I just received this vise last week, and installed it on Saturday. Since it's still on sale at Woodcraft for $89.99 ($25 off), I thought I would post some first impressions. First, here's the Woodcraft link.
Thanks again to autiger1 for posting Woodcraft's sale on the Nova midi chuck, which is how I came across this vise sale, the free shipping deal, the $15 coupon code, and the free $10 gift card. [/gloat]
The item description on the Woodcraft site said this vise is a 9" jaw with a 10" opening. Even the box claims a 10" jaw opening. (I was a little apprehensive about this because I knew I'd chew up 3-4" by sinking the back jaw behind my benchtop edgeband, and installing a thick front jaw face.) So, imagine my surprise when I pull the vise out of the box and measure a 14" opening!
Fit/finish:
...fully met expectation. The front jaw is a painted rough-cast finish; the jaw faces, while not machined, are a smoother finish, and flat. The sides and tops of the jaws are machined, however, which gives it a nice look. The quick-release handle is also the painted rough-cast finish. The front jaw is toed-in, and meets uniformly from side to side.
The slide-up plastic dog was really cheese, though, and begged for replacement (which says a lot since I don't intend to use it!). A chunk of hard maple quickly took its place, drilled and tapped for the 3/8"-16 bolt. A good mineral spirits wash-down was required, as expected, to clean off the rust-inhibitor.
Installation:
Since I had already fitted a smaller vise to my bench, with its rear jaw sunk behind the edgebanding, installation only required widening the slot for the rear jaw. Oh, and adding ~1" of shim material, as this vise assumes a thicker benchtop than the old vise. (Current benchtop is 3 layers of mdf for 2.25", and I think I've added ~1.5" of plywood shim, total.) Unlike the smaller vise with its two mounting bolt holes, this one has four sized for 1/2" lag bolts. This portion of the story would read a lot differently if I didn't have the ability to remove my benchtop and flip it upside down for vise mounting. Then again, one false move while flipping that top would make for an interesting story, too.
First use:
At first, the in/out sliding movement of the front jaw was a little sticky. A little paste wax on the rods, and a little use loosened it up so that it now slides nice and easily. The true test, though, was to see how much the vise would toe out when tightening on a piece held high up in the jaws (i.e. a piece that doesn't extend down to the rods and screw). This is something that annoyed me with my Jorgensen pony vise. I was very happy to see that, after tightening with plenty force, there was no noticeable toe-out; the piece was still very firmly held, with even pressure across the full surface area.
Overall impression: This vise definitely meets my needs for functionality, especially given its bonus capacity. It operates very smoothly and solidly; the QR functionality is great. Apart from the cheesy dog, it looks good, too.
Regards,
Tom
Thanks again to autiger1 for posting Woodcraft's sale on the Nova midi chuck, which is how I came across this vise sale, the free shipping deal, the $15 coupon code, and the free $10 gift card. [/gloat]
The item description on the Woodcraft site said this vise is a 9" jaw with a 10" opening. Even the box claims a 10" jaw opening. (I was a little apprehensive about this because I knew I'd chew up 3-4" by sinking the back jaw behind my benchtop edgeband, and installing a thick front jaw face.) So, imagine my surprise when I pull the vise out of the box and measure a 14" opening!
Fit/finish:
...fully met expectation. The front jaw is a painted rough-cast finish; the jaw faces, while not machined, are a smoother finish, and flat. The sides and tops of the jaws are machined, however, which gives it a nice look. The quick-release handle is also the painted rough-cast finish. The front jaw is toed-in, and meets uniformly from side to side.
The slide-up plastic dog was really cheese, though, and begged for replacement (which says a lot since I don't intend to use it!). A chunk of hard maple quickly took its place, drilled and tapped for the 3/8"-16 bolt. A good mineral spirits wash-down was required, as expected, to clean off the rust-inhibitor.
Installation:
Since I had already fitted a smaller vise to my bench, with its rear jaw sunk behind the edgebanding, installation only required widening the slot for the rear jaw. Oh, and adding ~1" of shim material, as this vise assumes a thicker benchtop than the old vise. (Current benchtop is 3 layers of mdf for 2.25", and I think I've added ~1.5" of plywood shim, total.) Unlike the smaller vise with its two mounting bolt holes, this one has four sized for 1/2" lag bolts. This portion of the story would read a lot differently if I didn't have the ability to remove my benchtop and flip it upside down for vise mounting. Then again, one false move while flipping that top would make for an interesting story, too.
First use:
At first, the in/out sliding movement of the front jaw was a little sticky. A little paste wax on the rods, and a little use loosened it up so that it now slides nice and easily. The true test, though, was to see how much the vise would toe out when tightening on a piece held high up in the jaws (i.e. a piece that doesn't extend down to the rods and screw). This is something that annoyed me with my Jorgensen pony vise. I was very happy to see that, after tightening with plenty force, there was no noticeable toe-out; the piece was still very firmly held, with even pressure across the full surface area.
Overall impression: This vise definitely meets my needs for functionality, especially given its bonus capacity. It operates very smoothly and solidly; the QR functionality is great. Apart from the cheesy dog, it looks good, too.
Regards,
Tom
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