Customer Reviews

Jorgensen 40709 Woodworkers' Vise

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Jorgensen vise is perfect for the home workshop. It's easy to install thanks to the template provided and big enough to handle everything I work on. The quick release works great and makes it easy to secure work without effort. I'd recommend this vice to anyone that is serious about woodworking and conscious about their budget.

I recieved my vise and was excited to get it as I had just finished building my new shop work bench and was looking forward to adding the vise. I ordered the Jorgensen vise because I am very pleased with the quality of there other vises I have purchased. When I opened the box I was surprised and disappointed that it did not look like I had expected. I ordered the 9" vise for two reasons, first because I needed a vise that was not to wide and according to the discription the vise had a 7" face and as I only allowed 8" when installing the top of my work bench for the vise to mount on the front and not hit the leg. Well the face was 7" but the mounting hole for underneath were 2" wider making it a total of 9".
Second and most important to me anyway was the appearance. The picture on Amazon is different then the one I recieved. The picture on Amazon shows what is actualy the 12" model 41000 for both the 9" and the 12" vise when in fact the 9" model 40709A has a completely different face on it. One that is the same size but much more square. I could have gotten a square vise like that anywhere but as I said I was trying to find the right look. This may be a small thing but we all take pride in our work benches especially. I wish a little more time was spent on making sure the pictures match the item better and more pictures or details were availible in order to make the right buying discission

I originally purchased this vise in a local woodworking store and was told it was the rapid release model. To my dismay it was the continuous bolt model. I took that back and made this order from Amazon. The packaging was good since Amazon did a nice job of repacking the original shipper box, which had been thoroughly worked over.

This vise is very well constructed. The rapid release nut is an absolute must. I went with the 7" instead of bigger for two reasons.

1) If you are using bench dogs and you have a 9" opening capacity, just make your bench with dogs holes closer than 9" to one another and you have the ability to clamp very large pieces.
2) The face seems to be plenty big enough for me. Just make your hardwood face a little bigger if you want a bigger face on your vise. I installed a 10" x 4 1/2" inch hardwood face on my vice. It works great!

Some of the reviews complain about the black grease on the vise. I just put on some disposable latex gloves. They got a little dirty, but saved my hands. It also helps ensure that you don't end up with any metal burrs in your skin.

The only thing I didn't love was the wood handle. It is a little short and then end caps are quite loose. I just bought a 1" oak dowel and made my own end caps. Works like a charm!

Buy with confidence!

The more I use this vise the more I like it. After two years of regular use I am ready to buy another, perhaps larger, Jorgensen vice.

I generally agree with the other reviewers here about the quality of this vise. It is extremely well made and heavy duty, as well as reasonably priced. The 9 1/2" mount pattern surprised me too. I was lucky and just *barely* had enough room. Amazon should update the description to include the required dimensions for stuff like this. Otherwise installation was very easy.

But the best thing about this (and all of Jorgensens products) is they are made in the USA. If you are like me and are tired of buying stuff made in China, Jorgensen is your brand.

I saw many other people reporting damage during shipment. While the packaging doesn't look great everything arrived in good shape

I have used metal-working vises, clamps, and other rigs and jigs on my workbench but this is my wife's Christmas present to me. It works well. Only took a little while for me to get the hang of the interrupted screw that lets you instantly adjust the jaw opening. I have yet to get bench dogs set in my bench but I plan to for planing and routing big work pieces.