question for the vise-aholics

[mech-tech]

I have been a home owner for several years now, and do all my own home repairs. I fix the usual stuff around the house plus my lawn mowers, pressure washer, vehicle, and so on. I often see you guys with well filled out home shops with the nicest vises around...and I can't help but wonder what ya'll use these vises for? I can easily count on one hand the amount of times in 5 years that I could have even slightly used a vice, but none that I remember needing one for a certain task. At work I use one every single day and could not do my job without it, we have at least 7 wilton machinest vise in the shop and I use every single one of them hard, but I never do anything at home that would require the need for one. What hobby are you guys doing that a full size bench vise would be needed for? I ask only because I have no need for one, but you guys have talked me into feeling deprived without one

 

[RivennHewn]

I don't know how to answer your question, other than I no longer need to take little blue pills.

JK, I'm not that old.

 

[wild cowboy]

many guys on here likely do similar things in their home shop that you do at work!

some are just collectors of old antique USA made tools of various sorts, whether that is drill presses, bench grinders, vises, or all of the above!

what you should be asking is who needs a giant Bridgeport milling machine at home that weighs more than a large car

 

[mrborohachi]

My home is my shop so I don't have a "work" place that has vices for me to vice work at.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

I have gotten into light frabrication in the past few years, building workbenches,attachments for my garden tractor, ect. That means things like holding parts to tap holes, weld prep and filing parts to final fit.

 

[wrenchguy]

My home is my shop so I don't have a "work" place that has vices for me to vice work at.

+ 1, this describes me 2. low overhead.

 

[nickelTwin]

I collect and work on bicycles. I also like old tools. Once in a while I'll come across things that are damaged and I would like to bring back to life. A vise comes in handy in these repairs or building replacement parts. For years I made do with a cheap vise. This past summer I came across an old Wilton bullet vise at a garage sale that I bought for cheap.

I also have a mill.

 

[Cope]

what you should be asking is who needs a giant Bridgeport milling machine at home that weighs more than a large car

Need has nothing to do with our requirements!

 

[toomanytoyzz]

The day you need one at your house is the day you will say, "damn, now I know why I needed a big, sturdy vise". Most of the big ticket items I've purchased through the years can go months if not years before being dusted off and used, but it may be in service for the next month to complete the project. A vise is usually one of the tools that will aid in the aforementioned project.

If you do your own auto repair, I am sure you will need to do the u-joints in the driveshaft(s) one day. A big vise mounted to a table is perfect for this job. If you have, or ever contemplated buying a welder, the vise will go together just like peanut butter goes with jelly. Basically, the more tinkering you do at your home garage the more likely a vise will find its way to a bench or stand.

 

[mech-tech]

Well now you guys have me wondering what type of vise a do it yourself home owner would need. I never see a used vise around here, too much industry and shops being built. I know for sure I don't need an 8" Wilton bullet, but just a good beater vise that doesn't mind being used as needed. I never do big mechanical projects at home, if need be I can always use the ones at work if the project out grows the home vise. What is the price range for a small vise that will fit my needs? Is 4" a good all around size? 6" is what I am used too, but that's kind of big. Mounting an 8" is just out of the question at my house. I admire you fellas for the solid iron work benches and those awesome vises that keep them company, which reminds me that I now need a work bench

 

[nickelTwin]

My first vise was a cheap 4" bench vise. Which served me well for years. My next vise was given to me about 10 years ago. It's a made in USA Craftsman 6" vise made by Columbian. My latest vise is a 4.5" Wilton bullet vise. It's the only bench vise that I have bought (paid $15.00 at a garage sale).

I use the craftsman 6" most and feel that it is more than I really need.

 

[dr_clyde]

A shop is just not a shop without a vise. I have at least 4 bolted to benches and carts. Any mechanical repair, fabrication, plumbing, or general maintenance I find a vise so incredibly valuable.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: I bought a Zyliss aluminum vise for my first bench vise from a home show when i bought my home 30 years ago. i still own it and i can clamp it to a board and use it out in my yard if i need to and it still works great. I bought a Wilton bullet about 15 years ago because i did a lot of research and heard it was the best. I didn't have Garage Journal or Craigslist to shop for or learn about others.

once i found i could buy an old working 150 pound vise for the same price or in most cases cheaper than a new Wilton i was hooked. as some would say by how smooth they work for such a big and really old tool and they look a lot cooler. i'd almost call them a machine because they do have their use, but not for all shops. when i get my shop, shed and garage "ORGANIZED" i'll probably have 10 vises mounted on benches and stands. one reason is that some have different uses and mainly because i like looking at them even if i'm not using them.

