Vevor vises....quality?

[Dan Dubeau]

Vevor was an Amazon vendor for a few years before striking out on their own AFAIK. I watched a video about that a couple months ago. I don't remember all the details, but yeah, I was curious about where they came from too. They've been around for a while. And no, I don't think there's anybody drawing a cheque from Vevor that's ever touched a precision measuring tool aside from boxing it.

Stated specs being blatent falsehoods don't really bother me all that much. I don't like being lied to either, but in this case I view it different. I know 100% they're full of shit going into the purchase anyway. Ok "jim", this little placard says you measured all of the tools and the deviations are a few tenths, and they made it to my door in Canada for cheaper than I can buy material for here? Riiiiiight. I know what it truly takes to measure and report on things, and there's no room in this transaction for that. Now, they may do periodic full measurements, and if they have a good SPC can track and manage deviations than sure, but I don't even think alot of these manufactures do that. Not for this market. They are capable of it, I've dealt with Chinese tooling in the automotive world for years, but I'd be surprised if there is an honest process in place for low grade tooling like this. Make it, ship it. Take it back if it's wrong.

Periodic inspections would explain the obviously photocopied inspection cards that accompany most tooling lol. I always find those amusing

If I paid more to a reputable Canadian dealer of import tooling like say KBC and something was delivered out of spec, I would be more pissed, as in that transaction I am expecting that KBC would insulate me from the roulette wheel of imports a bit. Even Accusize I would expect a bit more quality control and customer service, as they are charging more for a service than what I can do myself by buying direct from Ali, and other sources. With Ali you're taking the gamble directly. With the others, I'm paying more for them to take the gamble so to speak. My expectation are different.

 

[YotaBota]

plus I would have a hard time poking all the fixturing holes in a Kurt that I'm going to with these without feeling bad

Now we have some perspective.

If it's something you're going to use seldom then an inexpensive tool is probably the way to go

I should have said " If it's something you're going to use seldom or drill holes in or generally beat the snot out of then an inexpensive tool is probably the way to go."

You can get a bunch of "disposable" vises for the cost of the Kurt.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Beat the snot out of? I'm not "drilling holes" into them for the sake of drilling holes just because I don't want to use parallels or backing blocks etc. They will be for hold downs, and modular fixturing. You'll see , trust me, it'll be tasteful and highly usefull. Not everyone's cup of tee, but I don't subscribe to the notion that vises, and machine tools are sacred. They are tools meant to be used and modified as needed to be more useful for the end user. There are exceptions to the rule for rare and valuable stuff, but bog standard import tooling? Nah.

Anyway....Order placed from busy bee. Figured it would save me some money just buying them online vs driving over there, browsing around, and probably stopping at princess auto on the way home too. Probably saved me $100 at least. Plus My lovely intelligent Wife reminded me I had a visa gift card from the summer from that stupid golf thing still stuck to the fridge.... . woohoo Free Vise!



I'll make a new thread when they get here and I can evaluate them. I'll let this one meander as it will.

My honey spinner came this morning too. Pretty nice piece of equipment that should work great for my needs. Even better that It came on garbage day so I could immediately get rid of the boxes and all the styrofoam they pack this stuff in.

 

[Mcgyver]

318?!?? There's only a handful of pros driving it that far, wow!

 

[YotaBota]

I can do 300,,, it's 100 up, 100 over to the right and 100 down. lol

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Baby draw down the right hand side of a short (470 yard) par 5, into a slight wind. Barely hung onto the fairway by about a yard to qualify . Had a 9 iron into the green, and dropped it within 15 ft. We all missed the downhill r-l eagle putt, but got the bird lol. I didn't figure it would stand, with some of the other guys that were out there (a whole bunch of my baseball friends) but the wind picked up in the afternoon so I guess it hung on . This was a charity scramble for a fallen friend/teamate. We finished -9, but came 2nd to a -12. None of us could putt until the back 9 where we went -7. Thats golf....

