Review on 🔧 Enhance Your Precision Work with Palmgren 30301 32 Cross Slide by Dwayne Calhoun

Palmgren 30301 Cross Slide Vise proves the truth of the saying "You get what you pay for”. It's made in the USA and the craftsmanship and quality of every detail is evident. As another reviewer noted, the product arrives well packaged. It was in a thick double box with double plastic ties. All of this is a plus given the weight of the vise and the ever-present danger of someone dropping the package. Upon unpacking the vise, I found that the handles were upside down to avoid possible damage in transit. (These are easily repaired by removing the glans and reversing the direction.) The vise fits snugly on the table of my 12" bench drill and is easily attached with 3/8" bolts and T-nuts. The vise jaws are well made and the clamping jaw does not wobble when tightened against the fixed jaw. I definitely wouldn't take the vise off the X/Y table and try to use it for offline tasks. The bottom of the vise is finely ground and dents or nicks can reduce accuracy or make it difficult to put the vise back on the guides and axle. The X and Y cross slides move smoothly with no backlash (the handle adjustment screws on the side are accessible and will fix any problem.) I only have one complaint: The rotation of the crank on the cross saddle under the vise is very tight. (This seems to be related to the bearings/washers in the grip. I've tried adjusting the splines but that didn't fix the problem. I'll try calling Palmgren and see if there's a way to adjust the bolt placement.) Tested The accuracy of the grip adjustment rings (using a dial indicator against the moving cross slide) and both X and Y were within 0.001-002 in .500 inches compared to the dial indicator. At 3 inches, the vise is slightly smaller than the regular 4-inch models, but that doesn't seem to limit it. I work with metals and have found that the vise is stiff when drilling a 3/8 hole in steel. However, given the size of the vise, I doubt they are suitable for milling on a milling machine. (And of course, don't try to mill with a drill press.) Overall, the 30301 is far superior in quality to anything made in China or India. I had a 4" cross-slide port freight vise that I tried to get it accurate with for years without success. Sure, it's only $40, but it doesn't work. His forty dollars is wasted. While the 30301 retails for $380, Revain's price is well below the $530 to $645 that Enco or MSC charge for the same item. Thank you Palmgren for your product and Revain for the fast shipping and great price.