In article ,
lid says...

Here's something interesting that I learned regarding Wilton Tradesman
1765 vs Wilton Machinist vise like 600S.

- Machinist vise costs $1,150 at McMaster and $1,300 at Amazon
- Tradesman costs $289 at Amazon and is not available from McMaster
- They are made of the same 60,000 PSI ductile iron
- Both made in USA
- Very similar construction and parts breakdown, according to drawings
at wiltontool.com:
* http://www.wiltontool.com/PartDetails.aspx?BDID=663
* http://www.wiltontool.com/PartDetails.aspx?BDID=655
- The machinist vise has a much larger throat width up to 10", vs. 6.5
for the Tradesman
- Same applies to throat depth
- Machinist vise weighs 158 lbs, Tradesman is 73 lbs. Much of the
weight difference must be accounted for due to length difference,
but the machinist is probably thicker

I finally decided to bite and will likely buy a new Tradesman for $200
cash locally, if all goes well today. That's kind of expensive by my
standards, but whatever, I live just once and the vise has a greater
chance of retaining its usefulness than the money.


I shopped around for a vise a few months ago. I'm lucky in that I can view
every Wilton line at Production Tool which is near me. After careful shopping,
I went with their WS-6 vise, from their Shop Vise line. It's really tight and
smooth, and sells for less than $100. Not as strong as a Tradesman, and
doesn't have that classic round look, but great for what I need.

Don't be tempted by the Wilton vises at Home Depot. They are really from their
Wilton-Columbian partership, and are identical to the Harbor Freight (and
everyone else) vises that sell for $40. They are easily recognizable by the
cantilevered anvil supported by that 45 degree brace. Those Home Depot Wiltons
vises have only 270 degree rotation instead of 360, 3 hold down bolts instead
of 4, and a much shallower base casting. Like this:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...797-28920-1110
6&lpage=none




--
Dennis