[UK] Mini vice at aldi from 5th feb

[mubes]

Folks,

Aldi have got the mini-vices coming back in again;

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thur-5-feb/product-detail/ps/p/suction-vicetable-vice/

£6.99....seems to me it would be difficult to go wrong for the price!

Dave

[AndreasF]

Thanks!

[schwarz-brot]

I would strongly advice to not buy the suction-version. The come from several stores and are just no good. The suction foot won't work and is not large enough to provide a stable stand without the suction function (I own such a vice, though from another seller).
The one with the table clamp should be a way better choice. 

[GreyWoolfe]

I had one similar with the table clamp.  I used it for years.  I found a deal on a used Panavise 301 with the heavy base and gave that one away.  Panavise goes anywhere on the bench I want instead of being limited to the edge.  Plus it will last forever unless I do something stupid.  The nice thing is that you can buy different heads, depending on need and they interchange quickly and easily.  I would recommend to save up and get the good stuff.  You will only have to buy it once.

[Retep]

I would strongly advice to not buy the suction-version. The come from several stores and are just no good. The suction foot won't work and is not large enough to provide a stable stand without the suction function (I own such a vice, though from another seller).

I got the one with suction foot from ALDI many years ago and on smooth surfaces the suction cup works very well for me; I can lift the entire table (incl. equipment) with it without it coming loose. When used without suction it is heavy enough to keep light things (PCB, connectors...etc.) in place for light work (e.g. soldering) but for relatively heavy work (e.g. sawing) it must be fixed to the table unless you keep one hand on the vice. I find it good enough for the typical electronics work.

Obviously the suction version is not a good choice for rough surfaces, and neither version would be very good for the really heavy duty stuff.

[Muttley Snickers]

I have a nice collection of machinist and general fabrication vises in the workshop, mainly for the milling machine, CNC and bench work, accordingly I am pretty fussy with clamping, I was after a basic vise for soldering connectors, glueing parts and holding probes, etc.

Aldi down here had these for about 15 bucks in either suction base or clamp base, skeptical at first I looked around and everyone else was selling them for double that price, I got two suction base units so when she's not home the dinner table transform's into my work area.

I had no intention of using the suction feature, why ?, because I don't need it and honestly it sucks.

Got rid of the rear clip off the leadscrew for extra travel (85mm) and maintenance, removed the steel jaws and filed the cast to re-seat and improve jaw alignment (mine were crap at first ), added some lead plates inside the base as the units are top heavy, later added 1mm strips of sheet rubber between the steel jaws and cast to improve self alignment for holding small pin's and the like.

One unit had two sets of the rubber soft jaws in the box, bonus.

Anyway, others probably don't need to do all this as the units are ok out of the box, but as you can see there is room for improvement. Also the Panavise down here is just ridiculously over priced IMO.

General Summary: good value, handy gadget, has warranty.   


Muttley

[Muttley Snickers]

Also
I meant to mention that generally speaking if you buy Aldi products you are probably going to need one of these or similar to repair the bloody gadgets you have bought from them. Keep your receipt.

      

Some stuff is ok but really, you need to know your stuff.

Muttley

[22swg]

Thanks for that...

[mianchen]

  gonna get one

[rr100]

Got one some years ago from one non-German Aldi (can't remember from where, NL, CH, AT). Went there just to refill on soft drinks for the road trip and  was like "well, well, well, what do we have here?".

Funny enough even if I wanted some after I didn't bother to take the old one when I moved last time I didn't get to use them much. Once to bend some extremely reluctant coat hanger and once to prop up something. Speaking of that - suction base works fine on good surfaces but be aware it will "leak". It'll do the job for many hours but next day it might become lose. Just keep in mind if you mean to keep things in place for a really long time.