Universal Vise Reviews

4.5 Rating 2 Reviews

About Lee Valley:

Lee Valley Tools is a family-owned Canadian business and manufacturer specializing in high-quality woodworking tools, gardening equipment, hardware, gifts, and items for every area of the home. We serve hobbyists, professionals, and tradespeople through our e-commerce site, catalogs, and retail stores. Our product assortment includes both proprietary designs and carefully sourced products, with a focus on durability, performance, and practical use.

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“as advertised. heavy and sturdy. I sawed-off a few inches from the threaded iron mounting rod becaue my setup does not require its full length. I use this vise to hold certain wood carving projects -- those which are not well suited for holding with my Veritas Carver's Vise”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 hours ago

“Universal Vise is a tool I like and would buy again. It has some design problems. The jaws have wood/urethane liners. The website description indicates “…this versatile vise is particularly helpful when holding irregular shapes at odd angles.” The first thing I did was clamp an axe head (irregular shape) in the vise so as to apply a patina to the metal surface. Once the jaw was starting to clamp one of the wooden jaws broke. The wood is a soft wood (which is not as advertised) which apparently can break. The orientation of the wood in the jaws is horizontal, and the wooden jaws are larger than the metal jaws. With the overhanging wood the wood failed along the grain where it was not supported by metal. I ended up replacing the softwood jaws with Purpleheart Wood finished with Watco Danish Oil – Neutral, which is a hard wood, and I have not experienced any further issues. After replacing the wooden/urethane jaw liners I found that the vise clamps well and at this time do not see the need for urethane liners. I considered this issue a product failure. If someone is considering buying this vise I recommend the soft wood jaws are replaced as you see fit. There are two flat metal components that are on each side of the vise holding it together and guiding it as it opens and closes. The inner distance they are from each other result in a very loose relationship making the vise assembly a bit floppy. I am contemplating modifying the components to make them operate more uniformly. I do not consider this issue a product failure. I consider it a flaw. If someone is considering buying this vise I wanted you to know this. It doesn’t make the vise “not work”, it just makes the product lack working perfectly in my opinion. Assembly and installation was very easy. I know many people drill a series of uniform holes in their benches to facilitate options to move the vise about. I just thought about a spot and picked a place opposite from my Wilton Pivot Jaw Woodworkers Vise and find it gives a nice variety of clamping pieces in a wide range of orientations. A slight loosening of the vise under the bench and you can rotate it with ease, tighten it and right back to work. I would buy this vise again despite the aforementioned issues.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 week ago

We appreciate your thoughtful feedback. We're glad we could help and that you're getting good use out of the vise.

Posted 1 week ago