Tool haul... sort of

[04silverado6.0]

Broke my new to me vise i got second hand recently so ordered a replacement. May be junk but i just needed one for light work mounted on a tool box.

WORKPRO Bench Vise, 4.5" Heavy-Duty Utility Combination & WORKPRO 2-Pair Vise Jaw Pads, Magnetic Vice Jaw Covers Protectors https://a.co/d/2uSD0PR

Also, got a couple harbor freight orders placed. Triple square socket set(on sale currently), icon 1/4 swivel head ratchet(have the tekton kit to make this a 3/8), plenty of zip ties/misc garage necessities(on sale). Cannot forget the USA made USA flag i ordered as well.

 

[fantastic]

Maybe you'll get more use out of this one. Always something to get at HF. I've been buying their disposable masks.

 

[04silverado6.0]

Pretty sure there is a sale on masks. I almost ordered a few but i only use them with the die grinder so not often.

 

[Astro14]

I have to ask - why buy a USA made Flag when you’re willing to buy a junky Chinese vise?

Even for a small vise, I would rather find a used, American made, quality vise, than some new crappy Chinese junk which will break just like your last one did.

Here is a similarly sized made in America vise from the 1940s that’s been fully restored. Not only will it look totally cool, but it will work well for you.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1266787958...qmj0ZQZS5W&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[cptbarkey]

I have to ask - why buy a USA made Flag when you’re willing to buy a junky Chinese vise?

Even for a small vise, I would rather find a used, American made, quality vise, than some new crappy Chinese junk which will break just like your last one did.

Here is a similarly sized made in America vise from the 1940s that’s been fully restored. Not only will it look totally cool, but it will work well for you.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1266787958...qmj0ZQZS5W&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Not every American is as rich as those who think everything Chinese is junk. Harbor Freight makes very good products. I know you will have some other kind of comeback to this, good on you for buying USA when you can, but its frankly out of reach for most folk.

 

[Astro14]

Not every American is as rich as those who think everything Chinese is junk. Harbor Freight makes very good products. I know you will have some other kind of comeback to this, good on you for buying USA when you can, but its frankly out of reach for most folk.

You are making a class warfare argument, and it does not hold any water. I didn’t make this about principle, the original poster did.

He’s the one that brought up “made in the USA”.

I linked a used vice, that was restored, that was a small fraction of the price of new.

So, what I suggested isn’t “unaffordable”. I wasn’t suggesting a brand new $800 Wilton, made in the USA, for example.

My point is simple.

If “made in the USA” is important to you, then it is important to you.

If “made in the USA” is important to you only when it doesn’t cost you extra money, then it really is not important to you after all.

If 60 bucks is all you have to spend on a vise, I understand.

So, don’t buy one that’s fully restored. Find a used example - maybe a little bit of time on craigslist, or perhaps an antique store, and you could find a very serviceable tool and still keep your principle, “made in the USA”, intact.

The vise I use every day was made in 1952.

In the USA.

Here it is after I restored it. It didn’t really cost much more than a crappy Chinese vice of similar size and capacity. It did take a bit of effort to strip it, repair it, prime it and paint it.

What I have at the end is not some cheap commodity from overseas, what I have at the end is a cool antique, with a few battle scars and signs of hard use, that works even better, more smoothly, with much greater jaw capacity, than the currently sold junk that you suggest most people have to buy out of necessity.

And I did it without compromising any principle, or spending a lot of money.

 

[cptbarkey]

You are making a class warfare argument, and it does not hold any water. I didn’t make this about principle, the original poster did.

Yeah it holds alot of water, as it built China into what it is today, a formidable country that has handily intimidated the US for the past 10 years.

 

[Astro14]

Yeah it holds alot of water, as it built China into what it is today, a formidable country that has handily intimidated the US for the past 10 years.

Let’s not drag politics into it, OK?

The OP himself showed my point with his cheap vise that broke.

I’ve bought many fine tools from overseas. My iPhone, for example, was made in China and works great.

But that is an Apple to oranges comparison with this cheap vise that breaks easily.

“It is the cheap man that spends the most” is still true. Buying junk that doesn’t last is a waste of money.

A poor value.

In the long run, it costs more to buy junk and replace it often than to buy quality and have it last.

 

[facility1]

when buying a vise, look for a forged/cast steel vise, there are many good ones for sale new or even used, while the precision machining of the vise, as in the neck,threads,face plates are also important, and features of the swivel, rod handle & size should be considered along with jaw capacity and of course the severity of the use of the vise intended.

 

[4WD]

Let’s not drag politics into it, OK?

The OP himself showed my point with his cheap vise that broke.

I’ve bought many fine tools from overseas. My iPhone, for example, was made in China and works great.

But that is an Apple to oranges comparison with this cheap vise that breaks easily.

“It is the cheap man that spends the most” is still true. Buying junk that doesn’t last is a waste of money.

A poor value.

In the long run, it costs more to buy junk and replace it often than to buy quality and have it last.

an Apple to oranges … I see what you did there

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

This thread forced me to go out in the garage and look at my vice, gifted to me (unsolicited) by a kind coworker. Sears, made in USA in the 50s to early 60s, three and a half inch. A number are available from online sellers for $17 to $50.

 

[04silverado6.0]

To add to the discussion i just needed a cheap vise to hold things for the die grinder and do minor work. A US flag made in china is in my opinion a disgrace. I like USA built tools as much as the next guy but i wont have a chinese flag hanging in the shop.