Wilton "Tradesman" bench vise
 

I'm thinking of buying this 4 1/2" Wilton:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=426-1010

It's a great (new) price, especially if Enco has a July free shipping
promo. BUT, is the Tradesman still a quality vise, or has it gone Asian
and its quality to hell with it? I know Wilton has lesser models that
are definitely cheap Asian, but how about the Tradesman specifically?

Thanks,
Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

I'm thinking of buying this 4 1/2" Wilton:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=426-1010

It's a great (new) price, especially if Enco has a July free shipping
promo. BUT, is the Tradesman still a quality vise, or has it gone Asian
and its quality to hell with it? I know Wilton has lesser models that
are definitely cheap Asian, but how about the Tradesman specifically?

Thanks,
Bob

I don't know about its quality, but that certainly looks Asian to me. It's their
machinist vises that are still made in the US e.g.:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1796911

GWE

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I'm thinking of buying this 4 1/2" Wilton:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=426-1010

It's a great (new) price, especially if Enco has a July free shipping
promo. BUT, is the Tradesman still a quality vise, or has it gone Asian
and its quality to hell with it? I know Wilton has lesser models that
are definitely cheap Asian, but how about the Tradesman specifically?

Thanks,
Bob

Going to the Enco site tries to force me to install Javascripting in
order to view the page with this vise. Too bad, I'm in the market for
another bench vise.

Someone at Enco should get wise and kill that requirement. Many of us
have set up our systems to disallow scripting to reduce the possibility
of hijacking.

Carla

Grant Erwin wrote:
... that certainly looks Asian to me. ...

I think you're right. In their catalog they have a little "Made in USA"
logo which is NOT displayed for that vise.

Ok, it's made in Asia, and I am not going to pay $428 for a vise, I
wonder if it's one of the "good" Asians?

Bob

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Grant Erwin wrote:
... that certainly looks Asian to me. ...

I think you're right. In their catalog they have a little "Made in USA"
logo which is NOT displayed for that vise.

Ok, it's made in Asia, and I am not going to pay $428 for a vise, I wonder
if it's one of the "good" Asians?

Bob

I'm a bit put off by metal the consistency of brittle cheese. Think about
it this way: There are few ways you can abuse a real Wilton that will
render it crippled or unusable. If you buy a $428 Wilton today, you'll
never buy another vise, unless you need more of them. If you buy a
chinkalloy vise, you'll probably bust it in two or three years.

LLoyd

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

Grant Erwin wrote:

... that certainly looks Asian to me. ...


I think you're right. In their catalog they have a little "Made in USA"
logo which is NOT displayed for that vise.

Ok, it's made in Asia, and I am not going to pay $428 for a vise, I
wonder if it's one of the "good" Asians?

Bob, the world is FULL of used machinist vises. I have at least 4, and threw
away 2 recently because I couldn't find any takers FREE. I bought my Wilton 4"
vise for $45 at Boeing Surplus and repainted it, and it's FINE. I also have an
old Chinese bench vise I paid $39 for at Price Savers in the mid-'80s and it's
still working fine too, little bit of chipped bondo but I've leaned on it pretty
good with a cheater bar.

Wilton prostituted their name. So did Ridgid. Wilton does still make some
quality stuff, and their Taiwanese stuff may also be good stuff, don't know. But
I would never ever consider paying over $50 for a bench vise. Mill vise? Sure,
bench vise? world's full of 'em.

GWE

I followed Grant's link to the MSC listing for the Wilton machinist
vise. Wow, I didn't realize they were that expensive. The fact that
they open to 6 inches would be great for me. My Asian vise always seems
to need another 1/2 inch of opening to hold the project I am working on.

Perhaps I will score a Wilton at a garage sale some day. Frankly, I
have too many vices already but it would nice a have a good one.

Rich

Grant Erwin wrote:
Bob Engelhardt wrote:

I'm thinking of buying this 4 1/2" Wilton:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=426-1010

It's a great (new) price, especially if Enco has a July free shipping
promo. BUT, is the Tradesman still a quality vise, or has it gone
Asian and its quality to hell with it? I know Wilton has lesser
models that are definitely cheap Asian, but how about the Tradesman
specifically?

Thanks,
Bob


I don't know about its quality, but that certainly looks Asian to me.
It's their machinist vises that are still made in the US e.g.:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1796911

GWE

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

I'm thinking of buying this 4 1/2" Wilton:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=426-1010

It's a great (new) price, especially if Enco has a July free shipping
promo. BUT, is the Tradesman still a quality vise, or has it gone
Asian and its quality to hell with it? I know Wilton has lesser
models that are definitely cheap Asian, but how about the Tradesman
specifically?

Thanks,
Bob

Head down to your local Lowes and check out the Wilton vs the cheap
chinese. There IS a difference, even for the 100 buck Wilton they carry
(at least it was about 100 bucks last winter.) Trying both ends of the
scale on the Lowes shelf will give you an idea of where the low-end
chinese vices are lacking.

I got a large Wilton that was super discounted at Lowes (long story that
had nothing to do with the vice itself) and it has been beefy, runs
smoothly (without rattle or poor fit up), and I would recommend it to
anyone. Can't remember the "listed" size but the jaws are 8" wide and
open to at least 8-1/2". You will never regret getting a bigger vice
but you may regret buying a smaller one when that 'weird" project comes up.

Or you can watch local auctions. They come up a lot but you will pay
what they are worth.

