Ignoramus28622 wrote:
I am now looking for a general purpose vise, as my Harbor Freight vise
seems to be in a not so good shape after I overtightened it.

Here are two typical Wilton vises. Is the "bullet" style vise any
better than the other?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=150178715277

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250186118708

As with any other workshop tool you need to decide what you want to do
with vt.
A cast iron vice is ok for what Id call light duties,
then if you can find one,
a cast steel is much the best. for a bench vice. Wether you can still
buy anew one is doubtful. Tho second hand is probably your best bet.
The best for heavy work is the wrought iron smiths vice.
these are called leg vices and are dsigned to be used as chipping
vices and or hammering upon. Ive used one every day for some 25 yrs and
never had a days problem with it, they come in weights from light @
25lbs up to 200 lbs with 8 in jaws.
You need a real bench to fix it to!!