Wilton Tradesman Bench Vise (Model 1780A)

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.

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

Awesome vise!!!I installed it in the back of my crane truck. Do yourself a huge favor and put a few coats of clear coat on it before using it outside. Otherwise it will rust after the first small rain. Don’t ask me how I know 😎

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.

Worth every penny that I paid. Glad that I spent the extra coin and bought a Wilton. This vice will be passed down to my kids, and to their kids. They may not know at the time what they've inherited, but hopefully they'll grow to appreciate it.

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.

As I had read in the reviews, we found little grease on the mechanism out of the box and a little sand from the casting, but it looks like a very stout vise which is what I need. Better to buy one good one than break a cheapo right off the bat.

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.