STANLEY 1-83-069 MAXSTEEL Multi Angle Vice, Yellow/Black

This exceeded my expectations! It is immediately obvious that this isn’t some cheap tat, despite the very competitive price, but may need a little patience and common sense to get running smoothly.PROS • Quick and easy to fix to bench, etc. • Flexible multi-position jaw positions • Sturdy - holds materials, etc. very firmly for a hobby viceCONS (very minor) • Ball joint a little stiff • A little shallow when clamping to a bench (could do to go further onto the surface) • Needed a little grease to make all threads very easy and smoothAdmittedly all screw adjustments were a little stiff, especially the ball joint, when I received the vice from new. However, a little lubrication (I used a very small amount of grease) and simply using the vice has freed up all stiffness.It is possible to adjust how ‘stiff’ the ball joint is by loosening/tightening a spring-loaded plate, adjusted with two screws. Obviously, the slacker the plate, the easier it is to move around, just a light unscrew and adjustment becomes very easy - but use excess force on the material and the ball joint will slip. If tightened (as mine is) then the joint is stiffer to adjust, but when tightened the jaws remain in rock solid orientation.It clamps to a bench (or any other surface, e.g. tailgate of a pick-up, etc.) very securely. I’ve applied quite some force to the material being held and the vice has remained firmly attached. It maybe could do to sit a little further on to provide a little more surface area rather than having to tighten up the clamp as much.The jaws on mine aligned perfectly and remained parallel and square to each other irrespective of the position of the material being clamped. The removable rubber jaw faces/cushions fit securely and are useful for softer, more delicate materials, and the metal jaws have a V groove for materials such as dowel, steel bar, etc.This vice is by design not a permanent fixture to a workbench, and obviously isn’t up to ‘heavier metal-working’ type of application. However, I have found it to be rock solid, big enough for the hobby/DIY jobs I’ve had, yet small enough to put way after use. I’ve even used it on the kitchen table!Previous to this vice I used a large bench mounted vice or a small suction-cupped mounted vice. The first, whilst very strong and robust, isn’t versatile. The second perfect for small soldering, gluing, etc. types of jobs, but not very strong. This Stanley sits nicely between the two.If you find this review useful, please consider clicking on ‘YES’ below, thanks.

Bored senseless by the Coronavirus Lockdown I decided to build a scale model of a Japanese Shinto Shrine roof out of lolly sticks... long storyAs a hapless ten thumbed oaf, my efforts and 700 lolly sticks later, I had produced a derelict shed roof after a hurricane... I needed to up my accuracy and up my game.Enter my new Stanley mini vice... epic purchase! Not the cheapest but not expensive, versatile and rugged, great value for money.A bad workman blames his tools... this little Stanley vice has elevated a bad workman to one that is no longer bored and even proud of the model he is creating.BEST WISHES AND THANKS TO ALL FRONT LINE WORKERS INCLUDING THE AMAZON DELIVERY DRIVER.

Larger and heavier than I expected. There are a few plastic parts but it’s mainly metal; jackscrews & guide rods, ball and stalk and innermost jaws are steel but most of the rest is aluminium. The aluminium body castings are well designed with plenty of ribs for stiffness and are well finished.The movable parts are fairly close fitting, in fact in mine they are quite gritty due to the close fit and slightly rough surfaces. I imagine that'll sort itself out with time and friction.The reason I've marked it down to 4 stars from 5 is due to the gritty movement but it’s mainly due to the non-parallel jaws.The jaws are closer together at the top, like this: / \That’s not a problem if you're just using the notches ie to hold a PCB or similar but it’s certainly NOT what you need to firmly hold anything larger.Trying to file down a metal part that’s help by 2 line contacts would be an exercise in frustration.Fortunately the jaws are removable via 2 pairs of slotted flathead screws. I intend to fit a new pair made of soft aluminium then do something hideous with a router to get me some coplanar jaws.It’s possible I just had bad luck with mine and everyone else’s will have 'normal' jaws. But somehow I doubt it, it looks like that’s the way the jaw castings were made. The jaws appear to be offset about 5 degrees from perpendicular.On the whole it’s surprisingly well made for the price (I paid about £16), just a shame about the jaws.I'll add a photo of them later (in all honesty it depends if I can be bothered)A fair addition to the armoury of the most dangerous thing on earth... an Englishman and his shed

I work in structural steel, very heavy gauge mild steel has been put in this vice numerous times and I can’t tell you how handy it has been, you have to understand that you won’t be able to bend or hammer steel in this vice but to hold and place into a workable position whilst you grind/cut steel it’s invaluable for the price, I bought this on a whim thinking it would be handy and all of the fabricators (and welders, erectors, snaggers) asked me to get me one for them because they saw the value in it, not the strongest vice in the world but for what I’ve done with it has made it basically invaluable