Which Bench Vise Brand Wins?

replaceable hardened steel jaws, claims rugged cast iron

medium-duty cast iron, 30,000 PSI tensile strength, smooth polished steel anvil 3 and 1/2 in by 3 and 1/2 in, 120 degree swivel base with dual lockdown nuts, three anchor holes, replaceable micro-groove tooth steel jaws

tensile strength ductile cast iron, replaceable top jaws

captured safety jaw, anvil and pipe jaws incorporated, aggressive steel jaws, four hold downs versus three on the previous brands

gray cast iron body, double lockdown swivel base rotating 120 degrees, groove steel jaw inserts, large anvil work surface

interlocking swivel base, two lockdowns, high strength steel bar, 30,000 PSI cast iron components

steel handle with anti-pinch steel rings, 75,000 PSI tensile strength drop forged steel, patented parallel jaw alignment system

replaceable hardened jaw faces, powder coated finish, heavy reinforced three-lug base, permanent pipe jaws, polished anvil and anvil horn

heavy-duty cast iron body, number 45 steel jaws with diamond-shaped grooves, 360 degree swivel base, powder coated

heaviest yet at the time of testing

by far the heaviest in the lineup

very light

China

China

China

China

China

China

Germany

China

China

most yet at the time of testing, finished first overall

about 1,000 lb less than the Central Forge, larger diameter screw and coarser thread pitch hurt this test

about 200 lb less than the Irwin, third overall

ran out of steam about 500 lb sooner than the Central Forge, finished second overall

ran out of steam early

almost 900 lb less than the Myoyay

not spoken directly; derived as approximately 2,183 lb from the Olympia Tools comparison sentence ('1,283 lb is almost 900 lb less than the Maurey')

Rockwell hardness less than 40, but didn't scratch as easily as the Olympia

very soft, rebounded quite a bit on impact, anvil acted more like a springboard

very soft, just like the Irwin

just as soft as the Forward

not quite as soft as the Baileigh, but jumped off the floor a little more than the Irwin and the Baileigh

pretty soft, but being the heaviest vise it did not react to the impact as much as many other brands

much harder than all previous brands, no visible damage from the HRC 40, 45, and 50 files, a light scratch from the 55 file, a little deeper scratch from the 60 file

even softer than the Myoyay, no bounce at all from the impact, described as a bad sign

very easy to scratch, quite a bit softer than Rockwell HRC 40

best yet at the time of testing, about 20 percent less damage than the Myoyay

more damage than the Central Forge and the Myoyay

deepest yet at the time of testing

deepest yet at the time of testing

a little better than the Irwin and the Baileigh

a pretty big dent

best yet, about 93 percent less damage than the best vise so far, hammer punch visibly sparked on contact

no exact depth figure given, described only as 'a really large hole', anvil called extremely thin and not designed for a serious blow

easily withstood blows up to 2 ft; first brand to reach the maximum 3 ft height; handled blows 1 through 3 from full height fine, jaw movement appeared on blow 4, jaw screw flew off on blow 5 (technical break); fully failed when the upper jaw came loose and the two screws holding the replaceable jaw sheared; did not complete all 10 blows

made it to the maximum 3 ft height without a problem; fine on blow 1, something flew off on blow 2; kept taking blows, required retightening partway through; still holding the workpiece after 10 blows but the bolts holding the replaceable jaw finally broke; survived all 10 blows with damage

only one hold down screw; held the workpiece fine through all 10 back-to-back blows; bolts securing the vice jaws broke during the test but no visible damage to the hold down assembly; survived with damage

first hammer strike from 3 ft loosened the hold downs; hold down screws tightened as much as possible but stayed loose; survived all 10 blows, but the metal hold down bar and retaining bolts ended up bent

base cracked after just two hammer blows; fully broken into several pieces after three blows; called a light duty vise not designed for serious blows; did not survive the test

survived all 10 back-to-back blows from full height without any visible damage, the first vise to survive the entire test undamaged

one hammer blow from full height caused a lot of damage despite the great anvil, base badly bent; did not survive to 10 blows

already loosening at 6 in, even looser at 12 in; the 2 ft blow was all it could handle, hold downs no longer holding securely; finished off by a 24 in drop, hold down bar bent badly and hold down screws ripped out

fine at 6 in and 1 ft; loosening at 18 in; failed at the 2 ft drop, lockdown collar broke into two pieces

main screw finally broke, called 'not bad for a $78 vise'

back of the vise suddenly came apart though the screw itself survived

main screw broke at the spot drilled for a retaining pin, slide experienced a small bend; handle badly bent around 11,000 lb before that

screw broke, handle badly bent at about 10,000 lb before that

no exact final failure figure given; handle noted holding fine at 'just over 10,000 lb' before the main body finally blew apart into several pieces

screw stretched and reached failure point, slide experienced a pretty bad bend; handle finished bending around 7,500 lb before that

no exact final failure figure given; handle was holding up fine at 'just over 9,000 lb', then the transcript states it 'made it to finally gave up after several more turns' without stating the number, slide experienced a small bend

main body broke from front to back

jaw was the source of failure and the screw was badly bent