Axminster or eclipse vice
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Hi everybody,
I am getting things in place for building my workbench. And the big question is of course the vice.
I live in Denmark and, as for most of Continental Europe, the cast iron vices were never really used here, so vintage ones are impossible to find. The eclipse one that Paul recommends if getting a new vice is available in one danish online store and is kinda expensive. But then I saw that Axminster makes one too, also a 9” QR, considerably cheaper. But I can’t find any reviews on them.
Does anyone have any experience with these? Are they any good or should I just get the eclipse one and wipe the tears and get it over with?
Looking forward to hearing what you think.
ChristianHej Christian,
Have a depressing experience from the vices with the QR-mechanism integral to the screw (York variant, I believe). On and off, when tightening it comes apart in a quite nasty “explosive” manner. The QR of the Axminster Trade vices is operated by a separate lever and rod (Eclipse version, if memory serves me), and is reputedly more reliable.
The one positive aspect of the vices I have is that they open to 420 mm. Possibly, they also cost a bit less than the Axminster 300 mm version (which, since the start of 2021, also might be burdened with import fees).
Overall, my woodworking and the slide rods of my front vice aren’t an ideal combination, so the plan is for a 600 mm twin screw replacement
Sven-Olof Jansson
London, UK; Boston, MAAlright, thank you very much for your insight. I’ll be taking that into consideration. I made the mistake of buying a workbench from the diy centre Bauhaus last year so I could get straight to business. It has shown to be way too light so it flies all over the place when I’m doing some heavy cutting or planing work, the vices rack outrageously and the through-bolt joints make it way too wobbly. Expensive mistake but definitely a learning experience so now I know what makes a bench good or bad.
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