Bench vise mount.

[1Bad55Chevy]

I am having issues mounting my bench vise to my new to me work bench... I know, I know what a noob....

I have a riv nut tool with a ton of sizes of nuts. Would there be a down side to using a riv nut opposed to just washers and a lock nut? I have never used riv nuts but this table i got had a new Astro Pneumatic kit inside the drawer but idk how strong or reliable they are.

Btw I do automotive work and I wont be beating on this vise, I have a post vise that I hit things on.

 

[General Geoff]

What's the problem with just using standard bolts? What is the rivnut accomplishing that a standard nut & bolt can't, with your bench top?

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

I took that red vise off it and the base plate for my other Wilton is bigger. The drawers dont come out and the drawer assembly has these big rivets holding it to the bench top that I cant drill out because I can't remove the drawers. I fought with it today for almost an hour and failed miserably because I cant get my fingers in the slot between the leg and the drawer. The riv nut would make it where I wouldn't have to use a nut from the bottom..

 

[TurnipTruck]

Just one riv-nut? How big a rivnut can fit? You can reach the rest to use nuts? I would say it would be good enough for medium duty. I can personally tell you that rivnuts are NOT for suspensions, but for holding a vise it oughta be okay.
How do you feel about welding a vise-sized chunk of 1/4 or 3/8 plate to the corner and drilling and tapping that?

 

[MichaelP]

How thick is your benchtop? What material(s) it consists of?

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

Just one riv-nut? How big a rivnut can fit? You can reach the rest to use nuts? I would say it would be good enough for medium duty. I can personally tell you that rivnuts are NOT for suspensions, but for holding a vise it oughta be okay.
How do you feel about welding a vise-sized chunk of 1/4 or 3/8 plate to the corner and drilling and tapping that?

I thought about welding a plate on the table today. I have some 3/16 plate at the shop and thought about welding nuts to the bottom of it then drilling the table big enough for the nuts to drop through. Honestly it would have been faster then what time I have already invested into it!

I was trying to do something cleaner them my typically cut and weld everything!

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

How thick is your benchtop? What material(s) it consists of?

I believe its 14ga. Its pretty thick for a sheet metal table like that.

 

[Shiftless]

It looks like the old red vise was held on with nuts and bolts. How did you remove those?

What kind of drawer slides are on those drawers? All of the drawer slides I’ve ever dealt with have some kind of release lever or way to insert a shim like an old hack saw blade to release some kind of catch.

 

[MichaelP]

For light duties rivnuts will work, but I'd definitely prefer a much more substantial base for my vise and follow TurnipTruck's suggestion (post #4).

 

[Shiftless]

How do you feel about welding a vise-sized chunk of 1/4 or 3/8 plate to the corner and drilling and tapping that?

I thought about welding a plate on the table today. I have some 3/16 plate at the shop and thought about welding nuts to the bottom of it then drilling the table big enough for the nuts to drop through. Honestly it would have been faster then what time I have already invested into it!

This sounds like a great idea if you have to give up on your original plan. It will be very strong. If you’re worried about how it would look, just smooth your steel plate cuts and relieve the sharp edges and corners. Or cut your steel plate to exactly match the size and shape of the base of your vise. Then the plate won’t show except for the 3/8 inch thickness. Lots of extra work for that.

 

[gimpyrobb]

A rivnut will never hold a bench vise if you use it the way I do. Drill and tap the table for bolts, weld on a mounting plate, or figure out how to remove the drawer and bolt the vise down.

 

[Steve from Socal]

I had several metal work benchs with things mounted on them. I used 1/4 or 3/8 plated under the top and bolted thru. Make a backing plate 30% larger and use the base to locate the holes, drill the holes about 30% larger that will give you some flex in position. The drawer is below the formed edge so there should be no issue with the drawer. No need to weld the backer to either the top or bottom of the top.