I have gone through two or three of the chinese so called look alikes or
"want a be" bench vises and have returned everyone that includes Wilton's
line of Columbian vises sold at Home Depot, these will lock up if you clamp
on either end of the jaw resulting in a sudded and spring type opening when
released also many have been returned by other owners to H.D. for cracked
bases. If you want one that has good precision, solid clamping, etc stay
with known names i.e. Record(England), Wilton (USA) or Jet has an excellent
precision/machinest vise (not their entry level vise) but they are not
cheap. I lucked out when Lowes was clearing out their Record line of vises
and picked up a 6" 1/2 turn release series cast steel reg. $154.00 for
$45.00. There are a few left here and there at different Lowes so give them
a try.