STANLEY183068 MaxSteel Heavy-Duty Bench Vice 150mm 6-inch

The Stanley 183068 MaxSteel Heavy-Duty Bench Vice 150mm 6-inch is a rugged and reliable tool that has proven its worth over the long term. Constructed from durable materials, it's built to withstand heavy use in various workshop environments. Its 150mm jaw width provides ample clamping capacity, allowing you to tackle a wide range of projects with ease.One of the standout features of this bench vice is its heavy-duty design, which ensures stability and durability even when handling tough materials or applying significant pressure. The steel construction is robust and built to last, making it a dependable tool for years to come.The vice's smooth operation and precise clamping mechanism make it easy to secure workpieces firmly in place, providing stability and accuracy during machining, welding, or other tasks. The swivel base adds versatility, allowing you to position your workpiece at the optimal angle for greater convenience and efficiency.Over time, the vice maintains its performance and reliability, showing minimal signs of wear and tear thanks to its high-quality construction. Whether you're a professional tradesperson or a DIY enthusiast, this bench vice delivers consistent results, making it an indispensable addition to any workshop or garage.Overall, the Stanley 183068 MaxSteel Heavy-Duty Bench Vice 150mm 6-inch earns high marks for its durability, versatility, and performance, making it a solid investment for anyone in need of a reliable vice for their workspace.

A well trusted tool supplier (Stanley).Robust and well made especially for the price

*************************Update** Dropped 1 star because swivel base turns under high load. I was trying to calibrate a 28-210 Nm torque wrench with the square drive in the vice, and even with both handles fully tightened it spun the base at around only 100 Nm. Had to put torque wrench in the vertical plane instead.***********************Solid. The max bolt size you can use to bolt it down is M16. I got 80mm length to give ample opportunity for use in a thicker workbench if needed in the future.It is a good solid vice that should last, but a few improvements would be:- M16 bolt heads protrude up just enough to scrape the underside of the vice when you spin it. A touch more clearance would be good.- Mounting instructions would be helpful for a lot of people, including mentioning the M16 bolt size. I did some research and found the best way to mount it was on the corner of a workbench so that you can rotate vice to be on either edge of the bench. Also, the vice only has 3 bolt holes (not 4 like some of the smaller editions) and you have to be careful if you want to be able to put a vertical upright piece going in the vice because for that you need a small amount of overhang of the base so that the vice face protrudes just beyond the vertical plane of your bench. It is possible though, see pics, but not sure the triple bolt pattern is the best design for this kind of mounting. I'd be happier with 4 bolt holes and a better positioned vice face to minimise overhang.- It is difficult to get good soft jaws for this vice, I got Draper 14180 ones. This means that as others have pointed out the 2 magnets happen to align exactly with the inset bolt holes in Stanley 6-inch Bench Vice resulting in reduced grip and lack of centre. Since there doesn't seem to be much of an alternative currently available you will need a fix if you want soft jaws. Here's one:Fix:Buy a small pack of 10mm diameter x 5mm depth neodymium magnets for around £5. These fit perfectly in the inset bolt holes of the Stanley vice jaws. This not only keeps the soft jaws centred on the vice jaws, but also adds a good amount of extra holding force making it just about right - not too weak and not too strong. I got ones advertised as having 3.5kg hold force if touching.I measured just over 6mm depth of the inset holes so that gives about 1.5mm clearance (soft jaw magnets are also slightly inset) which is perfect as it keeps the magnets from physically touching the soft jaws which would then be too strong for convenient removal and also quickly wear.Be careful to get the poles of magnets orientated the right way before you put them in the bolt holes of your vice as they will repel the soft jaws and are so strong that once they are in they are hard to get out (unless you have spare magnets, though is possible to with 2 small flathead screwdrivers to wedge out bit by bit).

Very heavy and solid with nice wide jaws

Not having had a workbench for some years I at last decided to get one, and naturally wanted a mechanics vice to go with it. A swivel vice was new to me, but looked handy, so I went for the Stanley MaxSteel 4″/100mm. First lesson: a swivel vice, unlike a fixed one, requires at least one fixing hole to be close to the edge of the bench. The bench I’d ordered had the top rails going right up to the edges of the top. Luckily chopping a small section out of one corner of the front rail fixed that, and I was able to bolt it down using all three holes. So if anyone considering doing the same, well, it can be done, though it would probably make any true woodworker shrink back in horror. I was very pleased with the result; it doesn’t seem to match my memories of my father’s old Record vice, feeling a bit roughly finished, and with a bit more play than I remembered, but that may well just be my memory. It certainly works well enough, and the swivel base is reassuringly solid; it only takes a slight amount of force to lock it into place.Only one minor gripe. The jaws, at least on the one I got, are about 104mm wide. Not normally a problem, but I also got a pair of Record Irwin fibre grips, which are 102mm wide – presumably to fit 4″ jaws. With a good deal of bending and hammering they’ll fit, but I’d have been happier if they’d slotted into place correctly.Though this is probably of no consequence, the vice and the box both described it as being a Stanley FatMax, not a MaxSteel, though Stanley’s own website describes the 1-83-066 as being ‘MaxSteel’. I have no idea if this anomaly makes any difference.Also the product description gives the weight as 12kg. It’s actually about 7.5kg.