https://www.menards.com/main/tools-...75-c-9135.htm?tid=-6989421187051196392&ipos=2

I was working on a job one weekend about 10 years ago when the cheapie bench vise failed. As would be expected all the tool houses were closed and I needed to get the job done. I searched around for something to use on a temporary basis and came across the one above at Menards. I assumed it was going to be junk, but needed it in a hurry so I went for it.

Maybe I just got lucky, but it's lasted over 10 years with regular hard use.
 
You never know, do you. My other vise is an Asian import that I found bolted to a workbench in the basement
of my first house. I suspect it's Taiwanese, but really don't know. What I do know is that it's worked fine for me
for the last 25 years. Would I like an old American vise? Sure, but I haven't bought one because I really don't need
to replace the one I have. 'Course, I'm still looking for a cheap Wilton at a garage sale...
 
Kbeitz -
This vise I saw in your post is fascinating. It looks for ll the world like it might be some kind of horizontal drill press! Have I guessed right?
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What you have there is a triple geared vise. The handle moves to all 3 shafts, giving progressive mechanical advantage... Very nice find ;)
 
OK. That makes sense. I didn't notice that all 3 shafts had cross pins. How does the bottom shaft connect to the leadscrew (handwheel on the far side)? Are there more gears hidden inside the housing?
 
Allan said:
Speaking of vices... a friend of mine had a great idea. He mounted a receiver hitch tube under his work bench and mounted the vice on a tube that slips into the hitch tube. The fixed tube has a nut welded on the bottom of the tube and a largish "wing nut" to tighten it down. He can rotate the vice in 4 different positions and slide it in handout a bit. It is great for welding- especially with the swivel base. He also has a bench grinder that he can slip in so his bench top is not cluttered with tools.

On the opposite wall he fabbed up a folding bracket for a vice which keeps usable floor space high. Not a very heavy duty rig to be sure but for some lighter work- hacksawing or drilling or grinding it works a treat.
Click to expand...
Can you get photos?
 
Could anyone positively identify the make of this vise? My guess is its a Record.
Thx.

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Hi Tozguy,

Yes its a UK made Record vise.
Woden was another that came from the same design.
There were a couple more, but I can't remember the names at the moment.
 
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