2022 test10 productsHand Tools
Which Bench Vise Brand Wins?
We compared 10 bench vise options head to head. Heuer 140 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Heuer 140
Price shown in test: $500
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Budget pick
Central Forge
Price shown in test: $78
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Construction | Handle Length | Jaw Opening | Jaws Replaceable | Weight | Made In | Build Quality Note | Clamp Load Leverage Test | Anvil Hardness Scratch | Anvil Impact Dent | Hammer Durability | Max Clamp Load | Swivel Base | Anvil Size | Jaw Width | Backlash | Claimed Clamp Force | Screw Diameter | Out Of Box Defect | Throat Depth | Size Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Heuer 140$500 | forged entirely of steel, claims to be unbreakable | 9.75 in, most yet at the time of testing | 8 in | not replaceable | 37.4 lb | Germany | very little side-to-side jaw movement and almost no backlash; longest handle gives extra leverage but also has the largest and coarsest screw | 2,820 lb | harder than most of the other vises, HRC 45 file left only a small scratch, the nail punch itself came away bent after contact | 0.014 in, second place behind the Ridgid | survived all 10 blows from the hammer without experiencing any damage, workpiece stayed secured without shifting | 22,590 lb, by far the best in the lineup, handle bent at just over 16,000 lb, test ended (not full failure) when the slide began bending downward and hitting the table | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Central Forge$78 | replaceable hardened steel jaws, claims rugged cast iron | 6 and 1/2 in, 1/4 in longer than the Olympia Tools | 6 and 1/4 in maximum | not tested | 27.4 lb | China | better build quality than the Olympia, but still quite a bit of side-to-side jaw movement; longer handle and smaller, finer-pitch screw helped clamp load performance | 5,357 lb, most yet at the time of testing, finished first overall | Rockwell hardness less than 40, but didn't scratch as easily as the Olympia | 0.0175 in, best yet at the time of testing, about 20 percent less damage than the Myoyay | easily withstood blows up to 2 ft; first brand to reach the maximum 3 ft height; handled blows 1 through 3 from full height fine, jaw movement appeared on blow 4, jaw screw flew off on blow 5 (technical break); fully failed when the upper jaw came loose and the two screws holding the replaceable jaw sheared; did not complete all 10 blows | 13,063 lb, third overall, main screw finally broke, called 'not bad for a $78 vise' | 360 degree, locks in place | 3 and 3/4 in by 3 and 3/8 in | 6 in | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Forward$90 | medium-duty cast iron, 30,000 PSI tensile strength, smooth polished steel anvil 3 and 1/2 in by 3 and 1/2 in, 120 degree swivel base with dual lockdown nuts, three anchor holes, replaceable micro-groove tooth steel jaws | 6 and 1/2 in, same length as the Central Forge | not tested | not tested | 28.9 lb | China | not tested | 4,222 lb, about 1,000 lb less than the Central Forge, larger diameter screw and coarser thread pitch hurt this test | very soft, rebounded quite a bit on impact, anvil acted more like a springboard | 0.024 in, more damage than the Central Forge and the Myoyay | made it to the maximum 3 ft height without a problem; fine on blow 1, something flew off on blow 2; kept taking blows, required retightening partway through; still holding the workpiece after 10 blows but the bolts holding the replaceable jaw finally broke; survived all 10 blows with damage | 14,455 lb, second overall, back of the vise suddenly came apart though the screw itself survived | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.116 in, quite a bit of jaw slop | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4Baileigh$164 | 60,000 PSI tensile strength ductile cast iron, replaceable top jaws | 8 and 1/4 in, most handle leverage of all the brands | not tested | not tested | 38.7 lb | China | not tested | 4,621 lb, about 200 lb less than the Irwin, third overall | very soft, just like the Irwin | 0.0305 in, deepest yet at the time of testing | only one hold down screw; held the workpiece fine through all 10 back-to-back blows; bolts securing the vice jaws broke during the test but no visible damage to the hold down assembly; survived with damage | 12,935 lb, fourth overall, main screw broke at the spot drilled for a retaining pin, slide experienced a small bend; handle badly bent around 11,000 lb before that | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.034 in, a little more side-to-side jaw movement than the Irwin | claims 4 and 1/2 tons of clamping force | 3/4 in, coarse, hurt clamp load performance | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Irwin$105 | captured safety jaw, anvil and pipe jaws incorporated, aggressive steel jaws, four hold downs versus three on the previous brands | 7 and 1/2 in, most yet at the time of testing | not tested | not tested | 31.3 lb, heaviest yet at the time of testing | China | not tested | 4,851 lb, ran out of steam about 500 lb sooner than the Central Forge, finished second overall | just as soft as the Forward | 0.028 in, deepest yet at the time of testing | first hammer strike from 3 ft loosened the hold downs; hold down screws tightened as much as possible but stayed loose; survived all 10 blows, but the metal hold down bar and retaining bolts ended up bent | 11,104 lb, screw broke, handle badly bent at about 10,000 lb before that | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.024 in, best yet at the time of testing, very little slop | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Wilton$166 | 30,000 PSI gray cast iron body, double lockdown swivel base rotating 120 degrees, groove steel jaw inserts, large anvil work surface | not tested | 6 in | not tested | 