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!
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.
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.
a 6" Harbor Freight vice is $74.99 and if you hunt around a bit, you can find a 20% off coupon.
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.
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.
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…
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.