Vise, Vise, Baby

[SteveHGraham]

But what if good quality IS cheap? The cheap Yost is held out to be considerably stronger than a Wilton.

[Magicniner]

Then you're Quality!

[SteveHGraham]

Or maybe just not the kind of sucker who chases Snap-On trucks?

Like Nigerian spammers say, a fool and his goats are soon parted.

[Frank Ford]

Check the weight - my Wilton 6" is 160lbs., for example

[SteveHGraham]

Only 160? Well, I guess it will still be okay for light work.

[John Hasler]

But what if good quality IS cheap? The cheap Yost is held out to be considerably stronger than a Wilton.

Held out by who?

If the vise is strong enough to neither break nor flex excessively under the maximum force that can be applied with the handle and that force is sufficient to hold the work without it slipping, what is the advantage of it being stronger?

[SteveHGraham]

As long as I brought it up, I should clarify. They don't claim the vise is stronger. They claim their brand of ductile iron is stronger than forged steel or other types of iron. Obviously, a lot depends on the vise construction.

[SteveHGraham]

It turns out Fireball Tool sells a version of the Capri forged vise. He did a video. Using just his hands, he got a 4" vise to create 4750 pounds of force. This is a 24-pound vise which takes up very little room. He finally blew a weld apart by using a custom-made breaker bar. He sells this vise for $120.



For a long time, I've wondered why vises were not made from steel, and now I guess I have the answer. There is no reason.

Yost claims its 8" cast (ADI) vise, which opens to 9.5", will exert 20,000 pounds of force. This is not a heavy vise. Weighs 57 pounds.

Yost's metal, ADI, is a legitimate product. I thought "Austempered Ductile Iron" was a Yost gimmick, but it turns out it's generic. It really is way stronger than Wilton cast iron or even forged steel. Weird.

I found a paper online, and the abstract says this:

Austempered ductile iron (ADI) is a group of ductile irons offering the design engineers remarkable mechanical properties. It exhibits an excellent combination of high strength, ductility, toughness, fatigue strength, and exceptional wear resistance that is unavailable in other grades of cast iron. Austempered ductile iron is almost twice as strong as the regular ASTM grades of ductile iron, whilst still retaining high elongation and toughness characteristics. In addition to the exceptional wear resistance and fatigue strength, it enables designers to reduce a component's weight and costs for equivalent or improved performance. Therefore, ADI has become an attractive and economic substitute for forged steel and cast steel in many engineering applications.

If the hype is justified, ADI vises should be nearly indestructible, not to mention lighter and cheaper than high-end vises.

Interesting stuff. It looks like bench vise technology is going through a change, and Yost is the first company to make the transition.

[Harold_V]

Simply making a change from gray iron to ductile iron is a giant leap forward. Gray iron is not known for its tensile strength.

H

[earlgo]

Just before I retired I bought this Yost 750 - DI 5" Heavy Duty Multi-jaw Rotating Bench & Pipe Vise from Sears and have been using it ever since with success.

Yost 750-D1

It is heavier than I need but the rotating jaw is a nice feature for some applications. It can't be rotated after something is clamped in the jaws, but that is a minor aggravation, compared to the convenience of being able to orient the head in any position. It also locks by the pin you see protruding from the back, in 30° increments.
HF sells a similar vise for less than half the price, but I am hoping the Yost is made from better material.
--earlgo

[tornitore45]

I do not like the movable front jaw type. I like the rear jaw moving on dovetails like the link. (if the link works).
I had one in Italy and the jaws close parallel on all axis, you can hold a pin in a corner an file the top lengthwise.

What I have is a $50 HF that I do not mind abusing as press or anvil. If it break I am out 50 bucks.
If I ever need precision I can put the mill machinist vise in the bench vise but that need has not happen yet.


https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=ht ... mrc&uact=8

[John Hasler]

Stiffness may be what determines the amount of material required (Steel has a slight edge over ductile iron). Thus using a stronger material may not lead to as much weight reduction as you might expect.

I suppose what you really want is a vise made from steel forgings, but who can afford that?