Thursday, 2 October 2014
Yost FSV-4 Heavy Duty Bench Vise
I recently reviewed the Yost RIA-4 compact bench vise, which turned out to be decently built despite its modest price and purposefully diminutive size.
Another vise that I have been asked to look at is the Yost FSV-4 heavy duty bench vise. I don’t quite have the time or space to review a full-size bench vise these days, but its design caught my eye and seemed deserving of at least a mention.
Like the RIA-4 compact vise, the Yost FSV-4 features 4″ jaws. But, unlike the compact vise, this one has greater throat depth, double the opening width, and grooved pipe jaws. The heavy duty vise also has a much different design where size isn’t much of a design concern.
4″ jaw width5″ jaw opening2.9″ jaw throat depth1/2″ to 2″ pipe capacity360° swivel base with 2 lock-downsLarge anvil3 mounting holesAdjustable guide railsForged steel construction with 90,000 PSI tensile strength and 54,000 PSI yield strengthReplaceable jaws and pipe jawsWeight: 22 poundsCompared to my much-loved Craftsman Professional bench vise, the Yost FSV-4 has greater capacity but weighs half as much.
Both the Yost and Craftsman vises are similarly priced. I don’t really think that either is better than the other. The answer to which one is better depends on what you’re looking for. Personally, I like my Craftsman vise and would make the same purchasing decision over again, although the Yost vise definitely has its own merits.
This vise is not one of Yost’s USA-made vises. If you want a USA-made Yost, you’ll have to spend a lot more. I have tried two Yost vises now their USA-made clamp-on vise, and aforementioned compact vise which is imported, and cannot really tell a difference in quality. With other brands, such as Wilton, there is a significant difference in import vs. domestic build and finish quality.
One thing to note is that this vise has 3 mounting holes, not 4. I’m not sure what the intent was, but it looks like the design allows the vise to be mounted a little closer to the front of a workbench.
Price: $138-$154
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Buy Now(via Sears)
More Info(via Yost)
As of the time of this posting, Sears had the better pricing.
If there’s a lot of interest, I’ll reconsider doing a hands-on review of this vise. But from what I can tell from on-paper specs and my experience thus far with Yost products, it looks to be a solid vise at an affordable price.
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