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Vise that doesn't rotate

nerdyrcdriver

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Hi everyone,

Does anyone know of a decent shop vise (not a machining vise) that does not have a swivel built in? Would prefer new since any time there is a deal on a good old one it is hundreds of miles away and shipping would already cost a bunch.
 
Wilton has many.

Most vises that have a swivel base and 2 locks can be mounted directly through the lock holes. Just toss the swivel base in the scrap bin.
 
Second vote for a non-swivel Wilton. I'm very happy with a Wilton 450N (N for non-rotating, 4.5" wide jaws) mounted so the rear jaw clears the front of the bench.
 
You do not mention vise size or your budget.

If you are looking at new, I would also look at Yost.

A good quality bench vise of a useful size is going to cost you.
Though you will never wear it out, if you try and sell, it will have depreciated as though you did wear it out.
There are lots of good vises out there that someone else did not wear out either.
The problem is, they tend to stay attached to a bench until someone moves or dies. They tend to sell locally as most people do not want to try and ship them
For that reason, I would suggesting keeping your eye on craigslist and E Bay, using the search with in x miles function. It may take a while, but one will turn up.

It only seems as though the good deals are 100 miles away. Lets say they are randomly distributed, with one "good deal" every thousand square miles. Within 25 miles of you, there will be 1.963 "good deals". Within 50 miles of you, there will be 7.854- just over 4 times as many. Go to 75 miles and there are 17.671, over 9 times as many. Go to 100 miles and there are 31.416
 
You do not mention vise size or your budget.

If you are looking at new, I would also look at Yost.

A good quality bench vise of a useful size is going to cost you.
Though you will never wear it out, if you try and sell, it will have depreciated as though you did wear it out.
There are lots of good vises out there that someone else did not wear out either.
The problem is, they tend to stay attached to a bench until someone moves or dies. They tend to sell locally as most people do not want to try and ship them
For that reason, I would suggesting keeping your eye on craigslist and E Bay, using the search with in x miles function. It may take a while, but one will turn up.

It only seems as though the good deals are 100 miles away. Lets say they are randomly distributed, with one "good deal" every thousand square miles. Within 25 miles of you, there will be 1.963 "good deals". Within 50 miles of you, there will be 7.854- just over 4 times as many. Go to 75 miles and there are 17.671, over 9 times as many. Go to 100 miles and there are 31.416

Well, it is for a college shop so it will certainly be used and abused at some point in its life. The budget isn't really set yet. We certainly don't need new and shiny. But usually by the time shipping is added on top of the item price on ebay we could just order something on a website that has free or cheap shipping. I've been scrolling through ebay and craigslist in our area and haven't found much yet. Surely someone will do some spring cleaning and try to get rid of an old vise.
 
Wilton vises at reasonable prices here.
Wilton Vises

The company that owns Jet ( a NY based investment firm) also owns Wilton, as well as powermatic and a couple of other companies.
They source different tools from different places, which means some Wiltons are made in USA, some are japanese made Eron vises rebadged, and, some, most likely, are chinese.
I have had two of the Blue japanese Eron machinists vises in my shop for more than 20 years now, and I do basically the same stuff as you do in Ricks classes at SIU. They hold up very well- I havent been able to break one.
Like this one here- Jet used to sell em with the yellow Eron label still on em, dont know if the current blue Jet vises are still Eron, but if they are, they are good vises for the price.
E-914 Machinists' Bench Vises

The Wilton "bullet " vises are better, but a bit more money. The non-swivel 4" bullet vise at $599 is a very nice vise that would be good for you if its big enough.
Wilton 186 45N, Machinists' Bench Vise - Stationary Base, 4-1-2 in. Jaw Width, 7-1-2 in. Jaw Opening, 4 in. Throat Depth
 








 
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