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Author Topic: 'Hobby' Vice.  (Read 12722 times)

Nemo

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'Hobby' Vice.
« on: April 08, 2016, 03:00:30 pm »

Due to restricted bench space in my small workshop I have decided to swap my fixed vice with a removable type to allow me a flexible position when working on differing projects.
I was taken by this Stanley item in my local DIY store and purchased it as it seemed the perfect item for my needs, with a respectable name and reasonable price.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-183069-Multi-Angle-Hobby/dp/B001HBS0I0
However, I was shocked/surprised that, on unwrapping this apparently well made vice, the bench attaching screw was completely stripped, therefore unable to grip onto the edge of my bench. Similarly, the twin screws adjusting the vice 'gap' were extremely stiff in operation and not what one would expect from a new item. On return to the store, the assistant could hardly believe the faults!
I then checked the reviews on Amazon and found 22 similar complaints to my own, despite many 5* reviews, which leaves me completely puzzled about the Stanley quality control if any!. Alternative vices of a similar pattern do not appeal to me and I wondered what vice, if any, members could recommend for hobby use, with the option of being removable. So beware Stanley!
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Colin Bishop

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2016, 04:01:46 pm »

I have had several of the cheaper 'hobby vices' and found them unsatisfactory. At the moment I have A Proxxon FMZ which is a bit more expensive but is well made and probably worth the extra for something you make a lot of use of. Mine is has a bolt down base but there is a clamp on alternative.

Look around for the best price though.

Colin
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Mad_Mike

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2016, 05:04:34 pm »

That's quite unfortunate as we've been given those at work as and there's at least 15 of us at they all work excellent can't fault them at all.
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2016, 06:13:17 pm »

That's the rub MadMike! Do I go the 'once bitten, twice shy', or do I take another chance on the Stanley as I like the look of it - but..........!! Another reviewer on another site did just that and got another, also faulty.  %)

Unless I can find another alternative I may just give it one more go. A pity, as Stanley does not seem to care much about the customer buying lottery! Next time I will unwrap it in the store and check it out and save myself another 20 mile round trip. >:-o

Colin, I like and  use Proxxon stuff and considered their vice , then found this review -

'Not good at all
The ball clamping mechanism does not hold the vice in position and it moves with little pressure. Stanley sells a little vice very similar to this one that actually works very well and cost much less.'


See what I mean?  %)
Bob.
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warspite

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2016, 06:15:09 pm »

I have one of these can't remember how much but bought it from screwfix last year, actually think it was around the £25.00 mark, only just using it in anger now, well not actually, keeping the jaw pressure down to just tight enough to grip with this stuff at the moment. I think the Stanley name is just that - the quality has gone the way of most diy tools now - Chinese imitations and the quality is that of an imitation.
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Colin Bishop

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2016, 06:31:51 pm »

Bob,

Yes, I saw that review too. All I can say is that my Proxxon clamps well enough although it hasn't had heavy use. The problem with just the one review is that you don't know how the guy was treating it or even if he is using it properly!

Colin
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Mad_Mike

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2016, 07:01:39 pm »

I would try again but from another source. If youve seen bad reviews in the same place its bound to be a bad batch. We use our vices daily on the factory floor and they go through some hammer.
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2016, 07:58:10 pm »

Mike, thanks, I have decided to try a STANLEY again following your excellent review! :-))
I think reviews are a guide to judgement and no more, and I trust, as you say, they might have been a bad batch. I will advise how the next one turns out.
Thanks to all for comments.
Bob.
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essex2visuvesi

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2016, 09:08:55 am »

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RAAArtyGunner

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2016, 10:48:49 am »


You will probably find that the Stanley is made in China.
There does not seem to be any testing or quality control these days.
It is left to the consumer, hence if defective, send it back and you get a new one, a lot cheaper than carrying out quality control etc.
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2016, 06:40:43 pm »

Nothing on it or packaging (which was the best bit about it!) to show where it was made.

Does not show much concern for the customer having 3 trips out to get what they want - if they're lucky!  %)
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2016, 06:45:07 pm »

I found one in Homebase today and with consent of staff I opened it and checked it on the premises. It appears to be working OK, but time might tell!
What a pity the days have gone when we could rely on a name for quality. B----r the Chinese! >:-o
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NFMike

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2016, 10:17:30 pm »

What a pity the days have gone when we could rely on a name for quality. B----r the Chinese! >:-o
Don't see it's the Chinese' fault. It's consumers wanting stuff cheap and British companies wanting a tidy profit that has driven the cost of production so low that only the lowest price manufacturers can supply the stuff. Which means workers that cost a lot less than £7 an hour.

The Chinese are perfectly capable of producing good stuff - IF we are prepared to pay.
Policing the quality is needed too of course, but that is true whoever you buy from as 'business' people will always do the least they can get away with regardless of nationality.

tigertiger

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2016, 02:05:43 am »

Off shoring everything is a bit like the Tragedy of the Commons.


If everyone does it, there is not real advantage, and all you have done is degraded the market.
If companies off shore, they can reduce costs. As a result they gain competitive advantage, increase profits and the consumer gets a bargain. Win win.


