I'm very new to blacksmithing and am fortunate enough to be able to do all my forging at a local museum. However, my time there is limited so I make use of it by forging. My intention is to do all finishing work at home.  So, while I know that a machinist vice won't hold up to hammer blows, all I need it for is to hold material while I file it. With that being said, is there any benefit to getting something good versus something from harbor freight?

What features should I be looking for? Size seems obvious, but anything else? Because of how new I am, I want to keep it relatively general. (In other words, I'm not looking for a vice specifically made for bladesmiths since I don't know if I'll be interested in that)

 

Thanks in advance.

You want a good sturdy vise with jaws that mate up straight, and square. Try to avoid the cheap ones that have a lot of slop in them, both in the screw, as well as the slide. Look on your local Craigslist, as well as garage sales, fleamarkets, etc. Vises are abundant, and I have found many at bargain prices- $25 or under.  If you get one with a swivel base, take it apart, or just flip it over, and inspect the locking mechanism, as many are broken from over tightening. If you stick with a made in USA, you should be fine. Wilton, Columbian, Reed, etc..

Second the notion of checking the swivel bases---many are poorly made int eh first place and barely hold so get over-tightened.  Chinese vices are especially bad on this account as one of the places they save material is the swivel base.

A vice is a lifetime tool so worth putting some decent money into.  Also, there is a HUGE difference in quality between the current crop of chinese made vices and the old school machinists vices.  If there is time, I'd personally get on the mailing list/check the website of whatever local auctioneer tends to handle machine shop closures and get the old school vice.  It'll be worth both the wait and cost.  

I'd also pick up some of those soft jaw covers:  They look like a piece of soft sheet metal that you bend to cover the knurled face of the jaws so that those jaw teeth don't leave marks on your project.  There is also a magnetic version of the same thing but I haven't tried it.

 

Great info, thank you. I honestly didn't think quality was an issue with these, so I'm glad I asked.

For inexpensive soft jaws get a length of scrap copper pipe/tube. Cut it as long as the jaws are wide, then split it lengthwise. Flatten it out, and cut it in the shape of a "K". The vertical leg is the width of the face of the jaws. Clamp the vertical in the vise, and bend the legs over the backside of the jaws. 1" diamether flattened out will give you a piece a little over 3" wide.

Edited October 13, 201510 yr by BIGGUNDOCTOR

For file work an el cheapo/Horror Freight vise will work fine. Just get a something in the 5-6" range and you'll be good. And while you're there you might want to look at a 4-1/2" angle grinder and flap discs to soften the corners on your new vise jaws. Me, I prefer to just make new jaw faces from appropriately sized hot roll bar stock to prevent galling vs "soft jaw" inserts. But then you're looking at more tools too. (Ruler/tape measure, Hack saw, hammer, center punch, drill, drill bit*s*, counter sink, and a file. Not to mention the vise to hold the jaws while they're being hacked, hammered, drilled and filed.)

Edited October 16, 201510 yr by Panday

I broke five inch Chinese vise that had a nice look, external machining  and finish.  I was trying to hold a piece of half inch cold rolled to thread for a farm repair.

I could not crank it hard enough to hold the work....eventually something cracked on the inside due to poor alignment of major parts.  I did not hammer on the bar, but it failed with just my own strength.

The timing timing wasn't good for finding a good local inexpensive vise, but did buy a nearly new Wilton C 3 for 850.  It weighs more than my Peter Wright anvil but it gives me confidence now when I step into the shop.  At about half price, I can use it for free.  The local Amish say:  "Iron never loses it's value."

Last week I found a beefy decent quality four inch Taiwanese bullet vise for ten dollars at a garage sale...sorta evens things out.

A heavy vise if a joy to use. Make sure the mounting is as heavy as the vise, and then some. No reason to have the vise mounted securely to a table that walks all over the place. Many build a vise stand that can be bolted to the floor for that very reason.