Recommend me a new bench vise

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That's what got me looking at them last night, but then I was looking at the one in this link and Yost answered a buyer question about where it was made, and said that it is made in Taiwan, which probably explains the lower cost:

http://amzn.to/2iywOO4

Maybe their home line is made overseas and their more professional line is US-made? Additionally it's cast, instead of forged.

That's too bad. I would much prefer made in the USA. Having said that, in my experience, the made in Taiwan tools are much superior to those made in China. Carlyle, for example, sources their ratchets from Taiwan -- excellent quality and very good price, too. I have a few.
 
New Wilton jaws ordered.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WILTON-1112...444441?hash=item3396fc3a19:g:oqYAAOSw8gVX-QVW
Z3K-xufo5oy.JPG


New magnetic padded jaws ordered.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057PUEZO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2OK1WAI6L8BI1
316iXXgUobL.jpg
 
Amazon should give me a commission!

I also have a similar model (in red) sold under the Craftsman name, and the aluminum ones shown in my earlier post.

It is easy to make custom versions of shaped plastic, wood, aluminum, brass, etc, using rare earth magnets or magnetic strips. They can also be held in place with duct tape or bungee cords for temporary / easy-to-change use.

Philbert
 
Amazon should give me a commission!

I also have a similar model (in red) sold under the Craftsman name, and the aluminum ones shown in my earlier post.

It is easy to make custom versions of shaped plastic, wood, aluminum, brass, etc, using rare earth magnets or magnetic strips. They can also be held in place with duct tape or bungee cords for temporary / easy-to-change use.

Philbert
There you go showing off your engineering skills, who else wood of thought of bungy cord use for fast change (-;
 
I'd really like to have an even larger vise. Opening capacity is also very important to me. Check out this Rigid 66997. 6" jaws, 8" opening, forged steel, German made, lifetime warranty… What's not to like. No, it's not cheap by any means, but when compared to a Wilton, it seems to me that the value is there.

https://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-66997-F-60-6-inch-Forged/dp/B001T9J68I

66987.jpg
Did anyone else notice that this Ridgid vise does not have replaceable jaws? That seems mighty strange.
 
I've looked and it receives nothing but great reviews. It's forged from steel that is stronger than even a Wilton Machinist, so doesn't have to be as big and bulky. The jaws aren't replaceable, but are hardened. Besides, the vise has a lifetime warranty. I like it.
 
Here's a compilation of the vises I'm interested in. The new Wiltons are only for reference.

The question is...Buy new or restore an old Wilton bullet?

You probably already know what I'm going to say, but I would restore an old Wilton bullet. Beautiful vise, made in America, high quality, will last the rest of your life, but will hold their value well should you ever decide to sell it.

Bottom line -- a new vise of good quality will serve you well, but it won't have the class, history, and soul that an old Wilton will...
 
You probably already know what I'm going to say, but I would restore an old Wilton bullet. Beautiful vise, made in America, high quality, will last the rest of your life, but will hold their value well should you ever decide to sell it.

Bottom line -- a new vise of good quality will serve you well, but it won't have the class, history, and soul that an old Wilton will...
And you probably already knew that's what I would most like :)
 
A couple things to think about...

Replaceable jaws are great if the surface texture of the jaws is important to the user. The draw back being the inherent weakness in the structure. Generally speaking if the vise has replaceable jaw faces I would pretty much considered it a vise for light work, small hammers, low pressure and little to no heat. Many times the replaceable jaws have enough texture and are hard enough they will easily damage the surface of the work piece. Obviously a set of smooth jaws is an option as is specific type metal jaws for specific types of metal work, plastics as well. Non ferrous jaws for non ferrous work.

A forged one piece vise is a clamping beast made for beating. Bigger hammers and longer pulls. Leathers, coppers and such are laid over(over lays, covers, hide'rs, etc.)the faces when needed if a different vice is not available. If this is not what you are doing with the vise then perhaps look into one that has replaceable "faces". Refacing a "non replaceable face" vise happens just differently. Generally looking for the face to be barely textured if not smooth, prefer smooth.

Ductile iron is a third hand to hold something being filed, lightly threaded, lightly hammered, etc., nothing wrong with that at all. Does not matter who made it or where it was made treat it like forged steel and it will fail. Using cast iron means being careful with heat work and certain chemicals compared to steel. Using tappers instead of wackers.

A forged steel vise will ding, yield a corner, cave a flat during normal use. The are surprisingly "soft" however they are much harder to crack and chipping is rare compared to cast iron. The forge steel is considerably more malleable and ductile than the cast iron for typical vise work, it will yield compared to crack. Overtime, lifetime for most folks, the forged steel work surfaces will work harden and then surface cracks will appear and chunk or chips will zip off will zest. Same applies to anvils. It is really easy to put a big old dent in a forge steel vise, about as easy as it is to crack a cast iron. Dents can be repaired, cracks not so much.

Another difference, every time a vise is loaded it is stressed. You can stress a piece of cast iron a thousand times and the 1001 time it yields, cracks in half. You do not get to see it but it has been building up to that moment from run in. Forged steel going to take way more loads and you might get to see the progression as it will deform as it yields overtime. Supposedly this this characteristic of cast iron is an advantage for a presion bench vise, at least in terms of marketing, it will hold the presion longer or some such thing.

Quick count of "bench" vises shows I own 3 cast, 1 forged and 2 unknowns(supposedly forged). They all work fine, just have to keep track of which one is which. All of the vises shown in this thread look like very nice small bench vises, I would be pleased to own any of them and would find it difficult to pick just one. Build a bigger shop would be my advise.
 
The Wilton Tradesman Bullit vises IMHO are the best. You will never wear one out.
They are nice a tight and true. I've been using them for 40 some years. They are
always on ebay for about half the cost of list price.
 
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