Eclipse Vise Size, 10" vs 9" – Heads up!
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When I went to order the vise for my new bench I found an Eclipse 10″ vise for much less than I could get the 9″. Okay, what difference does an inch make? I knew what difference $40 made so ordered the “slightly” larger vise.
I’m getting close to bench assembly time so I took a good look at the vise last night. This sucker is HUGE!!! I have an old Sears Craftsman vise made on the Record 52 pattern and I laid it beside the Eclipse. I couldn’t believe the apparent size discrepancy so out came the tape measure.
The 10″ Eclipse is over TWICE the size of the 9″ Craftsman in volume. The Eclipse is actually 10.5″ wide, the height is 3.5″ from the top of the “L” shelf that connects to the bench to the top of the rear vise face. And it’s over 20″ long. This is more than twice the cubic volume of the 9″! I haven’t weighed them but I would not be surprised to find the 10″ eclipse is at least twice as heavy as well. I’m concerned that the 10″ vise could tip my 5′ bench over when fully extended!
So if you’re thinking about that 10″ vise I suggest you think again. You need a very good reason to order that “extra inch”. It looks like just this once it might be smarter to go with Paul’s recommendation. I’m starting to think that guy knows what he’s talking about.
John
John Purser
Hubert, NC
Interesting post. I do remember in one of Paul’s videos of him commenting that the 10 inch vice would be harder to work with because of its size – but I did not realize the magnitude of the difference!. Makes me glad that I got the 9 inch one for my 5 foot bench.
If you compare apples to apples, it makes a big difference.
An Eclipse 9″ is less than 5 pounds lighter than a 10″ Eclipse.
I would still buy the 10″ Eclipse (I did) because a bigger vise can do all the work of the smaller one but not vice versus.
Bob L
10″ vise-39 lbs
9″ vise-34.2 lbs.I have the 10″ and will not consider anything smaller for my main vise. It is about the size of the vises we used in class in NY, actually, so I don’t know why Paul is saying to get the smaller vise. We put our tool chest cacases in it, which required just about every inch of the vise. Sometimes I put things in along the grain to avoid flexing the piece. I really do not see the down side of the larger vise as long as there aren’t mechanical issues.
My son Seamus bought me the 10 inch Eclipse vise for Father’s day a few years ago. Once I had it installed in my bench I could not lift the bench upright on my own. I had to screw a 2×4 to one end of the bench to use as a lever to get it into an upright position.
I replied nearly three years ago, so an update is in order. I will admit I probably don’t use the 10″ to it’s full potential and a nine inch would probably be fine. However, I don’t regret having bought the 10″ and would likely do it again if I needed to.I will say that the eclipse vises are well enough made to function at a level that a pro would not be ashamed of, and would likely last the entire working life of anyone.I found that I like the softer poplar for jaw liners as opposed to hard maple.They grip much better and cause no damage to what is being worked on. I use paraffin on the rods and the screw and it is as smooth as can be without attracting dirt or gumming up the operation. I also backed off the quick release lever spring one notch to make it more user friendly.I use this vise daily.
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