These were Chinese made Wilton Knock-offs, but they were very well made and were quite popular. I still see them floating around on ebay, but are quite a bit pricier these days.
I needed a new vise in my machine shop. The old $30 import that had been used for 10 years finally broke down and I just junked it. I looked quite a while on ebay for a nice USA made Craftsman or other brand, but it just wasn't happening. Everytime a good deal came up for a final bid, the shipping charges killed the deal. So I started searching locally on CL and found many good US made models selling for way over $100.
I visited Sears and looked at all the regular "Craftsman" vises and was pretty much convinced that HF and Sears buy from the same Chinese companies now. That is until I saw this Craftsman Professional 4-1/2" vise. What a difference from the regular line -- it has great castings, a flawless finish, and the lead screw has absolutely no slop. I was suitably impressed with the vise, but the price was a bit much; so I put the idea on hold for a few weeks.
Last night I received a "Midnight Madness" e-mail from Sears and that knocked 20% off the original sales price. The discount, along with a Sears gift card I got for Christmas put the price below $100, and made the vise basically "free" to me. I picked it up at the store this morning --
Whoever the Chinese manufacturer of this product is, I complement them on their work. It is truly a "Professional" piece. Rarely do you see a 60,000 psi rated casting on a bench vise these days; unless it sells for several hundred dollars.
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0259Medium.jpg)
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0266Medium.jpg)
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0260Medium.jpg)
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0267Medium.jpg)
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0270Medium-1.jpg)
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0271Medium-1.jpg)
Heavy duty hardware and a serrated bottom plate to positively lock the vise in position -- a feature usually found on much more expensive units
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0264Medium.jpg)
The jaws are flawless --
(http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/goodfellow_2004/misc/PICT0272Medium.jpg)
harbor freight has a knock off as well now. i have heard it is pretty good.
Quote from: skfarmer on Jan 18, 2025, 02:18 PMharbor freight has a knock off as well now. i have heard it is pretty good.
Good to know SK. Must be this one. It's damn close to the specs of the old Craftsman and about the same price. HF is making its mark.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/bae437b7-86f6-4a7e-ac8d-0ec8f6bd99f7/028a703f-d10e-46ba-aa0e-64aa0b94a6d6.png) (http://"https://hosting.photobucket.com/bae437b7-86f6-4a7e-ac8d-0ec8f6bd99f7/028a703f-d10e-46ba-aa0e-64aa0b94a6d6.png")
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/clamps-vises/vises-anvils/4-12-in-swivel-vise-with-anvil-and-pipe-jaws-57737.html
yup, that's it.
I too bought this same import Craftsman vise. I was on the fence about buying it and almost waited too long to get one. By the time I decided to buy one I think it had been discontinued and I ended up buying the floor model!
It replaced my old 5.5 inch Columbian swivel base machinists vise. I kept the Columbian in the hopes of someday finding a replacement set of old style T shaped jaws that were discontinued some years ago. Sadly, I had found original replacement jaws at HJ Epsteins who had purchased all OEM inventory of Columbian parts when the company sold out. Worse, I even saw all of that old inventory at their store! Money was tight then with 4 kids at home and I recall the price being around $100 so I didn't buy them deciding I would try to get them later. By the time I did that, none were left. Fast forward a few years and I found a guy reproducing the jaws at like $125. I jumped on that when I found it, but he was sold out of them saying he was going to make more. I kept track of him for awhile but I don't think he ever did make more and I finally stopped keeping track of him.
This replacement vise is a bit smaller than my old Columbian by about an inch. Though smaller, after a few years of use I can report no disappointment in its performance.
I looked those new HF vises you showed over and I would try one if I needed it.
I thought there were no more Sears left ?
Quote from: Hickory n Steel on Jan 23, 2025, 05:27 PMI thought there were no more Sears left ?
There aren't any left at Sears. This was an older post. They are still available on ebay and apparently at HF. The Bauer version of this vise looks identical.