Picked up a new vise today

[Robert Coats]

I have plenty of vices, and I've owned and abused vises over the years. After stupidly using a cheater bar, my old blue Harbor Freight vise cracked in half (duh) and I've been putting off replacing it for months. Today was the day, and a 52 lb. Wilton beastie was soon bolted up to my workbench. I have little doubt I'll outgrow or out-abuse this one; I fully expect it to easily outlive me by decades. Wow, what an absolute unit it is:



For shade-tree wrenching and home projects, I prefer the 'multi-purpose' design with the head & base that both rotate 360°. The flat jaws line up flush and the pipe jaws are plenty big. Compared to the old 5" opening of my old vise, the > 6" jaw opening and 6-1/2" jaw width means I can lock down a much larger workpiece (brake caliper or multiple lengths of lumber). A nice touch is the mounting base is tapered slightly on the side closer to the edge of the workbench, allowing the jaws to be positioned closer and with less potential interference.

I'll get some magnet-mount soft jaws. I also want to replace the lock-down hardware with some beefy socket-head bolts, and use a large, long T-type hex wrench to loosen/tighten 'em. I did this on my old vise, and it is a lot easier/faster than dinking around with the small horizontal bars and having to reposition them after each 1/2 turn.

[masraum]

Sexy beast! Does the front rotate? It looks like it might.

[Steve Carlton]

So, your advise would be to get a Wilton?

[Robert Coats]

Originally Posted by masraum

Sexy beast! Does the front rotate? It looks like it might.

Yes, the jaw assembly fully rotates 360°; my old vise had this feature, and it is very handy to be able to position the jaws any any position. I would often place a workpiece on the bench, then rotate the jaws 90° and clamp it from the side.

You can spin the jaw assembly 180° and position the pipe jaws on top. I have also turned the flat jaws 90° and held a long 2 x 4 in a vertical position:



Very flexible, unlike a 'regular' vise with fixed axis jaws.

[Robert Coats]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

So, your advise would be to get a Wilton?

I see what you did there. But yes, while this one was 2.5x the cost of another Harbor Freight model, I'm confident a Wilton will last 10x longer.

[Bill Douglas]

Ver y nice. Too nice to use LOL

[masraum]

I'm still hoping to stumble across an emmert pattern makers vise for $50.

[fanaudical]

I've got an earlier model of that one (been on my work bench for years). It works great!

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm still hoping to stumble across an emmert pattern makers vise for $50.

Eventually, Baz will find one on the roadside curb for free!

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

I also want to replace the lock-down hardware with some beefy socket-head bolts, and use a large, long T-type hex wrench to loosen/tighten 'em. I did this on my old vise, and it is a lot easier/faster than dinking around with the small horizontal bars and having to reposition them after each 1/2 turn.

This is a great idea. I wonder what took me so long to think of it! I'm going to do something like it; at the very least replace the levers with some nuts and keep a 12pt wrench handy.

[URY914]

[Zeke]

I've got the import version of that vise and I have beat it hard and it's still there. Cheater tubes on the handle, you name it. Paid 10 bucks at a sale. I use it way more than my Columbian. I sold an Athol just because there was some money there and IDC about brand name vises.

I don't know what that cost, Robert, and I'm not gonna ask. I know I don't have enough money.

[Robert Coats]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I don't know what that cost

Tree-fiddy. Really: Wilton 6-1/2" Multi-Purpose Bench Vise

I've had it on my Amazon 'wish list' for six months now, and they offered to break it up in four interest-free monthly installments. So instead of 'pay once, cry once,' I get to pay four times, and get reminded of it for the next 90 days.

[911 Rod]

That is a beautiful vice and will hold most of it's value for years.
I've looked at used vintage Wilton vices and the prices are off the charts.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

That is a beautiful vice and will hold most of it's value for years.
I've looked at used vintage Wilton vices and the prices are off the charts.

Those are usually the "Bullet" Wiltons....very highly prized. I took my Dad's old workbench, including the vise, to my home. Didn't really know what I had until Tony Standen visited. He asked that I leave it to him in my will. Recently, reading in Garage Journal, I learned about the warranty expiration date being placed in the bottom of the slide, so I looked. No date on mine...I figure dad must have picked it up as WWII surplus. So, at least 3/4 Century old...still functions beautifully.

Here's a link to Wilton for those who'd like to see the entire line-up..

https://wiltontools.com/vises/

[A930Rocket]

^^^ My vice.

[pwd72s]

^Warranty 5 years, so yours was made in'57...Just like the '57 Speedster, you have a classic!

(edit) For the vise shoppers here...a ton of vise reviews on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Wilton+Vise+review