I went through decades of cheap made in China cast iron vices that are weak, sloppy, and prone to fracturing. I never actually had one crack on my but you know what, I wanted some quality. This one is made in Taiwan and is of solid forged steel. Yost is an old respected name. This is a real machinists vise. I overpaid for mine a bit have seen them as low as a hundred but still very happy. For a 4" vice the strength of this vice is incredible. I mounted mine over the lip of my workbench so I can clamp tall objects. So when the vice is closed it overhangs the edge of your bench. Don't quote me but I think the clamping strength of this Yost vice is about 8,000 pounds. It is easy, one finger operation. The first thing I did before ever using is was to remove the waxy, brown Cosmoline type shipping greast from all surfaces of the vice including the main screw underneath. Then I lubed the screw and all sliding surfaces with Magnalube G lube which in my opinion is the finest lubricant grease in existence. All moving or sliding parts were lubed and I also worked in a thin coat on the top anvil surface for corrosion resistance. I have had the vice for six months now and it is centerpiece of my workbench. I am seriously thinking about ordering a second one for the 41" Kobalt 8-drawer tool cart I just bought which in reality is a mobile workbench. I can't say enough about the quality of this vice I use it daily. For example I invert a portable belt sander and clamp it in the vice, turning it into a stationary belt sander. Lately I have been re-soling some favorite shoes I otherwise would through out it is great for clamping them after joining the sole to the shoe. Also the built in pipe clamp set of jaws underneath is great for cutting pipe. There is not play or slop in this mechanism whatsoever and that combined with the literally, one-finger operation makes this vice a joy to use. You would need a 5" vice at least of a lesser brand, and still not as useful as this Yost vice. This is really an industrial quality vice in a 4" size. Surprisingly compact for its power but make no mistake this is still a large vice. One last point maybe the quality of the paint is variable on these but mine looks just fine. I am not looking for a show car paint finish this is a vice. As long as the paint doesn't chip or have unpainted spots or big drippy gobs of paint on it, I am happy. The paint is on there smooth not perfect but more than good enough for the job. Nice looking BRIGHT red color much brighter than the Amazon photo. Highly recommended.

I've waited almost a year to post a review in case any problems cropped up, but so far it's been more vise that I have had call for. Check out the pictures to see why I've given it 4 stars. Not sure what to expect from a vise in this price range. After ordering it I found out it was made in China, not Taiwan like I had thought. Look at the acme threads and you'll see just how poor their quality control is. It doesn't affect the function, but not ideal on a new vise. Also the gib was so warped and rough that fine adjustment was not possible until I made it smooth and flat. Now it works just fine. Backlash is a bit much, but could be fixed with a shim if needed. So far it's been just fine without it. Like many inexpensive heavy things these days, you need to make sure they are assembled properly before using them and you'll have yourself a full functional tool.

the only thing i dont like, if i bump the handle with my belly or shirt, it will come un clamp and what ever was clamp is now on the floor, it has no locking power

I have been looking to put a good vise in my shop for some time now. I was looking at older good quality vises on Ebay but i to me it seemed that they were all overpriced. I finally gave up and decided to get one through Amazon. This one is really quite beautiful. I bolted it to my "tiny shop" work bench and added a set of Nylon Vise Jaws by JCL. I'm very happy with this set up. I got the FSV-4 (4 inch jaws) which fits my purposes fine. This vice is forged so it is more durable than a cast iron vice. I think this one will last a life time.

FYI i was looking at a couple of other vices that i think would have also been excellent choices. I have them list here below
*Yost 750-DI 5" Heavy-Duty Multi-Jaw Rotating Combination Pipe and Bench Vise. (Ductile Iron better than standard cast iron)
*Capri Tools 10519 Rotating Base and Head Bench Vise, 6" (again Ductile Iron and to me looks identical to the Yost, may be from the same factory)
*Yost RIA-4 4" Compact Bench Vise with 360-Degree Swivel Base (least expensive but cool looking. Made of lower quality cast gray iron)
I was right on the fence with the first 2 listed above. I think that they both look like beautiful well made vices but they are quite a lot bigger/heavier than the one i settled on. Also there were more money and it is Christmas and i am a little afraid of my credit card bill that is coming. I decided that i didn't need the rotating head vices (even though it looks cool) and I am happy with the purchase i made.

So I had to replace my 15 yr old cheapo vice made of Chinesium (cast iron of dubious provenance) that broke under minor abuse (trying to press out a ball joint).
The old girl was ugly, scabby, not very smooth and had a bent handle but had served my shop well until she broke in two, may she rest in pieces.

Amazon pushed me down the slippery slope of rising expectations. Why buy 20kpsi cast iron when here's one with 30kpsi! Look, this one has 70, and THIS one is Forged!!! How deep a throat do I need, do I need to rotate or thread pipe?

This vise is what I settled on, forged, 6" wide and possibly made in the USA (box said it was, not stamped on the vise tho).

This is a wonderful vise - it needed a bit of moly grease on the threads, but it is smooth, precise and REALLY powerful (made short work of the above ball joints). Frankly, it is too nice for my shop, and I shed tears whenever I use it to hold some rusty crap that I need to whack with a lump hammer. The rotating base is positively held in place by "teeth" that the T bolt gim-gaws on the side tension, when you snug it down it won't be turning while you hammer on it.

There are a couple of hex socket screws that snug against the sliding portion of the vise to hold it tight, after adjustment there is no wiggle room.
While the handle is shorter than I expected, the thread pitch is fine so it clamps with WAY more tension than the tool it replaced did.

My advice - if your shop is your happy place, this vise will make you smile every time you use it. Yep, I paid $225 for it which seems silly for a thing to hold other things while you (usually) break them but it is a wonderful tool that I expect will serve me till my kids put me down (and will then serve them).