I'm looking at vises and have no idea what to get

M

midmo

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Jun 13, 2010
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I will starting out making knives shortly. I do however still need a vise, files, and possibly a drill press if I can find one cheap enough. Any advise on decent files and vise that will work that doesn't break the bank?
 
midmo said:
I will starting out making knives shortly. I do however still need a vise, files, and possibly a drill press if I can find one cheap enough. Any advise on decent files and vise that will work that doesn't break the bank?
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I really like my Irwin clamp on vise... about $20. Nicholson Magi-Cut file for stock removal but I've had good luck with inexpensive files, the cheapest drill press you can find (HF) will probably do the trick but if possible find one that runs slow (150 rpm range if you can) with little runout.

edit my mini vise might be a Wilton... need to check
 
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Wilton makes a very good vise, at least the older ones were. We had one that was at least 20 years old and would still have it under any normal use, it was well abused.
 
MBurks said:
Wilton makes a very good vise, at least the older ones were. We had one that was at least 20 years old and would still have it under any normal use, it was well abused.
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Edit to add, I have an Irwin now it's solid as well, but I did like the Wilton more.
 
Thanks for the advice I will be on the lookout for the Nicholson files and either vise. I have seen some Wilton's on Craigslist for $58 and they are older.
 
Wilton 1760
I was patient and looked and looked and waited and waited, and finally grabbed this on ebay for half of a new one and with local pickup so no shipping.

D41D3176-D535-46E1-AFFE-6E9291EC6513_zps7edkyjel.jpg
 
I will start looking now. On the Nicholson files.....bastard cut? I was thinking maybe 10 inch file.
 
I've got this one:
MPV5MMF_MSF_glm-VISE_01.jpg


I think I paid about $80 for it at the local big box store (Menards). Not the best vise in the world, but IIRC, it does have a lifetime warranty.
 
Craigslist is your friend when it comes to vises. Loads of old, heavy, American made iron just waiting to be found. Prentiss, Reed, Simplex, Wilton, Monarch, Vintage Craftsman, Columbian, Athol, Parker....ALL great brands. If you can get into a 4"-6" vise with good jaws, no cracks and minimal slop in the screw for $50-$100, you're doin' fine.
-Mark
 
Yep - get a pipe vise.
The ability to swivel the vise in numerous directions makes it easy to access your work piece without breaking your neck/back.


knife to a gunfight said:
I've got this one:
MPV5MMF_MSF_glm-VISE_01.jpg


I think I paid about $80 for it at the local big box store (Menards). Not the best vise in the world, but IIRC, it does have a lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...
 
What ever you do, avoid getting harbor freight vices. I got one out of some junk that the swivel base was broken on and it worked fine for about a year then the screw stripped out on it. Wasn't abused at all. It was literally worth what I paid for it, nothing. I have a couple of Wiltons, an old Rock Island, a couple of post vises, can't have too many vises. Depending on where you live, you can sometimes find good ones at flea markets, just make sure there not older china made ones.
 
Check the local trader papers, Craig's list, eBay, etc. Also, check out the local scrap yards and salvage dealers.

I have a scrap yard I go by every now and then. They always have neat stuff, as well as stainless metal and pipe I need. Several years back they had the biggest vice I ever saw sitting on a monster anvil. The vice jaws were at least a foot across. The turn handle was four feet long. I asked the yard man about it and he said they had just bought it from the local shipyard. They were remodeling the shops and took out these "old useless" things. They paid 18 cents a pound for them. The vice weighed 500 pounds, and the anvil below it weighed 800. The anvil section of the vise probably weighed 200 pounds all by itself. I usually paid from 35 cents to a buck a pound for scrap tools and things, so I went in the office to buy them. The owner said he sort of liked them as display pieces, and didn't want to sell them. They were his, so that was his right.
The next time I went by, they had been moved up to the office door. When I went over to admire them, I saw he had welded the vise on the anvil face to make it a piece of "junk yard art". I left feeling a bit sick.
 
polish avenger said:
Craigslist is your friend when it comes to vises. Loads of old, heavy, American made iron just waiting to be found. Prentiss, Reed, Simplex, Wilton, Monarch, Vintage Craftsman, Columbian, Athol, Parker....ALL great brands. If you can get into a 4"-6" vise with good jaws, no cracks and minimal slop in the screw for $50-$100, you're doin' fine.
-Mark
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What he said. There are always many on CL and as long as there are no cracks, better quality and half the price of anything new you will find at the big box stores.
 
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