shop vise advise

Calixt0

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hello all, I blew out my 4" harbor freight vise last night.. looking at getting something else want something quality but not super expensive. I've looked at the wiltons and their usa made stuff is just too much.. the shop vises and mechanics are ok but still pretty expensive..

Any and all advice would be appreciated!

Shaun
 
In my area (Minneapolis) there are almost always good older (the older the better in many cases) U.S. made bench vises for sale on Craig's List, including Wilton, Reed, Parker, Craftsman, etc. There's no need to buy a new vise. Except for Wilton, which tend to be overpriced, they're always under $100 and frequently under $50.

Bill
 
... looking at getting something else want something quality but not super expensive.

So would we all! As Bill said, if you want quality then you are not going to find a new one that is comparable to vises of the past. Yost is currently made in Taiwan, Record is now Irwin and they are made in China. Only Wilton makes some of their vises in this country nowadays. If you want a high quality vise, you are looking for vises from days past and they will all be used vises. They will also be relatively expensive unless the seller doesn't know what he has and is selling it on Craigslist or ebay.

There are some vise designs that have stood the test of time (not to mention incredible abuse) and the strongest of these are referred to as a T-type. The jaws looked like a "T" with a very wide and stout vertical leg. You will find this design on Parker and Reed vises, although I'm sure others used it, too. These vises were made of cast ductile iron and are tough as hell. Accordingly, they are heavy for their size. My 4" Parker weighs about 75#.

I'm with Bill. You best chance at a good vise at a decent price is to look for a used vise in good shape locally. Makers with good reputations are Parker, Reed, Prentiss, Athol, Yost and Columbian. Wiltons are also good but they are more costly for some reason.

At a time when the best vises made were from the USA, Parker was considered the best of the lot. If you can find one in good shape, grab it. Prices vary widely. Mine, shown below, cost me $50.00. Most will go for somewhere in the mid to high $200.00 range.

CRW_4315.jpg
 
Search Craigslist!!...they always seem to pop up in groups or nothing at all so keep looking...they'll show up!
 
Let me tell you all a story on a YOST vise I almost had:
A couple of years ago I saw an ad on our local classified (Kijiji) of an older model/rusty YOST vise with a couple of attachments for $25, that ad was on for 3-4 days and all this time I was debating with myself whether I let the owner know what a gem of a vise he had and he was not asking nearly enough for it, anyhow I finally emailed him and told him the story and gave him my opinion on how much he should be asking, ( at least $150-$200) he emailed me back and said it was his grandfather's he didn't realize it was an expensive vise, he thanked me and said:"I think I'll keep it".:cry:
PS, I already had a couple of good Record vises so I wasn't devastated for missing the chance but how often an opportunity like that comes up to buy an old Yost?, not often in my neck of the wood.
 
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Shaun,

There are a lot of good used American made vises on eBay. I have a 5" Columbian that is a great vise. I've had several other vises including Wilton and Craftsman, and the Columbian is by far the best of those I've owned.

Ted
 
I find that the Record is a real good vise; especially if you can get one that was still made in England.
 
Great thread! I'm looking for a bench vise as well. Previous vises I've owned(cheapo imports) have had sloppy swivels, so I'm leaning away from that capability, but rotation and the ability to clamp round stock seems attractive. A swivel with two locks could be ok, too.

The good vintage brands seem to list for $200-$500 in the Bay Area CL, which seems high, but shipping a 90 lb hunk of iron isn't cheap, either.
 
Quite often, these old vises will have a heavy layer of rust all over them. They look unsalvageable but they can be brought back to life with an electrolytic bath. The important thing is that there is no structural damage to any part of the vise and the jaws must close precisely. This is my Parker as found:

IMG_3892.JPG
IMG_3891.JPG

I like rusty vises - they're cheaper to buy and they clean up nice!
 
hello all, I blew out my 4" harbor freight vise last night.. looking at getting something else want something quality but not super expensive. I've looked at the wiltons and their usa made stuff is just too much.. the shop vises and mechanics are ok but still pretty expensive..

Any and all advice would be appreciated!

Shaun
I have two wiltons they are very good vices
I bought one brand new for $560.
I bout the other one used $200.
They both a $600. Plus vices now
 
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