# Made in the USA? Or England?



## Grasshopper000 (May 18, 2014)

I'm still looking for vises. I actually picked up 2 NIB old Record 52ED vises with Made In England cast into the vise for $225 total, shipping included. I think that was a reasonable deal (feel free to let me know if you think I got had), but I know these are only 7" but I thought if I didn't use them then I could probably resell them for what I paid. That said, everything I've looked at suggests you want a vise made in USA or England. Are there still vises made in the USA and England? I read an old internet post about Yost vises, but here's what they told me: "Most of the manufacturing is done in Taiwan. The product is then finished in the USA." Are any vises still made in England (not sure if Sheffield is still a hotbed) or the USA? I now know about Benchcrafted, but any other brands with high quality manufacturing? If not, are old ones preferable or are new ones made in Taiwan worth buying now? Thanks.


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## DocBailey (Dec 9, 2011)

Here's the one I bought and use-Made in the USA and built like they used to build 'em


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## Grasshopper000 (May 18, 2014)

That's some nice American muscle. No wonder they list it as _out of stock_. Thanks for the heads up and link. I may wait and get one when they have more. Any thoughts about the price I paid for the 2 Records?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

10" Craftsman vises come up for (typically) $50 or so. Shipping is high, but they're good tools made in the USA into the 1950s. Quick release, too. FWIW.


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## DocBailey (Dec 9, 2011)

"Any thoughts about the price I paid for the 2 Records?"

I'd say you did just fine on those; moreover, if it were me, I'd sell one and use the other and wouldn't look any farther.


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## Grasshopper000 (May 18, 2014)

Appreciate the feedback, Doc. Was a little concerned about it only being 7" though. I like the idea about selling one.


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## Grasshopper000 (May 18, 2014)

I emailed Milwaukee and here's what they told me:

Yes, all our vises are made in the USA, we even make our own castings in our foundry division. We don't sell through retail outlets, only through industrial distribution. However you can purchase through us, using a Master Card or Visa. The rapid action models(28A & 200A) are in production and will be available for shipment at the end of the month. The continuous screw model (20A) is in stock.

Thank you

Ty

I think the website http://www.milwtool.com/v_wood.htm lists the 28A as CA, so not sure if he got the model numbers wrong. Waiting on a price for the 200A, 10" with wooden handle.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

The best place to buy a good machinist vise is at an industrial auction. Sometimes you can find a good woodworking vise this way too. When I bought my first woodworking tools one of them was a good Record vise. That was about 45 years ago. You can still find these on the used tool market.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## DocBailey (Dec 9, 2011)

Grasshopper

I actually own the 7" model, mainly because when I bought it, I was still committed to finding a big ol' patternmaker's vise for any really big work.

If you take a look here, you'll see that I finally got one.

One other thing to keep in mind-your wooden jaw inserts need not end at the edges of the cast jaw.
In other words, you can easily accommodate 10" wide inserts even in the 7" vise.

Whether you really want/need a 10" vise-well that's something only you can answer.


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## Grasshopper000 (May 18, 2014)

Whoa! You got an old Emmert! I was just reading about those in Landis's workbench book, you dog! Nice score. Thanks for the helpful advice, Doc, gives me a few options to think about. Nice tip about the jaw inserts. Maybe I'll enjoy my vintage Record for a while, while I continue to look. I was impressed with the Milwaukee vise, at least from what I can tell, and also may consider the Moxon down the road. I'm down here in Louisiana, and not as much woodworking stuff on craigslist as in the northeast, so options are a bit limited for picking up nice old stuff. Thanks a lot, I'll continue to update as I learn more and figure out what I'll do. Keep the posts coming if you have anything else useful to offer!


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## JakeT (Feb 13, 2010)

The Groz front vise earned best value in a FWW test a couple years ago.

I see they've added a dog since I bought mine:
http://m.woodcraft.com/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53b29kY3JhZnQuY29tL1Byb2R1Y3QvMjAwNDkzOS8yMTI5NS9Hcm96LTEwLTEyLVF1aWNrLVJlbGVhc2UtV29vZHdvcmtpbmctVmlzZS13aXRoLVF1aWNrLUFkanVzdG1lbnQtVHJpZ2dlci5hc3B4

Anant was making Record clones, but I don't know if they still are or the quality. Anant is made in India.

If I were going high-end, I'd take a long look at the Veritas twin-screw.


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## Grasshopper000 (May 18, 2014)

Thanks, Jake, appreciate the link. Just an update and wanted to show this because I'm a little jazzed about getting the 2 Record 52ED vises. They are smaller than I wanted (7") but I did pull the trigger, thinking I couldn't get hurt on the price. Two brand new 52EDs in the box never opened for $225. See the pics. I'll open one and leave the other and might hold on to it a while, but will use one as my main or possibly a tail vise. I'm a newbie so not a lot of experience with old NIB stuff, I think the addiction has begun. Also, an update, the guy at Milwaukee told me this about the 200A rapid action/quick release 10" model: "You are correct, the 200A is a 10" wide rapid action vise. Your cost is $222.80 each delivered. Ty" - and that includes shipping, he confirmed later. Not horrible for an old-type made in USA workhorse. Thanks for the tip on this one, Doc. Haven't ruled it out yet.


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## JakeT (Feb 13, 2010)

Sigh!

Record went out of business (bought by Irwin or something) right when I started woodworking about 12 years ago. I just barely missed out on the vises being liquidated at Big Lots for 29.99 each.

I did assemble a nice set of Marples boxwood-handled chisesl for about $2 apiece, everything from 1/8 to 1 1/2.


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