There's still an athlete under all this insulation .....I have the speed and distance and have always been a power hitter in baseball, long driver in golf, but lack the control. Cement hands, no finesse, no consistency.....Almost any big strong ape can swing a club 118-120mpg if they want, but keeping it in play is what separates those who win an occasional gift card in a charity scramble, from millions of dollars . I can actually swing slightly faster than tour average (but not close to the top guys in the mid/upper 120'smph), but they are so much better at delivering the club they have higher ball speeds, and much better efficiency averages. There's way more to it than swing speed and If I dial it back to around 113-115 my driving accuracy and efficiency is MUCH improved. Pro's club head and contact data is insane. Me, I paid for the entire face, and I'll USE the entire face lol.

This picture is me trying to swing slower and more controlled, something I've really been working on the past couple years... If only I could do this everytime.......My average good contact carry these days is about 275, but can poke one out father if I really go after it. I just don't always know where it's going lol. Trying to bring the scores down it's a mental struggle to swing slow and controlled.


I started golfing around 12, early 90's slightly before the Tiger boom. But kinda got out of it in my mid 20's when life got in the way. Played sporadically a few times a year until falling back into it hard during the covid the past couple years. Never really got better than about an 8hcp. At 41, I'm slowly getting back to where I used to be HCP wise, but swinging better and faster than I ever have. New technology, and the equipment is better than ever. Golf is another of my obsessions if you couldn't tell..... Anyone else?

These screen shots sum up the state of my golf game right now.....From one extreme to the other back to back. I just can't seem to break into the 70's again yet. I'm Usually pretty consistent in the mid to low 80's though. Playing about half the holes as a scratch golfer, and the other half as a 25hcp lol. Waiting for the round when it all clicks again. Playing decent golf again, just not putting it all together yet.




My thread, I guess I can highjack it now lol. From one vise, to another vice......

 

[Dan Dubeau]

It's not really a thread jack, because one of the reasons I need the new vises is to start making putters again.


I have a bunch of new designs I want to get going on.

 

[6.5 Fan]

Only played one game of golf in my life, i would have had a lot more fun if i had taken a rifle along to shoot gophers.

 

[trevj]

Only played one game of golf in my life, i would have had a lot more fun if i had taken a rifle along to shoot gophers.

Had a nine hole course, (found out later in life that it was the second course built on the Farm)on the family farm I grew up on. Grand-dad played a mean long game in a pair of gum boots! Dad was a pretty good drive too. Golf gene skipped me almost entirely, though I can while away a few hours wandering the edges, picking up lost balls.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I'd love a course on the farm, but the best I can do is one green with 9 teeboxes. All the fun, but only one green to maintain. In the summer of 2020, I put a lot of effort into dragging, rolling, and grade work, to get a nice chipping green going. I was under no delusion that I was ever going to get it puttable, but over the course of the year, and following year I got it pretty decent for hitting shots into, and chipping on. I have 9 "tee stations" from 30 yards to 150 in a 360* circle around it, and would hit about 10-20 balls from each station every night when I could. It was a lot of fun, and my wedge game from 150 in, and chipping got pretty damn good from that . I didn't put a cup in, just a hula hoop to hole out with a flag. Life got busy again this past summer, and it all grew back in to the point where you can't even see it and I stopped cutting it with the greens mower completely . I never did seed it with bentgrass, as it would have been a waste of money without doing the proper dirt work and drainage etc, I just keep what was there cut short, and rolled it frequently. It actually filled in, and rolled pretty nice. It's waaaaay too much work to maintain a real green for putting but getting it 70% of the way was close enough to have fun on, and practice. It has some nice undulation, and coming at it from all directions was actually pretty fun. It was good to have some buddies over and have a couple beers playing a round. The kids had some fun with it too.

One day I would love to do it the right way with proper drainage and soil composition and prep work, but I was dead broke at the time during the covid shutdowns, and was just working with what I had. Turned out much better than I thought though, and I've payed to play on worse lol. I might be able to squeeze one dogleg par 4 hole in, but the landing area is pretty tight and I'd have to clear the barn blind with my 2nd shot. I don't mind that, but I would't trust a few buddies with that shot lol.

