# Went tool shopping today, vises are really expensive **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301 "2012-10-20T05:04:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/21 "2012-10-20T23:35:14Z")
Harbor Freight is the way to go. I’ve got a 6 inch vise/anvil bolted to my bench and it’s fine for everything I need. They’re on sale now, and if you join their Inside Track club, you can save even more. They send you coupons all the time. But, Craig may not be a bad choice either. Just depends on your hurry! ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/22 "2012-10-21T03:00:08Z")
One of the best things that came with my barn is this ENORMOUS old belt-driven drill press. It must weigh nearly half a ton. The best part of it is that the “table” of the press is, functionally, a vise. It opens to nearly a foot and works wonderfully. I had no idea vises were so expensive, makes me even happier. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/23 "2012-10-21T03:14:53Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > One of the best things that came with my barn is this ENORMOUS old belt-driven drill press. It must weigh nearly half a ton. The best part of it is that the “table” of the press is, functionally, a vise. It opens to nearly a foot and works wonderfully. > > I had no idea vises were so expensive, makes me even happier. That’s why I love old tools. They’re built to be multipurpose, and built to last. Also because I’m old, and kind of a tool, so we have a kindred spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/24 "2012-10-21T03:28:07Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > One of the best things that came with my barn is this ENORMOUS old belt-driven drill press. It must weigh nearly half a ton. The best part of it is that the “table” of the press is, functionally, a vise. It opens to nearly a foot and works wonderfully. I have found that I can get a LOT more for my money if I buy old tools. I recently bought a Craftsman table saw on Craig’s List for $200. It was made in 1982. Has a _very_ heavy cast iron table. A new $200 table saw is a piece of junk compared to this one. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/25 "2012-10-21T03:59:01Z")
a 6" Harbor Freight vice is $74.99 and if you hunt around a bit, you can find a 20% off coupon. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/26 "2012-10-21T04:38:37Z")
I’d look for a used Wilton or Columbian over pretty much any modern vise. Good deals can be had. Jngl, I am so jealous of your Wilton! I have a good sized tool box but no room to keep it. ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/27 "2012-10-21T12:29:12Z")
Wow. Bench vises must have really gone up in price over the last few years. When I was looking for a bench vise for a new business I was starting, I went down to the local Northern Tools and picked up a nice one with 8" jaws. I had to have one that had the round post through the center so that the whole head would rotate 360 degrees so I could clamp things in it at any angle needed. It also had a like a 2.5x3.5 anvil top on it. I have used that thing almost daily for over ten years, heavy use and beat the crap out of things mounted in it, and it is as good as the day I bought it. It cost me about $60-$65 at the time. Now, a comparable vise in their online listing shows something similar for $170-$190. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/28 "2012-10-22T01:51:48Z")
You know, maybe I should take a second look at all the old vises of my dad’s that are laying around the basement and sell them. Maybe I’ll be able to retire after all… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/29 "2012-10-22T10:48:58Z")
As the proud owner of a 4" Wilton machinist vise, those things are damn near indestructible. Mine spend 30+ years in an auto body repair shop, used pretty much every day. It got a nice clean up, new lube and works as well now as it did day one, sans a few dings from the thousands of hammer blows it’s taken over the years. You can get a vise at Harbor Freight, you’re not getting a vise like this one. I expect to pass this bad-boy down to my son when I’m through with it. Interestingly enough, you can even get Wilton vises these days in a wide range of prices from sub-$100 (chinese) to $500 (USA) for a 4" bench vise. Funnily enough, Reply’s 13 page gospel prices used vises out by the pound, not by brand and features. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301/30 "2012-10-22T11:26:51Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > What’s the difference between a vice and a vise? Or is vise just an alternative spelling? [The dictionary is your friend.](http://dictionary.reference.com/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-tool-shopping-today-vises-are-really-expensive/638301.md?page=1)