WEN 424DPV 4-Inch Cast Iron Drill Press Vise

TLDR at bottom. Crazy old man review below. Not sure what "shearness" is in relation to a low profile vise... but it is sufficiently short and a great value for a 4 inch (101.6mm) wide, low profile drill press vise. Unusual for Wen (because this is really a white box item, but assembled/packaged by happy employees, apparently) this vise came with a little too much tension, but was otherwise easily workable out of the box! I did end up disassembling a few minor points like the jaw plates, then cleaning and lubricating everything that I could reach without completely taking it apart. It now glides smoothly, and bites down on my aluminum workpieces without messing up my angles (unlike a competitor's vise, which I had to buy 2 of when this one was out of stock... and those are bleh). I paid almost twenty bucks for my first Wen, and I'm about to pay under fifteen for another in a few seconds... and return two other "similar" products, that were made with much less care than I would have expected, for ten bucks more per item than these Wen vises. This Wen had (almost) all matching hardware, and didn't appear to be assembled by an amateur, unlike the competitor. The Wen also has an open mounting notch on either side, directly between the mounting slots... the others have nothing there. This may sound trivial, but those little extra mounting notches allow for so much more usage around my shop, while the other ones I am returning are basically useless for my various Wen shop tools. The Wen vise will not only fit my 8 inch, 5 speed Wen drill press, but I can also adapt two of these to fit on my Wen 15 amp 10 inch miter saw, instead of using the badly warped fence and useless clamps that came with that saw. Basically, two of these become a fence/clamp system, and will even allow me to go down in size on my saw blades, because my work will be raised 1.25 inches from the original saw table. This is advantageous for several reasons, and figures heavily into me giving these such a glowing review. First, I cut 6061 aluminum ranging from .125 inch thick bars, to 1.5 inch thick bars, and also 6063 t slot extrusion profiles, aluminum spacer tubes, etc. Basically, stuff that requires special blades, lubricant, good clamps, and lower saw RPMs... which my Wen saw is a bit too high on. As long as I am not cutting anything too thick (say, 1 inch x 2.5 inch bar) or using miter cuts/bevels, I could easily find a smaller blade that would effectively spin at lower RPMs than a ten inch blade would, and those smaller blades are often rated for higher RPMs than 10 inch ones are, AND they're cheaper, AAAAAND more widely available many times. So, these allow me to get good results even with a smaller blade than my saw normally takes. Big win. The clamping power of these is also sufficient to hold a thick bar that was being abused by a reciprocating saw, never once vibrating loose, even when I let my arm droop and got some chatter. TLDR; Great value, better than the ones that cost double. Adds great utility to multiple Wen bench tools, including mm1011 miter saw. Be prepared for minimal pre-use asjusting/cleaning/lubing, and enjoy for years (presumably, it's not made of painted cheese I'm pretty sure).

This review is for the "WEN 424DPV 4" Drill Press Vise" So far this has been a very nice vice. The build seems of good overall quality, and the screw turns smoothly and the jaw moves smoothly without feeling that there is any play. The overall weight feels like a couple pounds (I have not weighted it, this is just a 'feel like' estimate). I am using the vice as a third hand to hold circuit boards and the like for electronics work. The weight works out very well for this purpose because it is heavy enough to stay put under its own weight on an anti-static rubber mat when applying normal pressure for soldering and the like. I managed to snag mine during one of Amazon's brief price drops to $11, so I have been very pleased with the vice when used as a third hand for that price.

Its a decent vise for the price. The jaws do not close perfectly square (until tight) and the handle used for tightening is not very good quality, I expect this to be the part that fails. That being said its works well for a $20 vise. If its something you plan to use all the time, get a more expensive one, but for random use this works fine.

It's actually a quality vice at a good price point. I am using it on an old Craftsman 10" drill press. Works best when rotated at a 45-degree angle to the work surface. You do need your own fasteners. I am using the thumb screws that came with the drill press's fence accessory. Two quick twists to loosen it up and I can slide the vice around for repositioning under the drill bit. The hollow space underneath is ample, so if you have a real small piece of wood to drill, you either need to hold it while clamping, or it's handy to lay a thick scrap of paper over the base rails of the vice and lay your workpiece on that if the vice jaws will square it up.

I bought this to pair with the Wen 8" drill press. I read quite a few reviews where they stated that this does not fit with the 8" drill press. My experience is that it fits, in multiple different ways. I can get 2 bolts to line up in various configurations. However after using this for a few projects, I found it's best to just do away with the nuts/bolts and using clamps. It's quicker and easier to manipulate the vice where you need it to be. Quality seems to be OK for Chinese made stuff, all about managing expectations. Great for tinkering around in the shop.

Look...if you are interested in this clamp, its because you dont need the precision of something that is 3X the price. Its nowhere near as nice as my old cam-action clamp, but in a pinch, for the money: it'll work. When you tighten the screw-clamp, be aware that it will 'raise' that side of the rails. So if you were counting on milling something flat in this clamp, one side of the rails will be higher than the other, slightly limiting things Still...at this price, it'll work

It's not a machinest's vise, slightly clumsy, but works well and you can't beat the price. I mounted with 3/8" x 1 1/2" length bolts with a couple washers (they are diffent sizes ones 3/8" x 7/8" and the other is 3/8" x1 1/4" wide). Also used a 3/8" wingnut. Just used it and it does the job.

I have a Wen drill press and, unlike what other reviews say, I had no trouble installing it with four bolts, in a variety of configurations. However, I ended up just clamping it to the table, since I do not need it for every job, and clamping allows for easy removal. Other than that, it is sturdy and useful. The handle to rotate the screw could be longer, thus making it easier to turn.

replaced sliding plate under moveable jaw with 1/2" steel to keep jaws aligned when tight. mounted on a shopsmith so it slides in the table slots.can be clamped when required . good product. LL

Great tool. It is portable so you can take it to the work sight. Very study.

I got this vice today, it is very well built. One downside is it does not include the hardware needed to mount it to the drill press. Unfortunately I had to return as the bolt spacing does not fit my King Canada Drill Press as this vice is too large. Would be a great addon to a larger press.

Tiene muy buen acabado, pero, tuve que devolverla por que no encaja en mi taladro de banco, se necesita conocer la distancia entre los ejes de las ranuras donde van los tornillos para sujetar al banco, pregunte pero nadie respondió...

good and solid, worked well for the small stuff that I do with it