time to go to Lowes....

[kaintuck]

I started on a in-term rifle(36 cal southern caplock,walnut stocked) and look what i did!

had this little secondary vise for 20+ years.....
whoops! I was using it to take out the plug....and i broke my toy!

never broke a vise before....next thing you'll know, i will break my anvil!!!! :youcrazy:

 

[jdkerstetter]

Breaking a vise and breaking an anvil aren't quite the same thing Marc.

With that monster you have at the other end of the bench, you know you shouldn't have been using the light weight. :slap:

Judging by some others posts I know it's hard to tell sometimes, but this ain't twitter or facebook, so you don't have to tell everybody every time ya screw up.

Some things are best kept to yourself. :wink: Just Enjoy the Journey......to Lowe's! :shake: J.D.

 

[jamesthomas]

Its the caplock curse, If you were working on a flintlock everything would have worked out fine! :haha: .

 

[jdkerstetter]

He's really lucky the vise is all he broke....really lucky. :shake:

We aren't joking on here when we tell people how much force is required to break some breech plugs free.

Every barrel received with the breech plug installed should be removed and checked, no matter who did it. Trust, yet verify.......as everybody makes mistakes.

Just let this be a lesson to some folks to use the right tool for the job. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[nchawkeye]

The cat did it!!!! :haha:

 

[Zonie]

No.
The cat was last seen walking out of the shop muttering,

"Damn novice! Broke my vice!
That was a good vice too. Had it for years.
It even worked for opening cans of cat food if you squeezed 'um just right and now it's broke all to hell.

I ask ya, what do you do with someone who's dumb enough to break a vise? I mean, you turn the handle and it closes. Turn it the other way and it opens. Can he get that right? Noooooooo.

I think I'll hide his chisels and other sharp objects before he damages something else around here and that new vise he left to get better be as good as my last one or he'll find a couple of cat dabs under his pillow tonight."

:grin:

 

[Rusty_Nail]

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: Thanks for the laugh Zonie!

 

[Eric Krewson]

I don't know if Lowe's caries any American made vises anymore. I broke 2 Chinese vises, at the time Lowe's had an American made vise for 3 times the price of the Chinese. I bought the American made vise, have put it through a bunch of abuse over the last ten years and it is still going strong.

I see a lot of Wilton vises at the local flea market, every size and pretty cheap. I would definitely buy American if you can find one.

 

Good point.
If you are not in a hurry, the best place to buy quality tools is at a flea market, garage sale, or, sometimes, an auction.
I have a collection of calipers hanging on the wall behind my lathe and every one of them was bought at flea markets for pennies on the dollar of what they would cost new.
In the case of vises,some of the old ones are massive. they don't make'em like that anymore. Old is the only way you can buy one.

 

[jdkerstetter]

...In the case of vises..... they don't make'em like that anymore....

Wilton (and maybe some others) still does.....they just cost a small fortune to buy one new....and often used, unless you are really, really lucky. :shake:

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Birddog6]

I bought this from Lowes about 5 yrs ago on sale for $ 99. Seems like it was reg $ 129. or 139. It is pretty substantial & I have breeched dozens of barrels with it with no issues. Now it is not like one of the old 250# machinist vices, but adequate for the job at hand. IMHO.







I recommend you support it & mount it out over the bench so you can put things in it Vertical & it not bind on the workbench. :wink:

Keith Lisle

 

[kaintuck]

JD....... :rotf:

is WAS tomtom that did it~ i just take the blame for him~i thought it was funny...broke a vise....

i will have to get a "amish" vise.....jacob has one vise on the bench....would take both of use to lift it!!! i haven't seen one that big before....

now if i REALLY wanna tell on myself....how many splitting maul handles have i broken in my time :surrender:

 

[50cal.cliff]

If you want one the will last go with Wilton but, be prepared to pay for it dearly too! :hmm: :shake: :shocked2: :grin:

 

[tbarnes66]

By the way, J.D. has let "tomtom" out of the bag.

He said you didn't look a day over 75.

 

[jdkerstetter]

...He said you didn't look a day over 75.

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

But in Marc's defence, judging from the subject of his thread here.....he's obviously wise beyond his years! :shake: ....................... :haha: :haha: :haha:

Seriously though, glad you weren't hurt Marc....and I hope no irreversible damage was done to the barrel. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Eric Krewson]

One of the last huge Wiltons I saw at the local flea market would have cost about $400 new, the guy wanted $35 for it. Last week a guy had three Wiltons from 5" on up and three anvils, two pretty rough but a fairly nice Fisher 80# for $125.

I don't need a vise, got two of them, don't really need an anvil either. I didn't go to the flea marked this morning on purpose, I was afraid I would be unable to pass up a good deal on what I saw last week.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Very unfortunate. But vices can be broken. I have a Versa-Vice that I used to use daily. My son over cranked and broke it. I had it brazed back together but it is not the same and now collects dust under my workbench.

 

[rdillion]

We had a pallet full of broken vises that went into the scrap metal bin at my old job. It seems like the tool and die maker told me they were cast iron vises. He said they had a tendency to break if they were hammered on very much. Good thing is that they are relatively cheap. All the vises in the tool room were Wilton except for one very old one. I'll have to start checking flea markets for a good Wilton vise. I wanted one for a while but didn't want to pay the price for a new one. I'm actually surprised my cheap vise has lasted as long as it has. I have seen several broken anvils but they were cast iron and had the horn broken off. Good anvils can be hard to find also. My buddy has an anvil that belonged to his father. It was made in England and the company went out of business in the 1850s. Bet that thing could tell some stories. :hatsoff:

 

[Vaino]

A "main" vise is such an important part of a workbench that buying one should be researched and many vises should be looked at. When I was working in my trade as a tool and diemaker, our bench vises were all Starretts...so when I decided on my "main" vise, it also was a Starrett. It wasn't cheap even in 1970 but has been used continuously and the jaws still line up, the jaw still moves immediately when the handle is cranked and it clamps tightly even when the workpiece is on one end of the jaws.

In contrast....bought a Versa Vise and after returning the first one, mounted it on the other end of the bench and really wished I hadn't. It takes 3 turns of the handle to move the jaw, doesn't clamp tightly and the jaws don't line up. It's in fact a lousy vise. Only very light duty work is performed in this vise.

So...take your time, don't buy on price and possibly you'll find a decent one. Good luck.....Fred

 

[rdillion]

That's it, Starrett was the brand of that other vise our tool maker had. I remember as old as it was the jaws still lined up and held tight.

:applause: