Wilton 3-Inch Cross-Slide Drill Press Vise (CS3)

I spent a lot of time reviewing cross slide vises and reading a lot of reviews. They all said the vise needed to be disassembled and cleaned. Several talked about quality control issues. Poor castings, bent or missing parts and machining marks left on the ways. NONE of the reviewers on this vise, mentioned quality control issues. That along with the brand name led me to purchase this vise. When I received the vise I looked the shipping box over closely. I found no damage. I opened the container and removed the vise looking for any imperfections. I found NO Casting Imperfections. I disassembled and cleaned the vise reassembled with small amounts of grease. It did take a few minutes to adjust the tension on the ways/tables. This I believe is a personal thing. I have used the vise and is works very smoothly and made drilling duplicate holes in 1/4" steel very easy. Another quality product by WILTON and AMAZON.

I can echo others' comments about the flimsy plastic bag holding the nuts, but that's a pretty small concern for a vise that will likely last a lifetime. The box arrived surprisingly intact and unbeaten compared to other deliveries in this weight range. Note that the photos on Amazon seem to all show the 3- or 4-inch models. This one, the 8-inch, is a monster by comparison, in both size and weight.However...am I the only one who noticed they shipped it put together backwards? that is, as it arrived, the fixed vise jaw could not be moved over the centerline of the vise, which means I can't drill a hole right next to the edge of the stock, without some other thing there. In any event, I removed the two bolts holding the upper unpainted steel plate the handle spins against. Then I removed the lead screw from the assembly, and lifted up the top half, turned it around, and put it back in. Then I just replaced the lead screw and aligned the plate and secured it back again. Now the left-to-right spinner is on the right, and the vise-jaw screw is on the left, and the (now) right-hand fixed jaw moves all the way under the spindle. Yay!I decided that since Amazon was so kind as to deliver this 78# monster on a Saturday in the pouring Seattle rain, I'd install it right. I cleaned and greased the bottom surface, and secured it to the drill press surface. Then, starting with the bottom-most, I disassembled it, cleaned off their almost watery lubrication and put a medium film of thick oil on the bearing surfaces and the lead screw. I adjusted the bearing-slide set screws to it all moved silky-smooth, and then repeated that for the upper slide, and then for the movable vise jaw. Now it works so smoooooth! I think that's a key factor in making this work well for the long term future ahead: getting it thoroughly cleaned, lubricated and adjusted before trying to use it. So far so good, though I've only had it in use for a day now. Very sturdy, very LARGE and very smooth.Things I wish were better:1) The knobs and their mating to the shaft. "Precision mating" is not an idea that crossed dear Wilton's mind that day, sadly.2) The sliding surfaces of the inserts. When you take them out to clean and lubricate, you'll see what I mean: pitted and definitely now what you'd expect when trying to achieve a precision fit.3) The only surfaces that are "precision machined" is the floor of the vise part. The sliding surfaces are only "machined". You can definitely tell the difference. Again, the vise would be much more accurate if the same level of finish were applied to the slide surfaces.3) Handle-end of lead screws have NO bearing except steel against the hole in the steel plates. Atrocious choice on a vise of this quality. Just having those two joints improved with an oil-filled bronze or ball bearing would improve the action of this vise 100%. But noooo.....!In any event, despite the suggested changes, this is one very large, very sturdy and very capable vise. It's far smoother than the imported el-cheapo one I had been using.

Like the reviews say, take it apart and clean it. I used it several times on my drill press to key small shafts and finally had to tighten 2 of the screws to keep it from slopping, but for the price you would expect to have to do a little something. Overall, its a great product. There is minor play in the main turn handle, but unless your ready to spend some bucks, it is definitely something that can be dealt with.

So many reviews up and down about these things..This one is great. There is a requirement before use, though.Its coated in rather dirty grease. Do NOT use it like that or you'll be writing a bad review like the others.You need to completely disassemble this and clean every screw & corner with degreaser (wd40 works too). Pay attention to how the pieces come apart cuz they need to go back correctly and on the correct sides.Then inspect your alignment rails. They will be cut roughly. SAND THEM DOWN. Don't overdo this, or you'll mess with tolerance too much, but all edges contact the track, so even out those rail edges, and then gloss them up with some 800 & 1000 grit wet sanding.I also glossed the main tracks. (Mine moves like butter drippin off a hot biscuit with the tracks oiled)The turn knobs can be tightened and loosened. There's not a ton of "in between" tight & loose, but I was able to find a good spot. If they're too loose, the axis you're not turning will have a tendency to fall back because of the heavy threading. This can mess your project a bit, so be attentive or you may gouge your work. It's not as annoying as it sounds, once you've spent time with it and figured out how it should feel.I cut some lower thingy-ma-bobs, and they all turned out great. With a good bit, at a high enough speed, you'll put out good pieces. Feel free to get to me with questions, I'll answer as soon as i can.

I have owned this vise for about a year now. The cross slide works ok, I guess, although the ways are far from flat, making the travel across each direction alternately too loose and then too tight. I tried every adjustment. Oh, and the adjustments are almost impossible to reach in some cases. But my main complaint is the opening of the jaws. The jaw runs on 3 slides that are so poor that the jaw gets jammed. And if you are not really careful, the single hex set screw holding the jaw to the acme screw end, just cuts itself a way out. Less trouble with closing the jaw, but you still have to open it to get your work out. Oh, and the "verniers" on the x and y axes are useless, because the acme screws have so much slack in their nuts, that if you change directions you completely lose your zero point. Extremely poor purchase for me.