General Tools 93 Adjustable Pin Vise

For the price, I have zero complaints about this pin vise/hand drill. The handle is solid and durable, and allows for a good grip. The chuck is decently made, with jaws that meet almost perfectly square. I find it works best with bits that are 1.5 mm diameter or larger, but it can maintain a grip on smaller bits as well. It's a faster alternative than using a hand drill that has collets for the bits since I often change bits when doing hobby work. But, it does not maintain as firm a grip on the bit as a collet does. For the price, I'm very satisfied with the quality and performance.

Seems to be a very good product so far but it needs a good cleaning of the threads for the chuck to spin as it should. A few minutes with some cotton swabs and a paper towel should be enough to remove the dirty, gritty grease from the threads. A dab of fresh grease and it's good to go.

The tool is heavy and easy to use--I purchased it to use with 3D printed items so that I could enlarge/clean/debur holes in prints using drill bits and chamfering bits. Total success there. It has a nice keyless chuck to hold the bits. What I don't like, and what dropped a star for me was the fact that this tool is made in India. Despite the fact that the item pictured on Amazon's product page showed "General USA". COO does matter to me and I was willing to spend more for it in this case but I received a foreign made tool. Due to COO, I believe that this tool does not have good value for money, given that there are many other tools, some several dollars cheaper, that do the same thing.

...at least as far as pin vises are concerned! Read the "most helpful" 5 star reviews - I agree. Several people commented "I've wasted a lot of money on pin vices", so I should consider myself lucky I found this on only the second try! Just a few added comments: 1) Continuously adjustable - the first pin vice I bought had two double-ended collets, the extra storing in the handle. Besides the annoyance of changing collets, a standard 1/16" bit was handled poorly - the jaws clamped flat without holding it tight enough on one size, while you could barely jam it into the next size down with the jaws relaxed. Continuously adjustable jaws cannot have this problem. 2) Weight - someone mentioned the tool seemed a little heavy. I agree, but I think this is the price to be paid for a solidly made tool that should last a lifetime. If hand fatigue is a problem, you may want to include a lighter model in your tool box. 3) This may seem like a silly observation, but the inside of the chuck smells like a precision machine shop or a freshly oiled gun! This small touch tells me that the manufacturer had the attention to detail to not only lubricate the jaws, but use a fairly high grade of lubricant. Good stuff. So remember, watch your diet, drive safely, and ALWAYS read the most recent reviews! Otherwise, there is no telling what you will get. As of December '13 I can say that the five star reviews still appear accurate. And if you buy something that is really all it's cracked up to be, be sure to put in a good word, at least to report that the product hasn't yet entered a quality nosedive - so tempting to the myopic or anonymous manufacturer.

Strongly-built pin vise that should last a long time. My main issue is its inapplicability for my specific use case, which was for very small, finely-detailed drilling. As a fairly large pin vise this is not a great tool for small drill bits under 3mm. The vise top has no add-in chucks; the vice clamps are a one size-fits-all design that is not as exact as removable chucks common on smaller pin vises. As a result bits around 3mm and down are difficult to align exactly for precise drilling; there is some slight wobble in small bit rotation. This vise is large, durable, works fine for imprecise drilling above 3mm, and should be useful for a long time if you are not dealing with high precision tasks.

I was surprised it opened to accept a 1/4" (6.35mm) bit. But yes, this can be found in the published specifications. This surprising (to me) level of additional utility helped greatly in a project where I was focused on using it for 1mm up to 4mm holes.

The good is that the device is accurately shown in the picture. It has a good solid handle and a large chuck. What I don't like about it is the poor machining of the chuck. The jaws don't withdraw when I loosen the chuck, I have to rap the handle to knock them down so I can insert a drill. I wanted it to chuck up a countersink to debur holes in aluminum. The jaws are poorly machined and don't hold the countersink shaft tight enough so it doesn't slip. The jaws seem to slip to the clockwise direction instead of holding firm. The result is the shaft of the countersink is crooked when tightened up. I will be looking for something with a collet to hold my tool firmly and accurately while I debur the holes by hand. No luck yet but if this is your application I can't recommend this tool.

Item is as shown and arrived in good working order. Got this for small intricate projects around the house. Durable and heavy, it is secure in the hand and offers good control for finer work. The larger chuck allows for larger bits, or the smaller ones as needed, making it more versatile. I will be getting a small countersink bit for woodworking and this should make it a clean and precise job. Fair price, good quality, and fast shipping. I highly recommend this product.