[HELP] What kind of vice should I look for?

[Old Minger]

Gents,

I'm looking to buy a general purpose bench vice. This is will be a do it all vice for my shop, any ideas on what to look for. I plan to buy second hand so I can potentially get more for my money.
Thanks in advance.
John

[EdK]

If you can get lucky and find an old Wilton that would be a good candidate. I've been watching Craig's list for quite a while for one.

Ed

[PixMan]

How large of a vise you get should be determined by how strong the support might be. On a rickety bench I wouldn't fasten an 8", and on a really solid bench it would be a waste to limit yourself to a 4" vise.

There are many good names in the US to look for, Wilton is but one. Also look for Prentiss, Columbia, Starrett, Athol Tool to name a few. I have an "Anchor" brand, which I'd never heard of until I bought it. Darren can verify it's a BEAST of a vise but most of them ended up sold to government contracts.

Also consider whether you want a machinist vise or a combination vise. I like having pipe jaws below the main.

One thing to watch out for is the import copies of the Wilton "Bullet" vise. I had one and you couldn't beat on anything very hard without the vise rotating down or around. My dad did his best to improve it, all for naught. I sold it for $40 or $50 and was happy to get it.

[edward.s]

In a 'former colony' :) some old British iron might be around - a nice old (pre-Irwinisation) Record or similar. I picked up a Record 34p cast steel jobby for £40 on e-bay - it looked a wreck but cleaned up nicely and is 1000% better than anything you could buy new at the price. Not sure how much you get of old US vs UK stuff in Vancouver.

I'm not snobby about import vices, they all work to a point, but after busting my old one in a self-made club-hammer related incident I went for the 34p and it is a different beast altogether. Admittedly it probably cost waayyy more new and is a different class of tool but if I were spending £50 I'd go old s/hand.

[Dr Stan]

Had a friend who owned a welding shop give me the China version of this:


After he broke it for the 2nd time he gave up on it.  Repaired it worked well as a welding table vice.

There is a US made original version, but I do not remember the name of the company producing the vice.

I fully agree with Pixman on searching Craigs List.  I found a "used" 6 /12" US made big honking bench vice on CL from the Chicago area using Search Tempest.  Initially the poster did not want to ship it, but I was able to get him to agree to send it via UPS.  I paid some extra for the shipping, but it still totaled about 1/2 the price of a new one.

Another possibility is to check with the local Snap-on distributor to see if he has one that was returned due to lack of payment.

[f350ca]

A 4 inch Wilton is very limiting Ken, thats the only vice I have set up right now. Great vice if you can find one for a good price used but I'd never dream of buying one new.
As Edward said Record is a good name, have an 8 inch that needs some welding to repair where the jaws bolt in.
If its an import stay away from the ones that swivel, not sure I'd want a good one that did. Had one from Princess Auto. You could never tighten it enough that it wouldn't swivel when you really pulled on the part being clamped.

[Roadracer_Al]

I think Colombian was a decent mid-range brand as well.

If you want a swivel vise, check to see that it has teeth in the bottom of the casting which the locking nut mates into. This arrangement WILL NOT swivel unless the pinch bolt is loosened quite a lot.

[f350ca]

I meant the ones where the jaws swivel Al, as in the picture Stan posted. Found them awkward to grab anything long, the jaws would swivel before you could get it tight.

[Old Minger]

Is the general consensus avoid a swivel base? I must admit I think it would be a useful feature providing it locks solid. Also I'm understanding some where between 5 & 6 inches for the jaws is a good all round size providing my bench can take the weight and spend more if I have to as it's worth it in the long run?

Thanks for all the info so far, very valuable and I'm learning a lot.

John

[Mike E.]

If you are looking for a swivel vise, and come across one of these, its the one that all others aspire to.......

www.swindens-vices.co.uk