Customer Rating: 
Summary: Just awful
Comment: I own one of the big ones. The 53. The Cadillac.
It has never worked right. There is something wrong
with the design of the 53. The quick-action feature
is forever jamming and popping and a source of
suffering.
Just Junk. The problems with the quick-action mechanism
totally nullify the good qualities of the vise. When
it works it works well. It has great capacity and
it clamps work solidly.
Maybe the smaller Record Vises are better
Customer Rating:
Summary: Stands up to use OR abuse
Comment: Buy this one, quickly, while you still can get a gen-yoo-wine, made-by-Brits-in-Sheffield vise for a Taiwanese price. The Record 52-1/2 is a far better device than expected for a little over a hundred bucks. It has tremendous capacity, is heckforstrong, and is fast-acting without mystical half-turn gymnastics. It has a nice, long-lasting blue paint finish, and decent metal finishes as well. You can tighten it up with a whomping mallet mash if you care to, and it will take it and smile back at you. The quick-release lever is a pure gem in operation.This champion of a vise deserves a big, heavy bench to support it in the fashion in which it would like to become accustomed. Be aware that mounting procedures will affect your long-term enjoyment greatly. If your bench is edged, mounting Big Blue behind the edging gives you a seamless inside face; this is superior to recessing it into the bench side. You also should fabricate an outside jaw pad of hardwood. Magnetic pads are available for this vise, but they look crummy on a nice bench, can't be made from scraps and won't last as long as maple ones. A useful, plain-English installation guide is included.
Waxing the screw and guides is recommended. Don't use oil, grease or WD40, all of which will accumulate crud rapidly.
Drawbacks are few: you won't get the full jaw width after facing the jaws (you don't need it anyway); it weighs about an Imperial ton (only a disadvantage if your bench is lightish); and it will torque its works a bit if you rachet down hard with a piece of stock held vertically in one side. This last peccadillo is curable by the expedient of shimming the opposite side with a board of equal thickness. Final drawback is the dog, which is good hard steel -- just the thing to punch divots in your workpieces. Make a new one out of hardwood (takes 15 minutes or so if you're slow like me), and your troubles are over. Alternatively, you can use cauls between the dog and your workpieces.
The ONLY reason I'll never buy another Record 52-1/2 is that a guy really only needs one -- and I'll never wear this one out. Nice to see well-made gear out there.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Woodworker�s Vice
Comment: As with the majority of equipment manufactured by Record, you will find attention to detail and excellent quality. The 52-1/2 does not disappoint. The thread design on the clamp is very beefy and will withstand as much pressure as you can muster without the possibility of striping out. This is something you want find on the Taiwanese copycats. The ratio of handle turn to clamp movement is excellent allowing for incremental adjustment of clamping pressure without the fear of "over doing it". The adjustable top "dog" is great when used in conjunction with bench "dogs" resulting in even great clamping width capacities. The quick release feature is very helpful in quickly adjusting the jaw width without having to crank your arm off.As mentioned in an earlier review, careful attention should be paid to adequately mount the vice. I anchored the vise in a 2" x 4" laminated workbench by rabbiting the rear vice clamp into the bottom of the workbench and then secured it with ¼" x 2 ½" lag bolts. I also attached a 12" long 2" x 4" to the front vice clamp. This gives me a wood-on-wood clamping surface to protect the surface of my projects.
This should be the first (and it will probably be the last) vise you consider or purchase.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent for Woodworking
Comment: This is a good, strong vise that is easy to tighten and loosen. The lever swivels very smoothly and is large enough to give you a good grip. The overall design is excellent. The way the mounting holes are positioned, you can mount the vise on the edge of your workbench so it has a fairly low profile. This means that the vise is very unobtrusive, staying out of the way, yet providing access when you need it. The inside of the mouth is smooth. However, I taped some padding on it to make sure it doesn't damage wood. If you're a woodworker, this is the best kind of vise to get.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Record 52-1/2 woodworking vise
Comment: The Record 52-1/2 ED woodworking vise is a massive and very sturdy piece of equipment and requires an equally sturdy work bench in order to be used to its fullest potential. If the vise is mounted with the jaws about a half inch below the work surface (as is recommended) then the space 7 1/2 inches below the work surface must be open to allow for free movement of the guide bars and the torsion bar. The metal jaws need to have hardwood face plates add to protect your work. I used 3/4 inch hardwood for the face plates and held them in place with 1 inch wood screws. The Tool Crib catalog description says that the jaws are tapped to receive 8 mm countersink screws. This was not true with my vise. It had two 6.5 mm holes drilled in each jaw but the holes were not tapped nor were they countersunk. This being the case it is necessary to add the face plates before mounting the vise. I mounted the vise, positioned the face plates, clamped them in position, unmounted the vise, inserted the 4 one inch wood screws and remounted the vise. The vise is well made, works great and I'm quite happy with it.
