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Can anyone recommend me a vice. I have recently put mine into a sorry state by using it as a makeshift press. It was small and rubbish anyway.
Should I go out and by a 'all singing, all dancing' one or what?
I'm looking for something a bit more 'substantial' too, I have seen some real bargains at car boots, but there aint many of those going
on at the moment. I will watch the thread with interest .....
I'd suggest an old one. I got my Record vice from an autojumble, looked older than me and its still going strong.
My dad has bought a couple of older ones too and all they needed was a lick of paint and they put the new Chinese cheap tat to shame
But as big a vice as you can accommodate, and bolt it down on a strong workbench fixed to the floor and/or wall so you can bend items etc. . And make
sure when you do that the face of the rear jaw is in front of the edge of the bench so that long items like tubes can reach down to the floor.
I've got two big vices, one a 'Record' and one a cheapo Chinese vice, never had a problem with either.
A good vise will cost.
The best are made by Record. The main criteria is that the vise is cast, not pressed and folded, but it still has to be made of good material.
That's why Record cost so much, as they are the Rolls Royce of vices.
Ideally you need a 4in, removable jaw engineers vice.
I have for sale a Record 23, which is a good medium duty vice for fitting and filing, but has the with lever adjustment removed as I hate them.
Funny thing, I have advertised it twice on here with no takers.
go for the older ones as you can't break them
I agree with Mr W
An old Record type vice, no matter how old will be far superior to anything coming out of China.
I bought 2 Record 24's of Eblag for £20 each.
Loads on there at the moment, some a real bargain
[Edited on 4/12/09 by dogwood]
I have a record 75, a very nice vice old. I replied to an ad in the free ads for an old vice. The fella wanted a tenner for it. It was mint
condition
Biggest bragain I have ever had, are £400 plus new
Crappy one on the bay
linky
[Edited on 4/12/09 by liam.mccaffrey]
I opened this thread thinking it was going to be something completely different!! 
I was going to suggest contacting Max Mosley as he would have some great vice advice.
....... Neil 
how helpful, you now have some nice vice advice twice.
Record T3, 28 quid from B&Q. Anything more would have been too much in tbe shed o zil.
I'd second an autojumble - I got a Record 6 inch vice (think its a No5) from Newark for £30.
There were quite a few there at the November one - I saw about 6 or 7 so just went with the best deal.
Local carboot on Sunday it is then! Theres a weekly huge one not far, in fact two huge ones.
As above - big, old and solid are good factors. Nice-to-haves are a quick-release on the winding bar (push it and the slide can run in and out
easily), and a swivel base can be useful - but neither feature is essential.
If you see one in a boot sale, just try winding it fully in and out to make sure that it runs easily, take a close look at the lead screw to see that
it's in reasonable condition, then close it up tight - the top and sides of the moving jaws should be in line with the fixed jaws. Also, take a
look at the top of the slide behind the body of the vice when the jaws are closed - this is a favourite place for careless folks to use as a temporary
anvil! Hammer dings elsewhere are not a good sign either...
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
go for the older ones as you can't break them
Bigger the better, but don't get a swivelling one. They are crap!
I thought I would treat myself when I built a big solid bench and bought a 6" swivelling vice. It moves if you hit something in it with a hammer
and I am only talking about a bit of 12.5 x 3mm.
BIG, old and solid is the way to go as stated many times above.
Second record.. Don't have one at the mo, but they are the best. I only have a cheapo Machine mart Chinese one o.k but I doubt it's going to
last long..
Dan
Years ago I bought a shed with a bench and vice (which came from the pit) already in it. I still have the vice and bench in my present shed, it's a Record no5 I think and it is great tackle.
quote:
Originally posted by trextr7monkey
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
go for the older ones as you can't break them
Not entirely true ,whenIstarted current job I found 3 broken ones in base of a cupboard!