Reply To: Bench vises
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Woodcraft (in the US) currently has the 10″ Eclipse vise on sale for $120. I’ve used one for several years. The Lee Valley vise is a Jorgensen style while the Eclipse is a Record style. On a Jorgensen, you can only screw tighter and cannot unscrew to slightly reduce the pressure. “Unscrewing” on a Jorgensen releases the catch so that the vise becomes completely free to slide in and out. By contrast, the Record can screw either direction. Some people like one, some like the other.
Neither is superior, in my opinion, although if you have smaller hands or not so strong hands, the Jorgensen has the advantage of not requiring you to squeeze and hold a release lever. I’ve used both and like both, so don’t read “you can’t unscrew to slightly reduce pressure” as necessarily bad. I think it was possible to order the Eclipse at the Woodcraft store and thereby avoid shipping charges, but double check. I’ve never regretted having the largest size of these steel vises (10″).