If all companies off shore, they have reduced cost to try and maintain competitiveness. Profit margins have not increased due to fierce competition, as prices are driven further down, and once margins have been cut back to the bone, quality goes down. The consumer does not win as they now have no job, or lower pay (in real terms/no pay rises year on year) and so they cannot spend as much and might not buy the product at all; and if they do the quality is lower than it used to be. The market can actually shrink and all companies in the sector are selling less.
Lose, lose, lose, lose,  lose, lose.  {:-{
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warspite

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2016, 12:13:25 pm »

essex2visuvesi, that vice is identical to the one I posted - granted in grey not green, and supplied with a circular adjustable clamp whereas mine wasn't  {:-{, its doing a grand job at the moment - £12.99 with screwfix at the moment - can't remember what I paid, next project to find out  {-),hmm theres a more heavy duty portable version for £25.00
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RAAArtyGunner

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #15 on: April 10, 2016, 01:26:26 pm »

Just be a ware that the Stanley, or other brands may not say made in China, even though they are.

Had a similar situation here, in that a reputable paint brush manufacture moved his operation to China.

All Chinese made brushes carried the Aussie trade brand.

When I contact them regarding a fault, it came about that all their brushes were made under Australian supervision and standards.
However they still made brushes in Australia, dearer, and these were marked made in Australia whereas all others were Chinese made and cheaper .

They did a six monthly visit to check on quality control etc, etc, but after my complaint said would need to see what had gone wrong and I received Australian made complimentary replacements.

Bottom line the brand means nil and could still be Chinese made.
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inertia

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #16 on: April 10, 2016, 01:51:53 pm »

I, too, bought one of the yellow Stanley vices. I had to rip the elaborate cardboard packaging apart to get the thing out of it and then found that the top corner of the jaw had been damaged (dropped?) whilst being handled in the store. The handle was almost impossible to turn and so the sliding jaw was very reluctant to move at all. The replacement vice was undamaged but I had to take it apart, clean and grease it and reassemble it with copious sloshings of WD40, before the handle was free and the jaw slid easily. Now all that's been done it's actually a cracking little hobby vice; I must have one of the decent ones!
BTW I don't know where they are made but the big #1992 trimming knife blades we all seem to use are much better if they bear the Stanley logo than other much cheaper ones. They're also double the price (plobabry Blitish steel...). Stockpile them while you can!
DM
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warspite

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #17 on: April 10, 2016, 02:16:01 pm »

I've two packs of 'STANLEY' blades 11-921 but unsure where they were made - the other pack is 8-11-700 and it says on the case, made in Taiwan, and if you know your history, Taiwanese are the real Chinese (ROC), not the Peoples Repuplic of China (PRC), who the Tiawanese ran from to Formosa, it already being a state they controlled.
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Norseman

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #18 on: April 10, 2016, 02:25:21 pm »

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/how-to-choose-a-stanley-blade-a-toolstop-buying-guide-a1169


Article (2013?) mentions Stanley moving production to Sheffield and is a nice little guide to their blades.


Dave
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inertia

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #19 on: April 10, 2016, 05:29:58 pm »

Have some fun with this lot! http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-524300.html

BTW My Dad (who came from Doncaster) told me this story about the Japanese Sheffield when ah were joost a tiddler...

Thanks for that link, Dave - I'll have a shufti once I've got dinner in the oven.

Dave M

(Did they invent Formica in Formosa?)
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Colin Bishop

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #20 on: April 10, 2016, 06:57:41 pm »

Mayhemmers are persons of many vices. I had four at one time but now it's just two and the whisky, the latter of which I share with Dave (the vice not the whisky)

Colin
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #21 on: April 10, 2016, 10:32:43 pm »

Have some fun with this lot! http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-524300.htmlBTW My Dad (who came from Doncaster) told me this story about the Japanese Sheffield when ah were joost a tiddler...Thanks for that link, Dave - I'll have a shufti once I've got dinner in the oven.Dave M

(Did they invent Formica in Formosa?)

No Dave, you are thinking of Afromosia! ok2
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #22 on: April 10, 2016, 10:45:53 pm »

Don't see it's the Chinese' fault. It's consumers wanting stuff cheap and British companies wanting a tidy profit that has driven the cost of production so low that only the lowest price manufacturers can supply the stuff. Which means workers that cost a lot less than £7 an hour.
The Chinese are perfectly capable of producing good stuff - IF we are prepared to pay.
Policing the quality is needed too of course, but that is true whoever you buy from as 'business' people will always do the least they can get away with regardless of nationality.

As other posters have commented - if the Chinese can get away with producing poor quality stuff  (or as they might call it -CLAP!)  and passing it off to us they will. That is why I see it as the fault of the Chinese! As a consumer (like Inertia) I want something that works, not a packaged piece of scrap metal (the Ch*nks know what they packing!) - and I am prepared to pay twice what I paid for this Chinese junk (pun intended! O0) to get what I want - wherever it is manufactured.
Are you listening Stanley??    >>:-(
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Colin Bishop

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #23 on: April 10, 2016, 10:55:23 pm »

As I think has already been stated/implied, the Chinese will give you what you ask for. If you ask for cheap you will get cheap and the low quality that goes with it. They are quite capable of producing good stuff but that will cost more and you need a good quality control regime in place. I'm sure many of us can remember when 'made in Japan' was an indication of poor quality, you wouldn't say that now.

I think there are often unrealistic expectations of what you can get from places like China. If you cut costs to the bone then expect to get what you pay for and probably inconsistent quality. I don't think it is a question of the Chinese 'getting away with poor quality', they manufacture to the price point set by the customer.

Colin
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Nemo

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Re: 'Hobby' Vice.
« Reply #24 on: April 10, 2016, 10:59:29 pm »

Colin, some people may expect poor quality for cheapness, but no-one expects or will pay for a useless/broken item. There is a world of difference here! Basically the problem lies, in this case, with Stanley.
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