# Pretty good vise for the money



## a1Jim

Thanks for the review ,now we know you have at least one vise.)


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## ShipWreck

I actually have two Jim. I installed this old Craftsman while is was at it.


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## b2rtch

I use Harbor Freight end vises. 
They work bu they are not great mostly because they are very poorly machined 
(the jaws are not parallel).


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## justoneofme

Ah! You've given me a great idea for my vice, Paul … line the jaws with some scrap cedar. If I design it properly, they can be removed quickly, so my husband can use the vice for yucky stuff. Now, to find the time. But … it would definitely take me longer than a lunch hour to whip something that simplified up! Great work bench!!


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## davidroberts

Justoneforme, you can bore a couple of shallow holes in each cedar jaw liner for magnet inserts. Those rare earth magnets stick like glue!


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## fatandy2003

Just as a warning… I bought this vise from Woodcraft online a few months ago and installed it on the bench I am building. I did most of the same things to fit the vise to the bench as you did. However, after a few times clamping and unclamping a piece of wood to see if it worked, the collar on the quick release snapped (Yes, the solid metal quick release snapped) under very little EVEN pressure. I called Woodcraft and they sent me a new quick release free of charge/no questions asked. It came in its own plastic packaging which now makes me wonder how often they are contacted to replace this exact same piece. I installed the new quick release and the only problem I have now is that it slips under the same minimal pressure that snapped the first one (may be user error). I will keep playing with it, but right now, it seems like I got what I paid for… Also, the handle fits a 27mm dowel perfect. Good Luck.


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## ShipWreck

Fatandy2003….........I read a couple of comments like yours online. (after I bought it of course) Thats why I put all my weight on it a few times. If it was going to break, I wanted it to break during install….not in the middle of a project. This one seems pretty stout. I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed.


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## fatandy2003

Good to know, I hope it holds. you definitely can't beat the price for a quick release!


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## fatandy2003

Just an update… 6 months after I installed the new quick release collar Woodcraft sent me, I was lightly clamping a piece of ash and SNAP! The quick release collar snapped again in the exact same spot as the first one. Woodcraft would not replace it because it was over the 90 day warantee and quite frankly, the only thing I would have accepted is a refund. I went out and bought a none Wood River vise. $100 down the drain and now I have to install a whole new vise. I cannot recommend this vise, even for the price…


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## bhacksaw

I bought this vise months ago and jut got around to installing it two weeks ago. It worked great on testing, but when I tried to use it for real yesterday, the screw wouldn't engage the quick-release housing consistently. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I'll have to check the collar for breakage. Sucks that I waited so long to install it, I'm passed the 90 period.


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## Carl_Spangler

> Just an update… 6 months after I installed the new quick release collar Woodcraft sent me, I was lightly clamping a piece of ash and SNAP! The quick release collar snapped again in the exact same spot as the first one. Woodcraft would not replace it because it was over the 90 day warantee and quite frankly, the only thing I would have accepted is a refund. I went out and bought a none Wood River vise. $100 down the drain and now I have to install a whole new vise. I cannot recommend this vise, even for the price…
> 
> - fatandy2003


Thanks for posting your follow up. I was just about to buy this and now I'll be looking elsewhere.

What did you replace it with?

cheers
John


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## fatandy2003

Carl, I went with the non-quick release front vise from lee valley. I am not sure how their quick release version is, but I started to get concerned that at the price point I was looking, maybe I shouldn't tempt fate on another quick release unless it was a top of the line vice.


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