PanaVise 350 Multi-Purpose Work Center (5-(Pack))

I have to say, i love this vice. The self centering jaws are great, but what really sets it off are two things.1. the super wide range. This is where all the others fall short that i've used. The smaller ones just have a 2 inch gap. Well. that stinks when you're working on a 2x4 piece of wood for something small (i was carving wood). SO having this giant range of available clamp widths is fantastic2. the base. now I didn't think i'd care about this, the others i've used are those with a lever you push over and it sucks up with a rubber foot. but having this very wide flat base holds the vice very stable. and the little trays around it are very handy to have. I'm going to get the soldering station too. but i just love this.the only negative, and it's really by design, you could never hold wood in this and saw on it. The head rotates side to side, now, under normal use holding a board, or a mortise cylinder lock, or electronics it won't be noticed, but it's not locked, so there's no stablization rotating which means if you put any real torque on it the head turnsbut again, that's really not what this is meant for. I know 80 bucks is a fantastic price though.I recommend this vice above any other small one I've seen.Footnote: when i got mine there was a mistake in packaging and the 4 little screws to secure the jaws weren't in it. You need these screws because they aren't typical. You can replace them with machine screws from Lowes, or Home Depot, but be warned you'll need washers. because the diameter of the screw doesn't typically encompass a head wide enough to go over the screw mount and clamp down on the jaw itself. it'll work with screws and washers but really doesn't look great.

I will update this review AFTER I receive my replacement.Opened the box and the unit looks new. But when it came time to open the jaws (and my clamps aren't even opened from package yet!) I needed to see how this thing worked. Widening the jaws was ok but i noticed right away there is some misalignment issue. The black screw shaft connected to the handle and the bottom plates where the jaws would screw down onto was bent. Not significantly bent but enough to see the shaft wobble when I open with the handle.When fully widened and upon starting to close, when I get closer to around 7"/6" closure, i noticed the handle turning would increase in difficulty and there would be a "click" and was definitely not smooth to wind close. This occurred throughout the jaws closing. Definitely attributed to the QUALITY CHECK on this unit when it was shipped to me.The shipping box did not include any foam, just a rough paper padding around the Self-Centering 376 vise that was screwed down on to the large tray base mount (model 312).I was really disappointed in the unit because i would expect nothing but the best from this manufacturer that many here have reviewed and praised. However, this was not my case and I filed for a defective unit return and a new one will be here in 2 days. I will update this review in 2 days upon receiving and testing the replacement unit.What I can say initially is that the Standard panavise base is of good quality and the model 312 tray base mount is also heavy and good quality. I bought this as a full set (model 350) so everything was mounted (the 376 mounted to the standard base and then the base to the tray base mount. The metal looks great and the surface does not contain any sharp edges or anything that looks to be machined terribly. Definitely no visible mistakes I can feel compared to typical made in china quality products...Updated: 2018-Oct-26Take a look at the pics. This new version is EVEN WORSE THAN THE 1st one i am returning! The same "click" is present but even worse than the 1st defective one. I found out exactly why it is "clicking" when closing the jaws. It's the washer that is too tight of a tolerance which causes it to buckle when rotating the screw shaft to close the jaws.I am giving this device a 2-star overall. The BASE and the large BASE TRAY are of good quality - the actual jaw vise itself is amateur. Definitely usable but don't expect a precision vise because even though it's made of metal, the manufacturing tolerances are just terrible. This is my 2nd replacement vise and it's worse than the 1st one! Look at the pic with a circle that washer is the main culprit causing the entire screw driving to open/close to be pretty bad - even though it works the washer is making it hard to crank close/open.I have the BASE and the VICE itself attached to my quadhands and fitment is perfect - that's because the quadhand was actually cut properly to fit perfectly. Other than the rust and that annoying washer, this vise is just amateur precision. I mean it holds my small items (circuit boards and larger objects) just fine and tight, it's on par with my Dremel plastic vice. And that thing is $27!Overall, I will stand by my assessment of this device being 2-star product at best. For the price I am paying, i really expected better opening/closing of the jaws - not a washer causing such problems!I need to also address the BASE itself and the TRAY - they are fine quality aluminum build. I mean you can close the black knob pretty tight on the base and the entire vice will not move around. It's overall quality along with the wide base tray i would rate it 5 out of 5 stars. Just the Self-Centering 376 vise itself I am rating 2-stars out of 5.The shipping gets a 1-star because there is no padding so the long 376 vise sits diagonally in the box and without padding, it can get damaged during shipping - my outter box already has two holes (one due to the winding black knob and the other end of the 376 circular bar end) from shipping.

I purchased this unit along with the Helping Hands with round base and an extra arm. All of the hardware was included to mount the PanaVise onto the Helping Hands round base which then mounted to the PanaVise base. I now have an amazing tool (see pictures). At first I tried the cheap alligator clip holders that you see all over the internet which I actually saw highly recommended on some websites. What a joke. My electronics hobby consisted of fighting with that tool more than actually soldering and working on projects. This frustration caused me to research everything that was out there which is when I came across Hobby Creek. Their products are unlike anything else available. There is obviously a price difference between the cheap devices out there and the quality ones from Hobby Creek. However, I am now actually having a blast with my electronics work as opposed to it being an exercise in anger management. You can mount the vise brackets two different ways to meet your needs. With them together they completely close for very small work. The vise can be moved to whatever angle you need and tightens securly. Also the base is very secure with the rubber feet, and for me at least, doesn't move at all. Everything feels very solid and very well made. I totally recommend this product if you are into quality tools that make your life easier.