Recommend me a new bench vise

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JackJ

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Just noticed that my cheap 20 year old Sears bench vise has a crack in the base, and will no longer tighten sufficiently. I'd like to upgrade to something reasonably nice, but cost is definitely a factor.

I'm posting here in the chainsaw forum since about 90% of the use will be holding a saw while I sharpen. But it will be my only serious vise, and thus also used for sharpening mower blades, and misc. metal bending, whacking, grinding and filing. I'm not a machinist or serious mechanic, but I don't want something crappy that's only suited to light duty work. Thus I'll probably stay away from Harbor Freight type stuff. But nothing boutique, either, and don't want to take the time to track down craigslist or other used options.

At the very upper end of my budget, the Yost 750 DI has caught my eye with the apparently high quality ductile iron and being able to rotate the pipe clamp to the top. The fact that it's relatively tall seems like a plus for sharpening saw chain, too.

I gotta stay under $200, max., and it'd be great to spend a lot less and still get something that will hold up. Any suggestions?
 
I like a vise to pivot. Nothing else. Too many adjustments only leads to not being able to keep those adjustments tight enough for when things get really forceful.

A vise is one tool where you cannot have a big enough or nice enough one. Anyone will find a way to make a vise slip pry on it hard. Pound on it hard. Should you do theses things.......well they will happen regardless.

Myself, I would peruse the list and even eBay. Vise shipping can get real expensive but to me it is worth it for the right deal. If you can find an older Wilton bullet vise that would be best. You can usually find them for around 150-200. With shipping that would put you right at the price of the Yost. In general though, older anything made by Wilton, Yost, Columbian, Record, Athol, Chas. Parker, Morgan, Prentiss, Reed and a few others but those are the high notes.

Vintage examples with plenty of rust and plenty of life will got about 1-2 dollars a pound and should weigh between 60 and 90 lbs in my opinion. I don't F around with vises. The biggest and baddest only costs marginally more on the used market.

If ya gotta get a new one, new Wilton bullet vises are 500-over 1000, get one that swivels only. New Vises under 300 dollars have not fared well under my use doing metal fabrication. In the end, I have never bought a new one over 300. I just went vintage for nearly half price. Newer ones in the lower price points have cheap casting that break when you over tighten. (Yeah over tighten. Your not supposed to do it but tell that to yourself when you need to get a job done)

If your vise is going to be holding chainsaws all the time a smaller one may do. Even a custom job made out of wood and an acme screw could do that better than a bench vise. Finding a smaller used one on CL may be the way to go. There are many Craftsman and Home Depot vises out there that can be had for 20-30 dollars.
 
JackJ said:
Just noticed that my cheap 20 year old Sears bench vise has a crack in the base, and will no longer tighten sufficiently. I'd like to upgrade to something reasonably nice, but cost is definitely a factor.

I'm posting here in the chainsaw forum since about 90% of the use will be holding a saw while I sharpen. But it will be my only serious vise, and thus also used for sharpening mower blades, and misc. metal bending, whacking, grinding and filing. I'm not a machinist or serious mechanic, but I don't want something crappy that's only suited to light duty work. Thus I'll probably stay away from Harbor Freight type stuff. But nothing boutique, either, and don't want to take the time to track down craigslist or other used options.

At the very upper end of my budget, the Yost 750 DI has caught my eye with the apparently high quality ductile iron and being able to rotate the pipe clamp to the top. The fact that it's relatively tall seems like a plus for sharpening saw chain, too.

I gotta stay under $200, max., and it'd be great to spend a lot less and still get something that will hold up. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
A good welder can fix that vice even if it is cast I believe .
 
Garage sales and Craigslist. The bigger and older the better.
My cousin picked up a 300lb anvil for $50 that turned out to be valued over a grand.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Something to consider, age seems to be more relevant than country of origin when looking at used vises. Obvisiouly a forged steel would be better than a cast one but some of the older cast ones are pretty decent wee little vises.

My main bench vises is Babco, Oakland Ca made in China vise. I have had it for years and it was well used when I purchased it. Buying a used well seasoned vise typically gets you past the out of the box failures and the hidden flaws.

Look them over very carefully, run them in and out and flip the, around. Pay attention to the alignment as it travels and how much snug room there is when the jaws meet, hopefully squarely.
 
Wilton vise is what you want. As others have stated garage sales and Craigslist is a great start, many folks know the quality and there is a cult following for these... for good reason.

