Thread: drill press vice

Originally Posted by cba_melbourne

Do you think the red Dawn drill vise for under $100 is made in Australia? Maybe from local and imported ingredients . I simply cannot believe its possible to manufacture that cheap here. Our wages are just too high for such stuff.


I still had the box where my disposable bench vise for the welding table was packed. Have a good look at the print just below the red line between the vise picture and the bar code. It only cost me under $100 new. I do not believe it could be made here for nearly that sort of money. And that design is not worth more either.

Attachment 312914

The following is a cut and paste from Dawn's page on Drill Press vices

<These vices are made in Australia and are designed specifically for machine shop or tool room use and have accurately machined slide faces, case hardened replaceable steel serrated jaws, corrosion resistant screw and handle. The bottom of the base is also machined for stable mounting and slots are provided for holding down bolts.> They do have a listing for a 100mm DP vice and I can only take them on their statement. I do not know what they charge for them.

I can't speak for their bench vices as there is no such statement placed in that section.

Grahame.

Originally Posted by cba_melbourne

Do you think the red Dawn drill vise for under $100 is made in Australia? Maybe from local and imported ingredients . I simply cannot believe its possible to manufacture that cheap here. Our wages are just too high for such stuff.


I still had the box where my disposable bench vise for the welding table was packed. Have a good look at the print just below the red line between the vise picture and the bar code. It only cost me under $100 new. I do not believe it could be made here for nearly that sort of money. And that design is not worth more either.

Attachment 312914

Yeah can't say I'm an expert I was thinking maybe they moved it back after your vice was made, it was only a few years ago from memory. There web site says Australian owned and made now when I was looking at bar clamps from dawn they where in the 200 dollar mark so definitely a made in Australia price )

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

The following is a cut and paste from Dawn's page on Drill Press vices

<These vices are made in Australia and are designed specifically for machine shop or tool room use and have accurately machined slide faces, case hardened replaceable steel serrated jaws, corrosion resistant screw and handle. The bottom of the base is also machined for stable mounting and slots are provided for holding down bolts.> They do have a listing for a 100mm DP vice and I can only take them on their statement. I do not know what they charge for them.

I can't speak for their bench vices as there is no such statement placed in that section.

Grahame.

Graheme, the cut and paste only refers to the "Machine (Drill Press) Vices - Super Grade - Unbreakable" model. The Unicut drill press vices do not have this text. This is the relevant Dawn webpage:
http://www.dawntools.com.au/products...=1&sub_id=8#18

I also found my bench vise, they call it a shop vice and no mention where it comes from, only if you buy it you will see "made to Dawn specifications and qualty standards in China" on the box:
http://www.dawntools.com.au/products...=1&sub_id=6#11

It seems therefore not unlikely, that any Dawn item not specifically marked as made in Australia comes from China. That is the problem when a company begins to go down this path, you can never again be 100% sure what is made where. Please get me right, some made in china items are quite good - it's just, if it is Chinese you can get the exactly same item cheaper elsewhere in blue paint, without the red paint markup.

Has anyone got any real world / first hand experience to be able to advise the difference between the machine shop drill press vice and the shop vice?

I've read the just-tools website descriptions of them both, just wondering how this translates in real life.


Thx
Jon

I had a look at both Dawn and H&F ones at General Tools (HF agent in SA) and IMO they are like chalk and cheese
Dawn operation is smoother, threaded drive a tad bigger dia and unit generally looks better finished.....much better and tad larger/bigger in all areas as compared to chinese copy
Every thing else they had in the showroom was nasty...bit i guess they would suit some

I have a Waldown vice the same as the one above, that I would be willing to sell or swap if anyone is interested,
I don't check on here very often, so text or call me at 0401943375

Anyone happen to have a spare clamp, for bolting the Waldown vice to a table?
I have only one of a pair.

Jordan

Originally Posted by nadroj

Anyone happen to have a spare clamp, for bolting the Waldown vice to a table?
I have only one of a pair.

Jordan

I'm in the same boat, only have one of a pair. You could make one up if you had access to a mill. Anyone interested in making a small run of them???

If they are like the one in the photo, apart from the slot you could make one up on a lathe using a face plate. Nothing complicated there. (For the slot you can chain drill and file or find someone with a mill).

Michael

With my luck, I'd spend 2 days making one, then find an original at a garage sale the next week.

Jordan

Originally Posted by ventureoverland

Has anyone got any real world / first hand experience to be able to advise the difference between the machine shop drill press vice and the shop vice?

I've read the just-tools website descriptions of them both, just wondering how this translates in real life.


Thx
Jon

They are optimised for drill press use. Compact, large area base, more reliable clamping.
Some like the Waldown can be laid on side, which can be useful.

Many have the strange characteristic that the older they get, the lighter also.

Jordan

Originally Posted by ventureoverland

Has anyone got any real world / first hand experience to be able to advise the difference between the machine shop drill press vice and the shop vice?

I have a dawn drill press vice and it is fine. I think the machine shop drill press vice is just a little more solid, possibly a little more precise and for heavier duty. I would guess that the DP vices are now made O/S while the machine shop DP vice is still made in Australia.

Michael

Did that Kearns Horizontal Borer that Peter Wiley (PDW) bought rate a mention here? That was at the Dawn plant in West Heidelberg. I got the job of going to look at it for him. In the course of that inspection, I got a little tour of the plant when they mentioned CNC.

I can report as of about 8 weeks ago, they were certainly making vices in West Heidelberg Melbourne. On the same machinery they would have bought in the 60's. Mostly horizontal mills, set up with cluster mills and arbours, most of which hasn't changed in 50 years.

All run by heavily tatooed blokes that looked like they would slip out the back door, if police showed up at the front door. I'd guess they were less than $17 bucks per hour

Originally Posted by nadroj

With my luck, I'd spend 2 days making one, then find an original at a garage sale the next week.

Jordan

then you'd have a spare..lol