Olympia Tools 6-Inch Mechanics Bench Vise - Model 38-616

PF SHI: Sturdy and steady for the biggest bang for my buck! Love it.

United States on Jul 12, 2022

OBEYOBEY: Great vise for the money! Mounted to my service truck, works as intended. Upon arrival in shipping the center bolt and washer backed out. I had to guess where the washer went. But it's working fine. This is the 5" vise. To be clear, the locking mechanism for the swivel base on this vise is not the one complained about over and over on the reviews. It's just a threaded bolt, works great!

United States on Jan 12, 2021

Jacques R.: Très satisfait

Canada on Oct 22, 2020

A. S.: I've had other cheap vises break on me, so there is a low bar. The takeaway: it's a cheap vise, but it should hold up to home mechanic use.
The jaw seems very solid and line up well when close. The operation of the spindle and handle is decent too. The downside is the swivel base. I tightened the main bolt that holds the body to the base and it still has a lot of slop. With the locking mechanism tight, the vise rotates around it a little rather than the main bolt due to the slop. It's enough play to be really annoying. The track for the locking mechanism is so poorly cast that you have to fight it around the track in the base. Do not expect a precision item, but it will do the job if you're nice to it.

United States on Mar 13, 2020

D3N1Z3Nx: This is my initial impression, if I don't update it, assume I've been tweaking away with this thing in the mean time because I have.
The shrouded screw is nice and it does not have very much play in it. I think I will need to wear the paint off of it to get it to crank fully smooth but that's fine because it is machined properly. All its motions work well. The only thing I don't really like is that the "feet" where you bolt it are not solid. That isn't going to pull this out of my shop even if it breaks because I will just fill it with weld and drill it but it might be bad for some. The actual design of this vise is what brought me to it. It appears to be superior in design to many so called better brands. They may have better steel but time will tell. Even lower grade steel will hold out if designed properly and placed with enough mass in the right places. It does have a yellow base and a "hammer-tone" finish that is just this side of over-the-top. If you don't like it, beat it up by using it. The anvil was nice and flat and I plan to make good use of it so if that doesn't hold out against my Estwing mini-maul you will hear of it.

United States on Apr 02, 2014

Chris Hinds: I bought this because I left my old broken vise (China Freight) at my last house when I moved and I needed a new one for working in the garage. (Metal working/auto stuff) This is a 5" vise that has 5" wide jaws and opens a good 5". It is made in China, but it seems well made, and the jaws fit together nicely. Not much play in the moving vise jaw either, which is nice! I did add a washer under the bolt that holds the base to the vise, as it was a little wobbly without the swivel lock engaged, and tend to be kinda hard on the swivel locks anyway. It is pretty much locked in place now, which is how I wanted it. I also added some grease to the screw and to the slide, which made it work a little easier. I'm sure as the rough paint wears off the slide, it'll be even smoother. In all, not a bad vise for the price!

United States on Mar 30, 2012