I went through SEVERAL craftsman vises before I poneyed up to a Wilton, and glad I did.

Jason


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have a good-sized (6") Craftsman vise on my work bench. I've had it now for well over 10 yrs. I think it cost me about $60.00 or so new.

s-l225.jpg


I know that there are a lot of better quality vices on the market. But, they're also a lot more expensive. Myself, I just can't justify a couple of hundred dollars for a vice. Mine gets used, just not on a daily basis.

I remember the vices we had in metal shop in high school. They were huge monsters and were beat all to Hell. But, they still worked just fine. I can't recall the brand, but I do know they were made in USA. Most likely Wilton.
 
Was looking for a second bench vise for a garage workbench. New ones at Sears, Menards, etc. looked like junk. Started looking at garage sales; eventually bought one; then another; . . . recently I found that I had accumulated about 8 !!! I suppose that it is like girlfriends - if you have one, they are all over the place; when you need one . . . .

I second the idea of looking for a good used one; machinery auctions are a good source for HD ones. However, if you are willing to spend $200, there may be some good, new options out there.

A few, related threads:

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/show-your-bench-vice.252427/

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/looking-for-a-bench-vise.250104/

Philbert
 
I would definitely buy on older vise, but that's me. You can get a lot more bang for your buck. FYI - I would trade any of the vises below for/towards vintage Stihl saws.

Here are a few Wilton bullets that I picked up on Craigslist the last time I was back in the states. The larger one is 4.5" jaws. The smaller is 3.5".



This is what they looked like when I got them. Think I paid around $200 for both.


Here's a Morgan 6" that I picked up in Italy. Made in Chicago. It's a beast at 143 lbs. This is what it looked like when I picked it up - someone did a rattle can resto. Disassembled, blasted, new jaws, repainted factory light blue.


This is what I have mounted on my workbench - a 6" Record. Nice vise, but not a monster of a 6".
 
earlthegoat2 said:
I like a vise to pivot. Nothing else. Too many adjustments only leads to not being able to keep those adjustments tight enough for when things get really forceful.

A vise is one tool where you cannot have a big enough or nice enough one. Anyone will find a way to make a vise slip pry on it hard. Pound on it hard. Should you do theses things.......well they will happen regardless.

Myself, I would peruse the list and even eBay. Vise shipping can get real expensive but to me it is worth it for the right deal. If you can find an older Wilton bullet vise that would be best. You can usually find them for around 150-200. With shipping that would put you right at the price of the Yost. In general though, older anything made by Wilton, Yost, Columbian, Record, Athol, Chas. Parker, Morgan, Prentiss, Reed and a few others but those are the high notes.

Vintage examples with plenty of rust and plenty of life will got about 1-2 dollars a pound and should weigh between 60 and 90 lbs in my opinion. I don't F around with vises. The biggest and baddest only costs marginally more on the used market.

If ya gotta get a new one, new Wilton bullet vises are 500-over 1000, get one that swivels only. New Vises under 300 dollars have not fared well under my use doing metal fabrication. In the end, I have never bought a new one over 300. I just went vintage for nearly half price. Newer ones in the lower price points have cheap casting that break when you over tighten. (Yeah over tighten. Your not supposed to do it but tell that to yourself when you need to get a job done)

If your vise is going to be holding chainsaws all the time a smaller one may do. Even a custom job made out of wood and an acme screw could do that better than a bench vise. Finding a smaller used one on CL may be the way to go. There are many Craftsman and Home Depot vises out there that can be had for 20-30 dollars.
Click to expand...

^^^THIS!!!
 
I also have a 60's or 70's 8" craftsman that is a very good vice and the main one I use. My grandpa bought everything from sears so I'm lucky to have a lot of vintage craftsman tools and there of very high quality,much better than what's built today.
 
Reading some of the responses made me think - not every vise is used for blacksmithing service.

I primarily use a common 4" machinist's vice and a 7" woodworking vice. I have a few smaller, specialty vises and clamps But if I had the space (and $), I would like a variety (just like chainsaws!).

Notably, I would like a large pattern maker's vise for its flexibility; maybe a few ball joint vises for positioning; a wider capacity woodworking vise for big stuff; and yes, a blacksmith quality vise for beating on things.

For just sharpening a chainsaw, I am happy with other types of clamps:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/tree-machine-filing-clamps.240030/

Philbert
 

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