Koz

In article ,
dogpoint wrote:

I followed Grant's link to the MSC listing for the Wilton machinist
vise. Wow, I didn't realize they were that expensive. The fact that
they open to 6 inches would be great for me. My Asian vise always seems
to need another 1/2 inch of opening to hold the project I am working on.

Perhaps I will score a Wilton at a garage sale some day. Frankly, I
have too many vices already but it would nice a have a good one.

Rich

There is nothing like a good vise... as another poster noted, if you
snoop around some, you can find good used machinist vises most
everywhere.

Good Luck,

Erik

PS, Mount it so the fixed jaw 'hangs' past the edge of the bench a
little... so you can grab long stuff vertically. This simple act makes
bench vise's so much more versatile...

E

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
... If you buy a
chinkalloy vise, you'll probably bust it in two or three years.

That's probably the main reason I asked about this vise. The Wilton web
site (actually, the WMH Group site) says that the Tradesman is made with
60,000 psi ductile iron, whatever that is. Which is what the Machinist
is made of.

I was hoping to find info on the warranty, comparing the Tradesman to
the Machinist, but couldn't find anything for either. The site says see
the Owner's Manual, but there are no manuals for the vises.

Bob

Grant Erwin wrote:
Bob, the world is FULL of used machinist vises. I have at least 4, and
threw away 2 recently because I couldn't find any takers FREE.

Well, I've been looking on eBay and all the available Wiltons are the
really suspect utility grade stuff:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW
Of the completed auctions (last 3 months) there was one sold for $81,
but the next cheapest was $128, and went up to $299. I'll keep looking,
but I'm not optimistic


I bought
my Wilton 4" vise for $45 at Boeing Surplus and repainted it, ...

I saw your post about this on Google. Quite a bit more than repainting,
as I recall. Something about milling out the movable jaw to accept a
new thrust bearing? Still, I'd pay $45 for one, if you see another one :-)

Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

... Of the completed auctions (last 3 months) there was one sold for $81,
but the next cheapest was $128, and went up to $299. ...

I meant Machinist's auctions.

I bought my Wilton 4" vise for $45 at Boeing Surplus and repainted it,
...


I saw your post about this on Google. Quite a bit more than repainting,
as I recall. Something about milling out the movable jaw to accept a
new thrust bearing? Still, I'd pay $45 for one, if you see another one :-)

Bob

Oh, yes, I remember now. I did mill out a pocket and fit the vise with a thrust
bearing. It wasn't a replacement, it was a retrofit, and it is said to be a
great improvement. The vise certainly works well.

Sadly, Boeing Surplus isn't at all what it used to be. I haven't been there in
years. Where do you live, Bob?

GWE
Kirkland, Washington

In article Iwbze.9125$kh3.1110@trnddc03,
Carla Fong wrote:
Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I'm thinking of buying this 4 1/2" Wilton:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=426-1010

It's a great (new) price, especially if Enco has a July free shipping
promo. BUT, is the Tradesman still a quality vise, or has it gone Asian
and its quality to hell with it? I know Wilton has lesser models that
are definitely cheap Asian, but how about the Tradesman specifically?

Thanks,
Bob

Going to the Enco site tries to force me to install Javascripting in
order to view the page with this vise. Too bad, I'm in the market for
another bench vise.

Someone at Enco should get wise and kill that requirement. Many of us
have set up our systems to disallow scripting to reduce the possibility
of hijacking.

I didn't even get that far. It insisted that I turn on cookies,
and I just fired off a nastygram to their customer-service department.
Had I known about the JavaScript requirement, I would have complained
about that, too.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 09:35:00 -0700, Grant Erwin
wrote:

threw
away 2 recently because I couldn't find any takers FREE.

You are now officially, for at least a week, on my official ****
list.

Gunner

"Considering the events of recent years,
the world has a long way to go to regain
its credibility and reputation with the US."
unknown

I bought a 1755 Tradesman vise last summer and it was made in the USA. The
distributor told me these were the last of the US versions of the Tradesman.
I have no way to verify this.
ralph

Follow up: there was an eBay auction of a Wilton vise that said
quote
all WILTON products are accompanied by an uncoditonal (sic) warranty.
"RETURN TO ANY WILTON DEALER FOR A FREE EXHANGE (sic) FOR A BROKEN OR
DEFFECTIVE (sic) ITEM"
\quote

So I emailed Wilton to ask if it were true. The response:
quote
Wilton vises do have a limited lifetime warranty. Meaning, Wilton does
cover the main casting of the vise if for some reason it does break. No
wear and tear parts are covered by the limited lifetime warranty (jaws,
spindle, nut, base, etc), only the main casting of the vise. However,
the vise does need to be purchased from an authorized WMH Tool Group
distributor. Ebay is not an authorized distributor, ...
\quote

Bob

Tradesman vise is O.K. for some stuff. It won't open real wide and it will
have a little wobble in it. Get the machinist vise. You'll have way more
pride in your work, the thing grips like vise grips, and it'll last forever.
I've put cheater pipes on the handles and bent them around and the thing
still keeps on working. Best investment you can make. Check some of the
surplus machinery dealers out. They usually have them fairly reasonable.
Bought my last one for 50 bucks at the flea market, someone had painted it
with green house paint and it looked like crap. Cleaned up good as new. I've
seen ENCO sell 4" machinist for $250.

6" Tradesman is to loose and won't open wide enough.