if you work with a vise all day long everyday at work then probably the last thing you want to use at home or hear about fixing is a vise so i don't blame you. sad though because you have the skills to fix or make something better and with the right tools it's easier.

if i could only have one vise at home it would depend on the budget i'm willing to spend for one. if money wasn't an issue then i'd buy a old Reed 2C or a Wilton 2C because they both have a lot of options and are in the 80-100 pound range so not really anything is too big for them. i'd also have a chunk of RR track close by because I will never (hopefully) hammer on a vise again after seeing so many huge awesome broken vises over the years now.

now if you have a budget i'd still buy a US or English made vise and i prefer the older ones and get one that weighs at least 25 pounds. anything over 3 inches should work great for about 90% of anybody's work. I see Zyliss vises on Craigs all the time for $75 that are like new and honestly a homeowner should buy one especially if they don't have a big work bench or need to work outside with a vise.

also don't use your vise as a press

i guess you could say i do have a vice for vises, but they are cheaper than a lot of other vices and there are so many interesting ones that were made prior to sending all our steel making business overseas.

 

[PCO6]

I use my vices daily for mechanical and fabrication (cutting, drilling, filing, etc.) work plus for woodworking. I can't imagine being without one ... or 4.

 

[Murphy4570]

My home vice I use rarely. Old 6" Wilton bullet from 1956. It is very handy to have, and doesn't really take up much room on the cabinet it's bolted to. A vice is one of those things that has a myriad of uses, and acts as a third hand most times.

I can't talk for the guys who have a shitload of vices, dunno why they do. Collectors I suppose. I only own one, and it's good enough for me. Not gonna restore it, it works as-is.

 

[Packard V8]

My question would be what I do at home which doesn't require a vise?

From the smallest shop task, putting the screw back into the hinge on eyeglasses, to the largest metal fabrication, plumbing repairs, woodworking I couldn't do projects at home even one day without one or more of several vises.

There are metal, woodworking, pipe and precision vises on benches, drill presses, mill and shaper in the main garage shop; others in the basement shop, still others in my daughter's and son's home shops for when I'm doing projects there.

At least a dozen sizes and types by last count and no, none repainted; all working to earn their bench space.

 

[KinzeMech]

I have a vise on my bench at work. It's set up on a piece of square tube steel so I can move it from my bench to my service truck (receiver hitch mount) in a moment's notice. Point is, I go almost nowhere without it, and I use it all day. At work, I can't stand to be without it, although it sometimes occurs where I'm out on a service call, but the vise is still on the shop workbench.

I can't imagine what I would use it for at home (although I could put it in the receiver hitch of my personal truck if I needed it at home). Maybe I just have too much "do work, AT work" mentality.

 

[wild cowboy]

I even keep a PanaVise on my electrical troubleshooting bench, it is my smallest vise and yet one of the most used!

 

[Fretters]

Well now you guys have me wondering what type of vise a do it yourself home owner would need. I never see a used vise around here, too much industry and shops being built. I know for sure I don't need an 8" Wilton bullet, but just a good beater vise that doesn't mind being used as needed. I never do big mechanical projects at home, if need be I can always use the ones at work if the project out grows the home vise. What is the price range for a small vise that will fit my needs? Is 4" a good all around size? 6" is what I am used too, but that's kind of big. Mounting an 8" is just out of the question at my house. I admire you fellas for the solid iron work benches and those awesome vises that keep them company, which reminds me that I now need a work bench

Personally, I'd say aim for a decent 4" or so vice. The jaw width isn't always the only thing to consider. Some vices are physically disproportionately large or small compared to their jaw width. Take these examples. The first two are both 3" vices, (give or take the odd fraction):

yet the burgundy 3" Parkinson is of similar physical size to a general duty 4" Woden vice:

On the same note, that blue Woden 4" and this 4" Parkinson Handy vice:

aren't anywhere near as large or as sturdily built as this 4" Parkinson No.7:

Either that Parkinson 3" or the No.7 are ample for anything I'm ever liable to do, and the No.7 has been my workhorse vice for years, and has never dropped a beat, even when I had my foot against the bench and a pipe on one of the ends of a track rod, trying to unscrew the seized track rod it was holding, (I won that battle ), though I do normally try not to put my vices through that type of loading.

Getting that good combination of physical mass and acceptable jaw size is the key, so being able to see ones you're considering buying in the flesh is best, if possible. Jaw width alone can be misleading.

As to whether you need anything larger, nope. If you did, you'd already know.

 

[Scimonetti]

I even keep a PanaVise on my electrical troubleshooting bench, it is my smallest vise and yet one of the most used!

