PANAVISE Model 201 "Junior" Miniature Vise,Silver / Black

I got this and a pair of the Model 301 vises to facilitate working on a model ship I'm starting on. I read the few negative reviews at Amazon on both models but went ahead with the purchase because I prefer to buy American on those extremely rare instances where it's possible. Bam! Score! Both models are exquisitely well made and functional. They do exactly what I need for them to do and I couldn't be happier. Excellent quality. One "feature" I needed was the option to mount these to a board I could move around my worktable. Most other options were the kind that c-clamped to a tabletop. Those would not work for me. That narrowed down the field as well. I need to clamp both ends of the keel of my 48" model ship to a fixture that will allow me to move the ship around while I work on various parts of the ship. That's what the model 301's will be used for - attached to either ends of a 1" thick MDF base. This 201 will be used to hold individual smaller parts while I'm working on them - masts, spars and the like. I'll mount this to a small board as well to provide a more solid base for the delicate work or shaping, polishing, painting, rigging etc. on small parts. Expensive compared to the off-shore models offered in great numbers at this site? Yes, they are. Worth every penny? Indeed!

For years I have seen the PanaVise Model 301 vise in stores and never purchased one. I never liked the design of the 301 head for what I need a small vise for. Then I discovered that Amazon carried all the PanaVise models and accessories. I liked the look and design of the Model 201 PV Jr. At first I was skeptical about the plastic jaws thinking they would be cheap even though the specs said thermal plastic. And the rest of the black parts on the head assembly would be plastic also. Well the only plastic parts on this vise are the jaws and adjustment knob, and they appear to be of the same high quality thermal plastic nylon. It has a very fine thread to open and close the jaws (which is what I wanted). It just takes a while to go from full open to full close. Don't worry PanaVise makes a speed control handle (Model 239 and on Amazon for less than $3.50) that will speed this up using all your fingers like on a door knob or just a single index finger in the hole and spin. It's made of the same high quality thermal plastic and snaps on firmly with no tools. For the model railroader (like myself), PCB builder and other delicate craft and hobby users you will love this vise. I do. If you want to add an additional base to this vise then I would suggest the PanaVise Model 308 cast iron base (also on Amazon). It weighs in at 5 lbs and makes this vise rock solid. For delicate work get the Model 204 neoprene jaw pads. You will not be dissapointed with this vise.

When I started my latest project I found that I needed something solid to hold the components while I do my soldering. After looking at a few options I chose the PanaVise because the base was metal and the vise looked flexible enough to hold the multiple positions required while soldering boards. The vice is a perfect size for my workbench and holds things solid even when not mounted to the table. The grip has a couple nice notches that work great for holding PCB boards. The nut to tighten things is solid and doesn't require much force to cinch up and hold things steady. The vice also has a nice range of movement and works well for soldering small components.

As long as I limit use of this vise to the intended purpose and recognize the limitations...this is a handy little vise. However, as you know, does not replace the need for a 6" cast-iron vise on the garage workbench. Also, go ahead and purchase the #239 'speed control handle' with the #201 Junior for another $3.49. I don't understand why its not already included by PanaVise? So I really give this little vise 5 for functionality/concept and manufacturing quality. But material quality (more so material selection) is 3-4 at best. Time, and limit the abuse, will tell the durability story. One feature, included intentional/unintentional in the design, is the end-of-travel stop on the lead-screw comes off if the vise jaws are opened beyond the maximum 2.875-inch. Not sure if this was intended to prevent user from stripping lead-screw threads in the opening direction...#10-24 lead-screw and spindle-nut are a ferrous metal. Vice jaw is a nylon material and the base is cast aluminum... Modification; I had some (roughly) 2-inch diameter round-base magnets (RB50CX6) on hand so I decided to attach them to the #201 Junior vise. The magnets had ~13/64-inch (5mm) hole in the middle that I enlarged to 1/4-inch to match the the vise base mounting holes. I added some 2-inch wide Gorilla Clear Repair Tape to the bottom of the magnets to protect surface from damage during attachment/removal of the magnetic base... Mod allows me to attach the vice to a QuadHands base-plate for stability and increase usefulness of the both the PanaVise #201 Junior and the QuadHands Deluxe workbench. In addition, the weight and surface area of the magnets attached to the base also improved vice stability when just setting on the workbench. Overall I recommend this little vice for hobbies / electronics and other lite-duty projects.

If you're working on items that generally fit in a hand: cellphones, calculators, small PCB electronics, etc., Panavise Junior will work. Unlike its bigger brother, PanaVise 300 Standard Base it will unlikely tip over since hand sized objects may not be big enough to offset the vise's center of gravity. Its easy enough to screw mount it to a larger flat piece of scrap wood, or as I do, zip tie it to a 5 pound barbell weight plate temporarily. As is, and without extra bulk it makes it easier to transport and use. The jaws are made of plastic, but can resist some amount of heat. However, it won't take being hit directly by a soldering iron. Its rigid enough to hold firmly, and its amazing something made so cheaply work so well. The box says its made in USA, but there are no marks to suggest the same. The vise is made to hold items, while a helping hand Cables To Go Helping Hands with Magnifier is more for smaller items, like holding wires on a PCB, so they complement rather than replace each other. Panavises vises hold value well; auction sites often have 30+ year old used models that fetch 50%+ the cost of new models, or accessories. Older models are much heftier and better finished. There is one option available as of this writing, a wheel you can overlay onto the thumbscrew so you can spin the screw with your finger to get the jaws moving faster. Cons The finish is fairly crude. Its rough and not the same quality of materials and workmanship of the original Panavise from the 1980s, but it works just as well, and thus, can be forgiven. There are no other vise accessories that fit this base, as of this writing, but the Junior head can be purchased for the standard 300 bases, but it cost as much as the whole Junior! The screw used in the vise is fairly fine, so it takes a lot of turning to get it to open completely. The $5 wheel accessory should be included with the unit, not as an accessory. Despite a lot of copying by counterfeit makers of many electronic products, this is one item I've never seen as counterfeit, so most Panavises I see are genuine, this is one of them.

Bought this vice to aid in the assembly of circuit boards. The jaws have vertical and horizontal grooves to accommodate gripping the edges of your circuit board in either plane. The base is heavy enough that for small circuit boards (less than 3 inches by 3 inches) you may not require any form of attachment to a bench or work surface. Overall construction and quality of manufacture is excellent. For this intended purpose the vice is perfect. Whether it works for you depends on your usage. I have bought cheaper solutions but they were frustrating and in some cases entirely useless. I see myself using this vice for many years.

Before I purchased this PV Jr. I read a review complaining about it being plastic. Obviously, this is a tool for smaller projects, but I am extremely impressed with the build quality of this device. It is compact but has good weight - you wouldn't even need to bolt it down for many projects. I think the base is cast aluminum but feels heavier than I would expect aluminum. The vice grips are made of plastic but this is a very rigid and durable plastic - there is absolutely no play in them, no flimsiness. The metal adjusting rod runs through two metal collars - so no metal threading on plastic. Very nice. Glad I purchased.

I'll start by saying my vice came with the Speed Control Handle. A nice surprise and I find it very useful. It isn't mentioned on the box or description here so don't expect it to be included. I got this vice to hold locks for picking. Looks like it is going to work just fine and is a fraction of the price of vices made for that purpose. The vice is more stable than I thought it would be and that's great. Works as is but I will get the Neoprene Pads for a better grip on smooth metal. Very pleased with this purchase.