Pattern Makers Vice

[ozziebluesman]

Hi to everyone.

Sometime back a few of us here bought a Pattern Makers Vice from Woodwork Supply in the USA at a good deal.

A friend and fellow builder spotted my vice and asked where I got it from. I gave him the story that a few of us bought the vice at a great price.

I have been searching the web for one of these vices for my mate but have not had any luck!

Has anyone seen these vices for sale anywhere?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Cheers

Alan

[Allen]

I had a quick look, and even the place we got ours doesn't seem to have them any more. I recall when I was wanting on that they were a really rare bird to find. Just got so lucky with the deal we got.

[Kim]

Seems that a lot of places did stock them for a time but maybe the foundry making them floundered...Stewmac still do them.

I will add that the group buy thing was a luckout all round. The shipping cost for such a heavy item was silly cheap and I reckon the vendor (edit) Woodworking Supply, must have had a glitch with their shopping cart calculator and worn it on the chin....they soon fixed it though.

P.S. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Vises ... _Vise.html

Cheers

Kim

[Lillian]

They are still out there. They are also called gunstock carving vise.

Quick search I found these.

Garrett Wade is partial to theirs. I'd almost say emotionally attached. $159.65

Woodcraft has one $134.99

Woodworking Supply also has one. $123.99

I recently picked this one up when it was on sale.

I didn't check out shipping.

[Kim]

Yep Lil as I recall 'Woodworking Supply' is were most on the forum got ours. They had a special on ATT 'and' shipping was cheeeeeaap so it was a no brainer. Looking at the list now I would get the Stewmac job as it has a few refinements such as nylon pivot washers, hand wheel crank, urethane lined hardwood jaws and roller bearings on the screw all of which are worth while considering that they are much the same price anyhow. Guess it would come down to shipping but SM have traditionally been the best bet there also.

Cheers

Kim

[ozziebluesman]

Thanks Allen, Kim and Lil for your help. I will pass on the links.

The vice price is ok but the shipping is going to be very high!

Cheers

Alan

[liam_fnq]

I'd love to get one of these too but the shipping cost is a little hard to swallow.

[Matt Bach]

I thought the stewmac one was stupid and far too expensive to ship but I bought it anyway on a whim. A couple of years later, I use it literally every day and am considering getting another. If a local variant pops up I am all ears, otherwise I'll gladly pay for another stewmac version, they become very handy and the cost is justifiable I reckon (if you can deduct it).

[simonm]

For Europeans the same one is available in Germany http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/product ... s-Vise.htm at 119 euros incl tax. Plus shipping which is not bad within Germany or the EU and with free shipping after a certain order value (EU only).

[steve_I]

Looking at the list now I would get the Stewmac job as it has a few refinements such as nylon pivot washers, hand wheel crank, urethane lined hardwood jaws and roller bearings on the screw all of which are worth while considering that they are much the same price anyhow. Guess it would come down to shipping but SM have traditionally been the best bet there also.

Cheers

Kim

Kim,

Even though SM continues to advertise that the unit has a large roller bearing at the front, my experience is that it is not the same as the picture. The bearings are hidden behind the handle. There is also no nylon pivot washer as such but a nylon-cored nut that holds the upper jaw on. The casting is rough and imprecise - the hole in the rear upper rotating jaw that the axle slides through was 4mm off center which made the jaws mis-align. You can fix this this by re-mounting the hardwood jaws. From my correspondence with SM regarding the issues and from reading the reviews, it seems that it's pot-luck whether you get a "good" vise or a lemon. SM doesn't carry spares so there's no way to replace dodgey parts - you have to send it all back and I was told that there is no guarantee that the replacement would be any better. I would read all the reviews before making a decision about buying.

Having said all that (and having fixed the problem with jaw misalignment), the vise does work as expected and it gets used all the time - just don't expect a precision made tool. They must have at some stage had the model shown in the pictures (with large roller bearing at the front) but at the time I bought one they were not shipping that exact model.

Regards,
Steve.

[Dominic]

These are great vices for carving necks. I wouldn't be without one now.
Dom