RIDGID 66997 Model F-60 Forged Vise, 6-inch Bench Vise

Perfect for the mill!

Looking to replace my weak, worn out vise I turned to Amazon.com. I had a dollar range in mind. I focused on the vises within this price range. Basically, I was gonna get what I always got, something that was good enough.Then this one showed up, well above my price range. Hmmm, this'll be my third vise, add them together and this price is what I've spent over the years. Maybe for the price it'll be my last vise, and a better vise altogether.I ordered, it came to my door. I took it to the workshop, opened the box, yup, it's a vise.I mounted it to the bench and the first thing I noticed was the 4" longer handle, more leverage. Then I noticed when turning the handle there was almost no slop, the jaw responed immediatly. (nothing major, it just said quailty to me.)My old one when you grabbed the movable jaw would flop around, the new one, barely any flop at all.My old one, the jaws didn't line up much at all. The new one, jaws line up near perfect.The old one, if I clamped something to one side of the jaws and tightened, I could see the jaw flex under load.The new one, solid clamping no matter where the clamping force is.I know it's just a vise, but it speaks quality and long life. I spend much of my free time fabricating metal and this, although just a vise, is something I go to multiple times a day, might as well walk up to a quality vise and clamp with confidence, as this one is.Jim

It is my first vise. I tend to believe that you get what you pay for so I spent way more than I probably should have for as little as I will use a vise. But I wanted to only make the purchase once and not have to worry about it again. This is a beast of a vise. Very nice and heavy duty. Looks great and works great so far. I do with the tabs coming off the base with the bolt holes to mount the vise were a little thicker. I haven't had an issuu and don't think I will. But they are a little thin considering how beefy everything else is on this vise. Don't feel it is enough to reduce stars on the review. That will change of course if I have issues with a tab breaking in the future. Until then, this is a great vise that my kids will probably inherit when I die.

The quality of this vice is excellent! It's rock solid, alignment of jaws are square and stay aligned when tightened down. I have used Yost Vices, and Wilton; this Rigid Vice is in a class of it's own! I've noticed many people are disappointed the Vice Jaws are Permanent-cannot be removed/replaced. An easy fix is to purchase some Jaw Protectors or utilize some Aluminum/Steel extruded L-Angle. Just cut to length to match the jaws.

I received the vice a few hours ago in a badly damaged box left by FedEx. The box was ripped in several places and wet. The package had been resealed in plastic and even that was ripped.So I took photos of the box and opened the package. The vice had all parts except the indicated allen key. It looks refurbished rather than new. Several abrasions on the paint that look like they are quite old. Severely stained with what looks like wood glue. There is rust in several places although not worse than may be expected from a package that remained wet and neglected for several months.I had a good look at the functional aspects and the vice appears sound. It looks like the handle is brand new. The jaws line up.Not sure what to do about this. Suggestions would be welcome. It weighs 50lbs plus.