Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
G_A_R_B_A_G_E is what they are. Unless they have improved the HF Pittsburg vise grips grip up on something and the metal on the jaws shreds off.
Vise Grip's!!
- Thread starter Dodge33
- Start date
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G_A_R_B_A_G_E is what they are. Unless they have improved the HF Pittsburg vise grips grip up on something and the metal on the jaws shreds off.
YellowDart69
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. I'll really look after my old Vice Grips.
grimreaper
Cross Member
Shop garage sales, pawn shops etc. for the old ones. They 'll say Peterson Vice Grip, DeWitt Nebraska on them. If they say Irwin just leave 'em lay. They're not worth carrying off.
Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
Some of the Irwin Vise Grips were made in the USA. That was before they moved to China.
C130 Chief
Mechanical Genius
Many former fine tool brands now say IRWIN. Crap, typically. But so long as people are willing to pay good money for crap, they'll keep selling it.
Keep an eye on Pawn Shops and used tool stores for older V-G's.
Keep an eye on Pawn Shops and used tool stores for older V-G's.
63VALIANT*KISS
Well-Known Member
pawns shops or ace hardware .
Dorian
dorian
Snap On sells a nice set of 4 for 88.00
part # LP404
part # LP404
ramcharger
Dismember
HF ones are crap and the only reason I bought them was to use them as welding clamps so I don't spatter my good tools. The only redeeming quality is that they conduct electricity.
I did buy some Kobalt ones to supplement what's remaining of my Vise Grip set. So far they seem to be serviceable and I haven't stripped the jaws yet.
I did buy some Kobalt ones to supplement what's remaining of my Vise Grip set. So far they seem to be serviceable and I haven't stripped the jaws yet.
pishta
I know I'm right....
My no names are as round as my VG brand, but my no names are less than a year old, and my dads hand me down VG's are older than me. Too bad someone doesnt make hardened jaws for them, sort of like resharpening a knife....
rlevs
Well-Known Member
yes i have to agree Oklacarcolecto the harbor freight vise grips do suck! they weld the metal together just long enough to weld it. well live and learn
jos51700
Green Bearing thread connoisseur
That's what I thought. Flip it over....
Assembled in USA of foreign-made componants...AKA, cheap $hit.
Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
You have to catch the early ones. The day Irwin took control of the Vise Grip name isn't the day they started making them in China.
IRWIN Timeline
1884 - Charles IRWIN purchases rights to solid center auger bit
1885 - The IRWIN Auger Bit Co. is formed
1924 - Bill Petersen granted basic patent for locking pliers
1934 - Petersen Manufacturing Co. formed to manufacture and market Vise-Grip locking tools
1938 - First official Vise-Grip tools plant opens in an old DeWitt, Nebraska drug store with a staff of 37
1945 - First National Hardware Show; Vise-Grip tools are there
1957 - Modern-design 10WR Vise-Grip locking pliers go on the market with curved jaw and wire cutter
1962 - Petersen Manufacturing opens a plant in Cumberland, Wisconsin for manufacturing twist drills
1978 - Petersen Manufacturing workforce expands to 637 people
1979 - Gorham, Maine plant opens, manufacturing Hanson and IRWIN branded tools
1985 - American Tool Companies, Inc. is formed by the Petersen family and acquires Petersen Manufacturing
1993 - American Tool acquires The IRWIN Tool Company, a revered manufacturer of power tool accessories and cutting tools
2002 - Newell Rubbermaid acquires American Tool
2003 - American Tool name officially changes to IRWIN Industrial Tool Company
moparman3406bbl
Well-Known Member
Any tool I ever bought at hard worn out frieght was garbage chian wrench broke and had to file half inch drive head before I could even use it!!!!
69383valiant
It is what it is...
I think the last pair I bought were from Sears... But that was a couple years ago...
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
yes china freight for the most part sucks. however i do have some of their tools, mostly stuff i use at the junkyards, and their impact sockets arent bad tho they are a little thick. their tool storage cabinets like the wide double drawer (taco wagon) tool cabinet, is pretty nice for home use. as is their black mobile tool cart.
yes they have their share of junk, i stay away from a lot of their stuff, but you cant beat their air operated angle die grinders AKA (screamers) for cheap. i buy em by the pair when they are on sale for $12.99 and run em till the gears blow in the head, usually it takes about 2 to 3 years. i never oil them, and i use em at work daily. by the time they go boom, i already have a second pair in my tool box just waiting to be used. i remove the air fitting, and whatever is chucked in the mandrel, and pitch em in the metal recycle bin.
sometimes if one is still operating good when one goes boom, i will still swap the pair, and take the used and still working one home for home shop use till it blows. my permanent setup on a pair of these at home or work consists of one with a cut off wheel permanently chucked into it, one with a scotchbrite roloc disc mandrel chucked into it. this way you can switch from cutting to grinding just by swapping the die grinder out easier than messing with the keys and changing out the mandrels.
as far as the vise grips go i still thought vise grip brand was still made in USA. i have a coworker that used to live in nebraska, and the deal with visegrip used to be if they got rusty, broken, or just plain worn out, you could return them to visegrip in nebraska, and they would send you a brand new pair no questions asked. i dunno if this was a bunch of folklore or fact. but now that they are made in chinna i will keep my old USA ones around in my toolbox as long as i can.
most of my stuff is matco, mac, snap on, and craftsman with a little china freight mixed in. beware of craftsman too. their old wrenches are made in USA, but their new stuff is made in china. so i now call their new stuff crapsman.
yes they have their share of junk, i stay away from a lot of their stuff, but you cant beat their air operated angle die grinders AKA (screamers) for cheap. i buy em by the pair when they are on sale for $12.99 and run em till the gears blow in the head, usually it takes about 2 to 3 years. i never oil them, and i use em at work daily. by the time they go boom, i already have a second pair in my tool box just waiting to be used. i remove the air fitting, and whatever is chucked in the mandrel, and pitch em in the metal recycle bin.
sometimes if one is still operating good when one goes boom, i will still swap the pair, and take the used and still working one home for home shop use till it blows. my permanent setup on a pair of these at home or work consists of one with a cut off wheel permanently chucked into it, one with a scotchbrite roloc disc mandrel chucked into it. this way you can switch from cutting to grinding just by swapping the die grinder out easier than messing with the keys and changing out the mandrels.
as far as the vise grips go i still thought vise grip brand was still made in USA. i have a coworker that used to live in nebraska, and the deal with visegrip used to be if they got rusty, broken, or just plain worn out, you could return them to visegrip in nebraska, and they would send you a brand new pair no questions asked. i dunno if this was a bunch of folklore or fact. but now that they are made in chinna i will keep my old USA ones around in my toolbox as long as i can.
most of my stuff is matco, mac, snap on, and craftsman with a little china freight mixed in. beware of craftsman too. their old wrenches are made in USA, but their new stuff is made in china. so i now call their new stuff crapsman.
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