Olympia Tools Mechanic's Bench Vise 38-614, 4 Inches

I bought this because I left my old broken vise (China Freight) at my last house when I moved and I needed a new one for working in the garage. (Metal working/auto stuff) This is a 5" vise that has 5" wide jaws and opens a good 5". It is made in China, but it seems well made, and the jaws fit together nicely. Not much play in the moving vise jaw either, which is nice! I did add a washer under the bolt that holds the base to the vise, as it was a little wobbly without the swivel lock engaged, and tend to be kinda hard on the swivel locks anyway. It is pretty much locked in place now, which is how I wanted it. I also added some grease to the screw and to the slide, which made it work a little easier. I'm sure as the rough paint wears off the slide, it'll be even smoother. In all, not a bad vise for the price!

Great vise for the money! Mounted to my service truck, works as intended. Upon arrival in shipping the center bolt and washer backed out. I had to guess where the washer went. But it's working fine. This is the 5" vise. To be clear, the locking mechanism for the swivel base on this vise is not the one complained about over and over on the reviews. It's just a threaded bolt, works great!

I bought this vise mainly for the rotating jaws. I'm an artist blacksmith and a rotating jaw vise is great for holding things in different positions for welding and wire brushing. It is a replacement for a cheaper version of the same vise that I used for a few years and just broke. After searching the web, I found many posts about the cheaper vise breaking just like mine did, so I opted not to buy another one of that brand, even though the cheaper one is only about $70. The difference between this Olympia vise and the cheaper ones is that the Olympia is CAST STEEL rather than cast iron like the cheaper ones. Cast steel is more ductile, so less prone to break than the cast iron versions.As other reviewers have said, the locking mechanism is a bit weak as well as quirky. However, this type of vise does not need a heavy duty locking mechanism. When you tighten the jaws, the head will not rotate. (In fact the cheapy version I had did not even have any kind of locking mechanism - you had to hold it to keep it from rotating.) The locking mechanism just keeps the jaws from rotating while you're closing the jaws on the workpiece. Once there's a little pressure you don't need a locking mechanism.The lock is indeed quirky - on mine anyway. Unfortunately there is no manual with the vise and no description of how to use the locking mechanism. At first glance you might think it's a threaded set screw - wrong. It is spring loaded, so you might think it's a spring loaded pin that engages detent holes - wrong again. If you turn it in either direction, it will jam against the cylinder that the jaws ride on and lock the jaws in that position. What's disconcerting is that when it jams like this, the pin shifts at a slight angle. I would much prefer a threaded set screw or pin/detent mechanism, so may at some point take it apart and modify it like a previous reviewer described. I'd also suggest that Olympia make it clear how the mechanism works by including a note either inside the box or printed on the outside.Update November 26, 2012: I took the vise apart to see if I could "fix" the locking mechanism. The end of the pin inside the vise is a cam. Turning it should lock the vise, but I don't think they paid much attention to machining it properly so it works. Mine would cant at an angle, I think due to an irregularity in the casting around the pin hole. Also, the spring is just way to weak to put any pressure against the cylinder. My "fix" was just as another reviewer mentioned. I removed the pin and threaded the hole. As luck would have it, the hole is just about the right size for a 5/8" coarse tap. After tapping it, I screwed in an old bolt I had lying around and just hand tightening with a rag wrapped around the bolt head was enough to top the head from rotating. I'd give this vise another star with the locking mechanism fixed.

It does the job you want a vice for but it's not a quality vice. For example, you have to turn the handle about a turn for the jaws to come off the work piece.

This vise is very poor quality. I really wish I didn't try to save money on this and just bought a better one to begin with. It has alot of play in it. Also it does not hold very tight and keeps coming loose at the vise and at the swivel base as well.

Looks good and strong. Painted and texture-coated. Now need to try the time test.

Sturdy and steady for the biggest bang for my buck! Love it.

This olympia 5" mechanics bench vise is great. Not much you can say about a vise. This one has a tight shaft, doesn't wiggle around like other vises I have had. The base can swival. Has built in pipe jaws. I think it is a really nice product. Way cheaper than the local big box hardware store too.

Très satisfait