Wilton Tradesman Bench Vise (Model 1765)

Great vice. It does everything I wanted it for.

Bought this for the back of my RAM 3500 Dually flat bed truck.The vice is pretty expensive, I gave it a good mark for "value for the money" because it is a very good vise.Not only sturdy and works well, but is is also reasonably well sealed to stand up to the rough environment on the back of the truck.

Awesome vise and the best I have ever owned or used. Only one small complaint is the hammer tone paint on it chips off too easily if you ask me.

With a few negative reviews I was worried. For the price a good buy; jaws are hardened and reasonably flat - well aligned and fit exactly together; no issues other than a bent tommy bar from shipping but a 2# sledge and a thick slab of steel under the bend fixed the problem.

The best Bench vice out there. Prove me wrong. you wont be able too.

Very disappointed in the quality. My new Wilton vise arrived with visible tooling marks, misaligned jaws with uneven height, chipped paint, and barely legible markings on the side. This isn’t what I expected from a brand known for craftsmanship. I hope the short-term cost savings were worth the long-term damage to your reputation.

Arrived intact without a scratch. I was surprised as it was larger than I expected. Extremely sturdy and smooth operation. Very happy with this purchase. I looked at several other brands and am glad I spent a little more on the Wilton.

There is no question that the Wilton Tradesman is an American classic that can be found in professional shops across the country, and for good reason. Heavy duty castings of ductile iron. Sealed, maintenance free design. Tube-in-tube design with machined mating surfaces virtually eliminate jaw misalignment and racking. Replaceable and reversible jaws. This is a vise for life and you can really reef on it. I have a lot of time and money invested in my home workshop and I wanted an heirloom vise that was up to the standards of the rest of my shop. That’s why I bought a Wilton Tradesman instead of settling for a hardware store special.Unfortunately, Wilton no longer makes these in the USA, and it really shows. The vise arrived broken, with both roll pins sheared in half, the bullet cap hanging out of the vise, and black manufacturing dust and crud falling out of the open tube. It was filthy. Clearly they are skipping some QC steps these days. I removed the broken roll pins, cleaned up the vise, re-lubricated it, and reassembled it with new .25x1.0” roll pins. Then I mounted it to the bench and called it a day.Obviously, this experience does not recommend Wilton’s overseas manufacturing operations, and it is a shame that the VCs appear to be hollowing out another once-great American manufacturing company. All that said, I now have a Wilton Tradesman vise mounted to my workbench and I’m happy about that. The vise is stout, the design is proven, and the material is ductile iron. I’m confident it will last forever. That’s what I wanted.