I've since picked up a garmin r10, launch monitor, so my interest in maintaining the green waned even more. I can play a simulation round hitting into a net, on any course I want, using all my clubs, not just my wedges. It's not the same as hitting into a real green, but it's a lot less work......I need to build a shed for it, so I can set it up with a projector and use it year round. I'm thinking a geodesic dome would be perfect

I could have swore I had some more pics of it, might be on my old phone. All I could find is a few from when I was starting it and this is after dragging a LOT of sand over it one night. Buckets of sand, shoveled and sifted from my sand pits in the backyard. Many, many buckets of sand lol.


I miss having it .

Anyway, ya, I like golf . It, and baseball are the reasons I don't get many shop projects done during the summer months. If I'm not working I'm on a ball diamond playing or coaching, or at a golf course. Not playing ball next year (first time in 33 years ), so I'm either going to golf more, or finish some projects .

 

[ducdon]

This vice has good reviews and is in the same price range.

4IN. PRECISION MACHINE VISE CRAFTEX CX

Busy Bee Tools is Canada's largest Woodworking & Metalworking retailer. Find power tools, woodworking tools & metalworking tools at factory direct prices.

www.busybeetools.com

I bought a Craftex 5 inch milling vice. It was complete garbage. Besides the normal un-deburred edges , left over swarf and grease, the thrust bearing was active in the wrong direction. It functioned when the jaws were being opened as opposed to when clamping. The fixed jaw was not perpendicular to the base. I now have a GROSS 5 inch, made in India. Better but required shimming to square the jaws to the base. I like the five inch size for my mill. At the end of the day I've had 3 cheap imports on this mill since I got it. If I had spent the money on one really good one? Alas I did not. When I win the lottery I'll treat myself to a really nice low profile Gerardi.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Had a nine hole course, (found out later in life that it was the second course built on the Farm)on the family farm I grew up on. Grand-dad played a mean long game in a pair of gum boots! Dad was a pretty good drive too. Golf gene skipped me almost entirely, though I can while away a few hours wandering the edges, picking up lost balls.

It's funny where it comes from, and how it skips people. Neither of my parents were sporty at all, although I did play one round with my Dad when I was about 15. I started baseball when I was 8, and got into golf a few years later around 12/13 (I can't remember exactly) with a couple of my ball and hockey teammates. My friends Dad was a scratch golfer, and he taught us a bit but aside from that, none of us ever had formal lessons. A few bad habits, like a very baseball esque swing (what I'm trying to fix now), but we all turned out to be pretty decent golfers. We used to ride our bikes to the course a few km out of town after school, and play till it got dark. Towing our clubs behind our bikes on push carts, or slung over our backs. Or we'd get dropped off in the morning, and play all day if we could. There was a group of about 8 of us, and a few of us still play together now, all getting back into it again during covid. We were all pretty golf crazy from about 15 till 23 (during the Tiger era), then it dropped off to a few rounds a year for about 15 years when we all got jobs, families etc. We generally get out once a week now.

My Wife is/was actually a pretty good golfer too. Her Mom and Dad are both good golfers, and during her childhood he had a nice putting green/trap in his yard, and raised her and her Sister like Earl Woods lol. He was the one that talked me out of going too far with my green because it was too much work. Once she couldn't land a scholarship anywhere with it, she fizzled out and pretty much gave it up completely. Somewhat hates the game now, but did play "a round" in the backyard a few times and tolerates my recent rekindling..... She will come out for the occasional charity tournament though, but will complain the whole time lol.

My kids don't have much interest in it yet. My Son kinda does, but daughter has zero. They both play baseball though, so I'll give it a couple years. They're still pretty young to really "get" it. I'm hoping they do, but only if they really enjoy it, not because I force them to. It's a great mental and physical challenge. Rewarding but able to drive you to fits within a few bad shots and then bring you right back with a good one .

 

[140mower]

Rewarding but able to drive you to fits within a few bad shots and then bring you right back with a good one .

That one good shot is where your buddy tosses that cursed little dimpled bugger into the air and you pulverize it with a 12 gauge.... Brings my mood back just like that.......

