Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this on sale for $150 shipped, and it was worth it. But make no mistake - THIS IS A CHEAP'O CHINESE VISE (most vises under $400 are Chinese). I decided to upgrade my vise a few months ago and I waited for a lower price (sale), and I encourage you to do the same (track the price and wait for it to go down). If you are searching for a low priced rotating vise, the kind with a locking pin is the best. If you don't need a rotating vise, I would not recommend this vise (this vise is rather large/tall and if you don't need the rotation spend your money on something else). *Edit - I have edited this review down to one star because of false advertising. The vise throat depth is not 4 inches, it is 3 1/8 inch. I added a photo showing the depth of the vise jaws. In typical Chinese fashion, the vise was designed by someone who either has never used a vise, or has never seen a vise. The ledge shown in the photo catches on every long object you clamp in the vise if you are not careful. I was clamping an aluminum bar when I first noticed the ledge, the bar bent as I was tightening. I was already thinking of remaking the jaws because of the cheap'o pattern cut into the jaws (and because the jaws are not square), so I think I will make the jaw on ledge side a little oversized so nothing catches on that ledge. This is just a case of Yost either not looking at the vises they buy from overseas or not caring. Both of which deserve one star. This is going to be the last Yost product I buy. I am going to steer people away from Yost in general (unless you want to work on a new vise to make it better). Pros - 1. Rotation is locked with a pin. This is so much easier to use than other Chinese rotating vises I have used. The other vises I have used, used friction to prevent the vise from rotating, and just friction works so poorly I got in the habit of never rotating the vise because it was so hard to lock it into a normal position. The pin on this Yost vise makes so fast and easy I find myself rotating the vise all of the time, even for simple little grinds and cuts. 2. Base plate holds the vise from turning using notches/teeth. Using teeth to stop the vise from turning is so much better than just friction (similar to the pin mentioned above). 99.9% of vises I have used in the past would start to turn no matter how much you tighten the base. I have yet to REALLY test this Yost vise, but I am cautiously optimistic. 3. Theoretically, this vise is made out of better than average steel (by Chinese standards). Is it as good as the marketing says? Who knows. You never really know when China is involved, but I have some faith in Yost that this vise's steel is a little better than average. Cons - 1. Poor finish/paint. The vise came pre-nicked up and scuffed from the factory. If you want to show this vise off to your friends, you will not be impressed by its Chinese quality paint job. I put this first on the con list because I could see the paint damage when I opened the box. There was also an oil stain between the pipe jaws and the base. Minus 1 star for not even trying to ship it with no damage/defects. 2. Base plate is thinner than the even cheaper Chinese vise I am replacing. The base of this Yost vise is about 1/4" thick, maybe a little more. The crappy Chinese "Bessey" vise I am replacing has a base made of 3/8" casting. 3. The main tightening handle for the vise is, once again, thinner than the even cheaper Chinese vise that I am replacing. The handle on this Yost vise even feels thin. 4. The main vise jaws are not square, either left to right or up and down. This is the biggest disappointment. One of the reasons I am replacing an old Chinese "Bessey" brand vise is because the jaws are not square. The main jaws on this Yost vise are a little disappointing. From above, the jaws have a slight gap on one side, but when you rotate the vise upside down and look at the main jaws, you can see they are not really touching on the bottom edge. 5. The main jaws have a very poor texture. The texture on the main jaws is just a simple shallow knurling. I have hand tools that have deeper knurling. The old Chinese vise that I am replacing has a large cross-hatch pattern actually cut into the steel. I think I might buy some tool steel and make my own jaws. Thinking and writing about the jaw alignment and quality made remove a star while I was writing this review. Summary- Pretty good vise for the price, especially if you need a rotating vise. Poor fit and finish, but it is just a cheap'o Chinese vise. It is a little sad that a company like Yost would sell its soul to China, but that is just the time we live in. Yost is banking on people just saying, "Oh well, that's China." I see there is another company that apparently makes this exact vise (well they probably source it from the same factory in China). The company is call Capri tools. Looks like there might even be a 10 year warranty of some sort. If you want to pay a little more, check them out.