Wilton Tradesman 1755 Vise
One vise we looked at was the Wilton Tradesman 1755. If you don’t know Wilton, they are one of the leaders in vises. Dating back to an enclosed spindle design from 1941, You can find old ones on ebay selling for at premium prices. The Tradesman was our choice as it is the lower end of the “made in USA” Wilton line up, but still heirloom quality. When I die, I expect my children to fight over who gets the vise. That’s how well they are built.
The 1755 weighs about 53lbs, comes with a lifetime lubrication. So they really need zero maintenance. The jaws are reversible, so you can select serrated or reverse to flat jaws if you choose. The Iron is 60,000 psi ductile iron, The best level of iron ive found so far. The next level up in material would be forged steel.
Operation- It works as good as it looks. The attention to detail is all over this vise. Little things like the handle being at 12o’clock when the vise is closed shows that when the spindle is placed, its placed specificly for that purpose. It makes it feel like the vise is put together like a swiss clock. A very beefy 53lb swiss clock.
Jaws- The jaws are hardened steel, so you really would have to work to wear them out, but if you did, you can replace them, or opt to change the jaw completely to a different metal like brass to avoid damaging delicate work.
The best part, I think, is the replaceable pipe jaws. This vise will accomodate a 3" pipe. Pipe is measured by the interior diameter, but to my knowledge, the wilton pipe capacity goes by the outer diameter. So a 2.5" pipe, with a 1/4 inch wall, is really 3" at the outer diameter. So you want the biggest possible pipe capacity.
Warranty - Lifetime Warranty.
