I wrote about bench vises in a recent blog. Here’s a story about my father’s experiences with bench vises:
For Christmas I once bought him the biggest, heaviest bench vise available at our local farm supply store. Dad mounted the beast on his work bench.
A month or so later he casually asked where I purchased the vise, because it had broken when he clamped a hunk of steel tight in its jaws. I managed to find the receipt, and a week or so later he told me the store had replaced it at no charge.
Later that year Dad mentioned that the second vise had broken, and that he was going to see if he could get at least a little break on the price of a replacement.
“I don’t expect them to warranty this one, too, but I’m disappointed that such a big, heavy vise just won’t hold up to plain old farm work,” he said.
He worked out a deal with the farm store’s manager, but agreed that the store was at no obligation to warranty any subsequent vises. Which was good, because a couple months later when I visited the farm I found Dad cranking tight the jaws using a 6-foot-long cheater pipe slipped over the vise’s tightening handle.
His comment as he grunted and bounced his entire body-weight on the cheater pipe? “This is about the point where those other vises broke.”
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Procuring Farm Machinery Parts: The Big Picture
In the Shop: The First Time Is Expensive
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