I have one too, handy for lots of light work. I use it to hold things I'm sanding sometimes, the range of motion means you don't have to keep unclamping

 

[zkling]

At work I use one every single day and could not do my job without it, we have at least 7 wilton machinest vise in the shop and I use every single one of them hard, but I never do anything at home that would require the need for one.

What do you do at your day job? One man's day job is another man's hobby. Like many on here I'm probably the only one on my block to have a 300 amp tig welder or milling machine sitting in the garage.

Now with that said I got along fine with a 3.5" open screw littletown, pipe vise and wood working vise for a long time. Agree with Fretters that a ~4-5" fixed or swivel base will do a vast majority of general shop needs. Do I want a massive 6 or 8" vise? Of course, do I need them? No.

 

[mech-tech]

To answer the job question, I am a mechanic in the oilfield. I use the vise mostly for assembly of gas pressure pipe in schedule 80 and 160, up to 2" diameter. The way we do it is put the two threaded pipes together and place them in the vise, then tighten the vise with about a 2 foot cheater pipe until its tight...then get a good bite with a 24" pipe wrench and a 4 foot cheater pipe and keep putting your weight into it until it stops. At that point it's considered tight enough. The Wilton 6" mechanic vise does a great job without slipping. Not even the Ridgid chain vise holds the pipe as good as the Wilton does. The handles never even bend with the cheater pipes. When all else fails, the big Reed steps in to finish the job with the 36" pipe wrench. As for home use, probably the most abuse a vise would see would be sharpening the lawn mower blade. Any particular ones to stay away from? Are the cheapies at lowes pure junk?

 

[uart]

...and I can't help but wonder what ya'll use these vises for? I can easily count on one hand the amount of times in 5 years that I could have even slightly used a vice, but none that I remember needing one for a certain task.

My question would be what I do at home which doesn't require a vise?

I totally agree with Packard, there's not many jobs I can think of that aren't easier with a vise.

Mech-tech, have you ever had to cut a piece of pipe, cut a bolt down to size, file a burr off something, shape or plane something, hold something while you're drilling it? Most people would use a vise of some description for all of those things. Heck even just cutting a piece of wood or holding something in position while you're gluing it.

Any vise is better than none at all. People here will hate me for saying it, but even the cheapest 3 or 4 inch Chinese vise that you can pick up for $25 from HF is way better than nothing. You'll get tons of use out of even a cheap vise like that, but once you're using it regularly you're bound to eventually come across jobs where you want something bigger and better.

 

[oldldh]

It's like the man said---

"No one ever needs a gun, unless he needs one badly!!!"

Or---

"It's better to have one, and not need it---Than to need it, and not have it..."

 

[Brad54]

It really revolves around what your hobbies are.
If you don't have a hobby, then you're right--there are probably few times you'll need a vise at home. If you do a lot of your own equipment repairs, like lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc., then you might use one, maybe. For that matter, you might use one to hold your hand-operated hedge clipper in one while you sharpen the blades with your Dremel tool.

But otherwise, no, there aren't too many times a basic homeowner will use a vise.

NOW, if your hobby is rebuilding cars, or motorcycles, or bicycles, or small engine repair, or any kind of thing that involves a drill press, bench grinder, air tools, etc. a vise in your shop is essential.

I've got a 32x40 shop for my hot rods, and there's a work area in one corner with a big welding/fab table, a vise table, drill press, my tool boxes, etc.
I just got my grandfather's vise table with a big Parker vise on it (my vise table is based off his, but is bigger with a bigger Read vise). I didn't want to get rid of it, but didn't think I could really justify having two vise tables in my shop.

Turns out having one at the front of the shop by the open door was a HUGE benefit for several projects I'm working on right now, including building my Altered drag car and cutting/threading pipe for my new air compressor.

-Brad

 

[Packard V8]

But otherwise, no, there aren't too many times a basic homeowner will use a vise.

One of my best friends, also retired, claims using a screwdriver is a declaration of poverty. He hires his lawn mowed and his oil and snow tires changed and his water heater replaced; anything around the house and grounds requires third party effort. He has nothing else to do with his time, but never wanted to fix or fabricate anything, so he doesn't.

I, on the other hand, take it as a sign of moral failure if I even have to go to a hardware store for supplies, much less hire anything done. By this age, I've collected most every fastener and the tool actuate it. Fixing and fabricating is my fun.

Including my daughter's place, there are six vehicles, four mowers, two snowblowers, two weedwhackers, two chainsaws, a rototiller as well as all the plumbing and woodworking associated with two older homes. That plus building custom cars and engines is even more fun

One basic homeowner wouldn't know what to do with a vise. The other couldn't survive without a dozen.

jack vines