36.6 lb | China | not tested | 4,212 lb, fifth overall | not quite as soft as the Baileigh, but jumped off the floor a little more than the Irwin and the Baileigh | 0.026 in, a little better than the Irwin and the Baileigh | base cracked after just two hammer blows; fully broken into several pieces after three blows; called a light duty vise not designed for serious blows; did not survive the test | no exact final failure figure given; handle noted holding fine at 'just over 10,000 lb' before the main body finally blew apart into several pieces | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.033 in, almost the same as the Baileigh, felt solid but with quite a bit of slop | not tested | 3/4 in, same as the Baileigh, but the shorter handle held it back | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Yost 460$198 | 360 degree interlocking swivel base, two lockdowns, high strength steel bar, 30,000 PSI cast iron components | not tested | 6 in | not tested | 52.9 lb, by far the heaviest in the lineup | China | not tested | 2,891 lb | pretty soft, but being the heaviest vise it did not react to the impact as much as many other brands | 0.042 in, a pretty big dent | survived all 10 back-to-back blows from full height without any visible damage, the first vise to survive the entire test undamaged | 10,150 lb, screw stretched and reached failure point, slide experienced a pretty bad bend; handle finished bending around 7,500 lb before that | not tested | not tested | 6 in | 0.041 in, more than the Wilton | rated for 6,650 lb | 0.85 in, largest yet at the time of testing, extra coarse threads and short handle hurt performance | brand new unit already had a bent handle straight out of the box | 4.37 in | not tested |
| 8Ridgid$250 | steel handle with anti-pinch steel rings, 75,000 PSI tensile strength drop forged steel, patented parallel jaw alignment system | 9 and 1/4 in, longest yet at the time of testing | 4.75 in | not replaceable | 22.8 lb, very light | Germany | not tested | 2,447 lb, ran out of steam early | much harder than all previous brands, no visible damage from the HRC 40, 45, and 50 files, a light scratch from the 55 file, a little deeper scratch from the 60 file | 0.0015 in, best yet, about 93 percent less damage than the best vise so far, hammer punch visibly sparked on contact | one hammer blow from full height caused a lot of damage despite the great anvil, base badly bent; did not survive to 10 blows | no exact final failure figure given; handle was holding up fine at 'just over 9,000 lb', then the transcript states it 'made it to finally gave up after several more turns' without stating the number, slide experienced a small bend | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.012 in, best yet at the time of testing | not tested | 3/4 in, very large and extremely stiff for its size | not tested | not tested | 4 and 1/2 in |
| 9Olympia$78 | replaceable hardened jaw faces, powder coated finish, heavy reinforced three-lug base, permanent pipe jaws, polished anvil and anvil horn | 6 and 1/4 in | not tested | not tested | 28.76 lb | China | a lot of side-to-side jaw movement, screw very gritty | 1,283 lb, almost 900 lb less than the Myoyay | even softer than the Myoyay, no bounce at all from the impact, described as a bad sign | no exact depth figure given, described only as 'a really large hole', anvil called extremely thin and not designed for a serious blow | already loosening at 6 in, even looser at 12 in; the 2 ft blow was all it could handle, hold downs no longer holding securely; finished off by a 24 in drop, hold down bar bent badly and hold down screws ripped out | 5,466 lb, main body broke from front to back | 270 degree | not tested | 6 in | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Myoyay$63 | heavy-duty cast iron body, number 45 steel jaws with diamond-shaped grooves, 360 degree swivel base, powder coated | 4.5 in from end of handle to center of screw, shortest in the lineup | 4 and 3/4 in | not tested | 21.8 lb | China | not tested | not spoken directly; derived as approximately 2,183 lb from the Olympia Tools comparison sentence ('1,283 lb is almost 900 lb less than the Maurey') | very easy to scratch, quite a bit softer than Rockwell HRC 40 | 0.022 in | fine at 6 in and 1 ft; loosening at 18 in; failed at the 2 ft drop, lockdown collar broke into two pieces | 4,806 lb, jaw was the source of failure and the screw was badly bent | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.16 in, already quite loose before testing began | not tested | 1/2 in | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- handle clamp load leverage test with standardized 30 ft lb torque
- anvil hardness scratch test using HRC 40 to HRC 65 files
- anvil impact dent depth test with a dropped nail punch
- hammer blow durability test, progressive drop to 3 ft then 10 blows from 3 ft
- maximum clamp load until failure
- backlash and jaw movement measurement
“The Heuer is definitely the best vise with an average finish of 1.3, but it's also very expensive.”
Data notes and caveats
Three brand names required resolution against the description's Products Tested list: 'Maurey'/'Mauney A' to Myoyay, 'Bailey' to Baileigh, and 'Forward'/'Ford' (used interchangeably) resolved to Forward. Several individual test figures were not spoken in the narration and are flagged rather than guessed: Myoyay's clamp-load-leverage figure (only derivable from the Olympia comparison sentence), Olympia's anvil impact dent depth (described only qualitatively), and the final max-clamp-load failure figures for both Wilton and Ridgid, whose sentences appear to have a dropped number ('the Ridgid made it to finally gave up after several more turns'). Meta chapters (Clamping Force, Durability, Heaviest Vice in the Lineup, Maximum Clamp Load, The Best Clamp Load) broadly track the transcript's test sequence.