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Shop Vise

Scrapss

New member
Joined
May 23, 2020
Member Number
1291
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What shop vise is worth a shit anymore?
Seems the usual suspects crack with minimal tension.
What are you using that can be bought today (not some vintage shit that’s NLA) and how is it working for you?
 
US made Wiltons are bad ass but they're big $$$.

If I break the one china vise I have I'd replace it with one from Fireball Tool if I had to buy new. I'd prefer a smaller equally ancient Rock Island to match my main big vise though.

 
Fireball vise is my vote. You’d just need to buy the steel and build it yourself. By far the best vise I have ever had.

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Fireball does some cool shit but the guy is a bit of a tool lol


I've had decent luck with Yost, better than Wilton for the price.
 
Find an old school Wilton bullet.


I know, I know...

Buy what you need now and stay on the lookout for one.:beer:
 
I'd buy something old off the used market. Cleanup is easy if you find a cheap rusty one that's a good brand

edit: nevermind, looks like you want to spend more $$ on likely inferior new shit

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I had a 6" irwin split in half trying to get it tight enough on a 14 bolt carrier to torque the ring gear bolts. Garbage.

Used vises are the ticket, but hard to find for reasonable money. I have a 6" parker that weighs 175# that kicks ass.
 
I'd watch CL and FB, I've probably bought 10 so far, every bench in my shop ha an old school vise on it.
My go to vise is one on a stand made from heavy wall tubing and a truck brake drum, I do a lot of cutting on it vs a work bench that way I clean help keep the grime off the bench.
 
Old school Wilton bullet or get an old one that has a handle big enough to whack you in the balls when mounted to your bench. One thing to look for with an old vise is if the jaws match up flat. Make sure you look for vise AND vice. Tons of people spell it incorrectly. I have a Reed 4c that’s heavy as fuck, has a handle that’s probably 18” long and is heavy as fuck. It could hold a transfercase.
And I follow the Fireball guy on IG. He’s a little goofy but still entertaining.
 
Wilton ATV (All Terrain Vise) at Northern Tool

I'm actually kind of impressed with how tough it is. Bought it for doing repair work in the field. Seems to hold up to stuff being clamped in it and beating on it with a sledgehammer. Wish they built one like it in 8".
I've been eyeballing that vise. Good to hear it holds up. I had a box store vise that I put on a 2" square tube so I could use it in a hitch when out and about, but it did not hold up to hammering on it. I often need a vise when I'm not in my garage and a receiver mounted vise is damn handy.


I've been looking for that mythical Wilton garage sale find for years and have never had any luck. My Yost is holding up and will have to do until I find that Wilton unicorn.
 
Obligatory Wilton vise lineup pic to rustle some feathers...
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Anyone else got a wheelbarrow full of old vises? :laughing:

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Fuck you :flipoff2:




The old vise market has pretty much gone through the roof due to youtuber tool restorers and collectors. You can't touch a rusty 4" bullet for under $300 aound here and any other old us brand pretty much sells in under an hour of being listed. You're easily sitting on $2k in that wheelbarrow.



I spotted this crusty wilt-o-matic in a listing for a shitty old welding table. Messaged the guy asking if he'd sell it and ended up getting it for $40. Couldn't believe nobody else spotted it before me. Took a few hours to fully tear it down and re-ring the piston, but it came out pretty awesome.
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I got an old jobox that had 2 wilton 4 or 5 inch bullets in it. Ended up giving one to a friend and have the other sitting on a shelf in my shop as I don't have a good spot for it yet. My go to is an early 40s craftsman 5 inch. Solid forged steel and stupid tough. Wish that brand was still worth a shit. Now its all chinesium garbage.
 
US made Wiltons are bad ass but they're big $$$.

If I break the one china vise I have I'd replace it with one from Fireball Tool if I had to buy new. I'd prefer a smaller equally ancient Rock Island to match my main big vise though.


I'd just buy the real version from Rigid. Made in Germany. It's worked well enough for me in the past years. F-Series Vises | RIDGID Tools
 
Wilton WS5 has been working for me. Its used pretty often. If I had to buy new, USA Wilton would be it, but Im a craigslist/marketplace kinda guy when it comes to vises. Tons of old vises out there ready to take the same beating they handled for the last hundred years. you do have to fight off the collectors though.
 
if you're buying a new wilton, talk to the snap on guy as they can do better on one with red paint than the amazon price on a blue painted one
 
got a wilton on my service truck. I havent broke it yet and ive clamped some shit in it i probably should have.

broke a stanley vise that was mounted to a table yesterday..
 
Picked up this $99 Olympia Tools hitch vise from tractor supply and mounted in a receiver welded to trailer.

Olympia Tools 38-652-101 Hitch Vise.jpg



 
I just got my hands on 3 more old vises... I swear I don't even look for this crap anymore, it just finds me. Two of them are still bolted to the table I need to go pick up at my sister in law's place. Also scored a little lathe, a 50# little giant power hammer, an anvil. I have those things loaded on a trailer and need to unload them and clean them up/put them in storage until I have a chance to work on them more. Then I have to go back and grab a little shaper, a bigger lathe, a hydraulic press, might grab an old forge there, and who knows what else I'll find...
 
Reed makes good stuff.

I've got an older 204 and a 1C. Their tripod pipe jacks are the standard.

I wish I had 3c often.
 
I just got my hands on 3 more old vises... I swear I don't even look for this crap anymore, it just finds me. Two of them are still bolted to the table I need to go pick up at my sister in law's place. Also scored a little lathe, a 50# little giant power hammer, an anvil. I have those things loaded on a trailer and need to unload them and clean them up/put them in storage until I have a chance to work on them more. Then I have to go back and grab a little shaper, a bigger lathe, a hydraulic press, might grab an old forge there, and who knows what else I'll find...
Jealous of the little giant hammer. I’m gonna get one some day!!
 
If you're planning on handling much with tubing, you might look at a chain vise, it'll wrap around a tube and hold it much better than a regular vise would.

Aaron Z
 
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