This is about pre-1899 arty as the reason we got this bench vise was to work on such pieces. The vise is of course one of the basic and important tools for cannon work. We made a mistake years back when we bought a big Chinese vise. It didn't last long. The most important part of a vise is the acme screw and the thrust bearings that support it.
On Chinese vises you get at HF and other places, it seems the screw and bearings are weak. We broke ours by over-torquing the vise handle. Last year at the mil. vehicle rally we got a larger vise, 8" I think, made by Parker in CT (the shotgun folks.) It is wonderful, no one will break it easily. This year we got the 8" made in USA vise shown at same event. Brand is marked on other side, cannot recall, but I could tell it was a quality item, weighs maybe 90 lbs., has serial no., etc. The Chinese vises may have wide jaws such as 8" but in our line of work the throat (how far the jaws will open) is very important, and most Chinese vises have little throat depth.