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I bought a Craftex 5 inch milling vice. It was complete garbage. Besides the normal un-deburred edges , left over swarf and grease, the thrust bearing was active in the wrong direction. It functioned when the jaws were being opened as opposed to when clamping. The fixed jaw was not perpendicular to the base. I now have a GROSS 5 inch, made in India. Better but required shimming to square the jaws to the base. I like the five inch size for my mill. At the end of the day I've had 3 cheap imports on this mill since I got it. If I had spent the money on one really good one? Alas I did not. When I win the lottery I'll treat myself to a really nice low profile Gerardi.

Thanks, I'm hoping I won't have those issues, but I'll give them a thorough inspection when they get here, and if it's that bad they'll be going back if I decide it's too much effort to correct them. Gerardi's are nice. We have a few of them at work. While I prefer the Kurt style for how I use them. The Geradi are nice for when I need a double vise setup to put in holes on compound angles, or poor boy 5axis work like this.




Fun stuff.....It's been a while since I did that job, but Ironically I'm designing another one just like it right now to build in the new year.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

That one good shot is where your buddy tosses that cursed little dimpled bugger into the air and you pulverize it with a 12 gauge.... Brings my mood back just like that.......

I need to try that here.....I'll work it into the backyard course "house rules" .

 

[mbond]

I enjoy golf very much and have been a club member since my youth - 12 I think. At my best, 320 yards would have been an indifferent shot, but my game declined rapidly during my cancer treatment unfortunately.

My kids are still too young, but I have high hopes

I have never though of making a putter. Are there materials that you faviour?

 

[YYCHM]

Thanks, I'm hoping I won't have those issues, but I'll give them a thorough inspection when they get here, and if it's that bad they'll be going back if I decide it's too much effort to correct them. Gerardi's are nice. We have a few of them at work. While I prefer the Kurt style for how I use them. The Geradi are nice for when I need a double vise setup to put in holes on compound angles, or poor boy 5axis work like this.
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Fun stuff.....It's been a while since I did that job, but Ironically I'm designing another one just like it right now to build in the new year.

What is it?

 

[trevj]

It's funny where it comes from, and how it skips people. Neither of my parents were sporty at all, although I did play one round with my Dad when I was about 15. I started baseball when I was 8, and got into golf a few years later around 12/13 (I can't remember exactly) with a couple of my ball and hockey teammates. My friends Dad was a scratch golfer, and he taught us a bit but aside from that, none of us ever had formal lessons. A few bad habits, like a very baseball esque swing (what I'm trying to fix now), but we all turned out to be pretty decent golfers. We used to ride our bikes to the course a few km out of town after school, and play till it got dark. Towing our clubs behind our bikes on push carts, or slung over our backs. Or we'd get dropped off in the morning, and play all day if we could. There was a group of about 8 of us, and a few of us still play together now, all getting back into it again during covid. We were all pretty golf crazy from about 15 till 23 (during the Tiger era), then it dropped off to a few rounds a year for about 15 years when we all got jobs, families etc. We generally get out once a week now.

My Wife is/was actually a pretty good golfer too. Her Mom and Dad are both good golfers, and during her childhood he had a nice putting green/trap in his yard, and raised her and her Sister like Earl Woods lol. He was the one that talked me out of going too far with my green because it was too much work. Once she couldn't land a scholarship anywhere with it, she fizzled out and pretty much gave it up completely. Somewhat hates the game now, but did play "a round" in the backyard a few times and tolerates my recent rekindling..... She will come out for the occasional charity tournament though, but will complain the whole time lol.

My kids don't have much interest in it yet. My Son kinda does, but daughter has zero. They both play baseball though, so I'll give it a couple years. They're still pretty young to really "get" it. I'm hoping they do, but only if they really enjoy it, not because I force them to. It's a great mental and physical challenge. Rewarding but able to drive you to fits within a few bad shots and then bring you right back with a good one .

Yeah, Like I said, it skipped me entirely. Dad once suggested, while I was out on our course with him, that, because my game was so bad, I should take some lessons.

