Just a heads up for anyone looking to make a large purchase of a Harbor Freight tool that is normally excluded from their discount coupons. Here is a coupon for 15% off (20% for Inside Track) without all the normal exclusions. It has been running for a few days already and expires today. Last chance to snag that Xmas present to yourself.

 

Icon 3/4" Breaker Bar total win.

 

Ha I started this thread about 10 years ago and it's still going. Nice.

Has anyone here bought the new Doyle 6" bench vise? I'm about to get one and most all the reviews I have seen are good except people not liking it because it is Chinesium. But every vise in this size/price range is, including the ones from US manufacturers that have true made in USA vises in their (much) more expensive model lines.
HF Doyle 6" Bench Vise

 

Pretty pricey for a 6" vise.

I bought their 6" back before they branded things, and it's held up to the abuse pretty well for about 25 years. No pipe jaws, though. Never missed them.

 

It is about 10% more $$ than a comparable size vise, but it brings the beef. These are reportedly much better than their older blue or black vises. I have broken the latter myself.

 

I got a chuckle seeing this new HF item listing:

 

I broke an older HF 6" vice years ago. Don't remember what exactly I was doing, but it was not something that a vice should break from. I picked up a Record blue 6" vice from lowes and it has been doing good for years now.

 

That’s now an industry standard thanks to the internet. My snap-on rep comes through the shop with this set in hand a couple times a year. Only it’s $199 (normally $299! (As if that’s better)).

 

It's hard to argue with the value there, but really, 6" is a lot of vise. I have a slight old-school vise addiction (maybe you'd even say collecting them is a vice) and I think my largest is a 5" Columbian. It's big and heavy and kinda sloppy, but it's good for bench-visey things. I bought it recently for about $100 off Craigslist.

My other vises are a Columbian 3.5" and a Wilton Cadet with 5" jaws. The Wilton was the priciest at $225 or so. It's about the perfect vise, I just feel bad using it for some of the more ape-like tasks, hence the big ugly Columbian.

I guess this is my way of saying - there are sometimes droughts, but I've found my local Craigslist to be a great resource for vises, and they're usually fairly cheap, unless the seller is one of those "I know what I have" jerks. And I'd choose old over new any day, though it's not always the smart decision. I have nothing against Made in China, unlike some asshats here, but a vise is very easy to make to a price point. My preference is for the old school stuff in this case.

 

I agree that searching for a good used one is money better spent. Estate sales also.
My garage bling.