I just burned $200 on a cheap barrel vise insert

I was trying to swap a barrel on a customer's old Mauser and grabbed a bargain aluminum insert set online. The thing just crushed under the torque, it didn't even look like the right alloy. Had to stop the job, order a proper steel set, and eat the cost of the wasted part and my time. Anyone have a go-to brand for these that won't fold like a cheap suit?

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3 Comments

shane_moore876mo ago

Honestly... sometimes those cheap sets work fine if you just need them once. You might have just gotten a bad one.

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david_martin6mo ago

Shane's right, but that gamble always fails for me.

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grant7486mo ago

Yeah I had that happen with a cheap socket set last year... the ratchet just gave out on the third use. Ended up borrowing my neighbor's nicer set to finish the job and it was a night and day difference. Now I just buy the mid-range stuff for tools I know I'll use more than once. Saves the headache of stuff breaking when you're halfway through a project.

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