Building a storage shed

Just a quick review of the 10.5″ vise i recently got from Highland Hardware. Model 53ED.

This is (supposedly) a copy of the Record vise of old which is currently produced in India. The jaws are 10.5″ wide and open to about 15″. It’s a quick action vise that uses a half-nut which is released by a lever located behind the handle. Squeeze the lever and the vise can be opened or closed by sliding the front jaw in or out. The screw threads are cut such that, if needed, you can close the vise without using the half-nut release lever by just pushing it closed, although this would seem to put unneeded wear on the screw and sounds horrible.

The vise has 4 mounting points (for 1/2″ bolts) for attaching to your bench but these required a little work. The holes on mine weren’t the best in that area and the holes were a bit small, but 5 minutes with a rat tail file and the bolts fit nicely. The back to mounting points are open end ed slots which make it easier to mount. Just drop 2 bolts through the bench top, add your nuts and slide the vise onto them. One small complaint is that there isn’t enough room to use washers under the nuts but i don’t see that as a big deal.

The vise comes with a dog in the front jaw which is held in place with a thumbscrew. The face has a machined cross hatch pattern and is made of steel. It doesn’t retract completely into the jaw however, leaving ~3/8″ sticking out the top. I think this is a poor design, having that much steel sitting above the bench top is asking for trouble as you slide material around your bench. It’s easy to remove it by taking the thumb screw out but them it’s one of those things that’s easy to loose. There is also about 3/16″ side to side slop between the dog and the hole it’s mounted in which may be a problem in use. Most likely I’ll make a new one at work one day.

The vise requires a 3.5″ thick workbench top in order for the front jaw to remain flush with the top. A spacer could be fabricated if your top is not that thick.

The front jaw is ~1/2″ thick and the rear jaw is ~5/8″ thick. The jaws are toed in nicely.

Currently the vise sells for $129.99 and Highland Hardware charged me $12 for shipping, which i thought was cheap for something this heavy.

In use the vise feels very solid and the motion is smooth but a bit stiff, which i assume will improve with use. General fit and finish is average to good.

I’d rate this vise 8.5 out of 10.

Brian

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