I told him I wasn't out there to play golf, I was out there to spend some time with him! And besides that, if I paid for lessons, the very first principle, was that I would have to actually be interested in the game, beyond some of the basic mechanics!

Besides. We had the omni-present company of my Dad's dog, Ace, who would set himself up behind anyone teeing off, and retrieve the worm-burner shots! LOL! Border collies can be handy, when they have not yet stole your car keys and credit cards!

On the vice front, I still kinda regret not grabbing one of the 4 inch vices that PA had on their shelves long ago. Listed as a one-time buy, @ ~$125 including a swivel base.

 

[Susquatch]

The Geradi are nice for when I need a double vise setup to put in holes on compound angles, or poor boy 5axis work like this.

I use my Gerardi as a normal vise and I use a grinding (machinist) vise mounted in my Gerardi if I need compounds or whatever.

I'm no vise expert, but I have learned to love mine. It's way better than anything else I ever used in my life and prolly works twice as well as I know how to use it!

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I enjoy golf very much and have been a club member since my youth - 12 I think. At my best, 320 yards would have been an indifferent shot, but my game declined rapidly during my cancer treatment unfortunately.

My kids are still too young, but I have high hopes

I have never though of making a putter. Are there materials that you faviour?

That one is simply mild steel with a Tig brazed copper bumper build up. I had an idea that I wanted to try for a differential material body, so I gave it a shot. Turned out to be WAY more laborious than I thought, and I altered the design significantly in process because I was getting tired of building the copper up one drop at a time.... I actually pursued a patent on it, where I realized that yes, I probably had a valid case (we only found one, slightly similar but not quite same, patent from the 90's), but no, it's not really a marketable one. The cost wasn't worth it, even though one of my life goals is to have my name on a patent for something.... I had NO idea how many golf patents there were for so many crazy wacky ideas. It was an education that's for sure, and I learned a bit about the patent process, but it somewhat killed my dream of getting a patent on something......Unless it's a million dollar idea.



I did a black oxide finish on it initially, and then a raw/rust finish which is what it is now. I'd like to strip it down again and play with some other finishes, but will probably save those for the next ones.


It's face balanced as I can't putt with toe hang blades. It's also pretty light, because I gave up brazing as it was taking too long. Wont even register on my swingweight scale lol. I like it for very fast greens, but prefer a heavier mallet for regular play on my home course. I'll probably make the original version of this with full back/bumpers eventually. I've also designed a couple face balanced mallets to cast from bronze/AlBr, but haven't cast any yet. Only just a pile of 3d printed models, but did take one to split pattern stage, just havn't had a chance to cast it yet. I actually made that first, before the one above, just got off on a tangent with the braze idea......and then a couple years went by....My ideas are a chose your own adventure book......

My recent blacksmith shop build is primarily because I want to start making Damascus forged putters, that are CNC milled to finish. And other forged golf accesories like ball makers and divot tools. I think there's a small niche market there to generate a nice side income with some creative ideas, and a quality product, but at the very least me and all my buddies will have really nice putters I need to build a forge press before I get too far into that though. Pounding out pattern welded blanks by hand isn't my idea of a good time. I've done one hand forged twisted damascus billet for a divot tool, and that was enough....I have no desire to do one big enough for a putter.

The first club I made was a driver back when I was about 14. I carved out a block of maple, drilled a hole for a steel slug at the sweet spot, and screwed a piece of aluminum flat bar over it for the face. I've always been a curious inventive type. But no, it didn't work that good. Painted it baby blue and everything . Maybe why I like Mizuno's now.... I couldn't afford the new metal woods that were coming out back then, and played some handme down golden bear persimmons for much longer than I would have liked until I could upgrade here and there. I was trying to make some kind of hybrid metal/wood, but failed. I could hit it about 200 yards though. just not very forgiving.... Gamed it for a bit, but gave up on it. I wish I knew where it went, as I'd love to have it now. Kinda laughable to think back about it, but stuff like that is what drove me into the career I have now. I've just always liked making stuff.