how is your vise mounted?

[laser3kw]

As I start to organize my shop, I need to find a way to mount a vise. I have a small vise on the work bench, but would like to have a larger vise that I can put a strain on. I often use a cheater on those really tough parts and also have a tubing bender (Mittler) that can be held in a vise. Does this warrant a floor mount or is there another method? I have used my mill table but I don't like doing that and it is often very inconvenient.
Post up a picture if you can.
Thanks

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

mounted mine to an old wood workers bench and screwed the bench to the wall. another way i would like would be to cement a pole in the floor and bolt it to the top or or bolt it to a post thats bolted to the floor

 

[EOC_Jason]

Go by your local tire shop and see what kind of F'ed up rims they have. Usually they will just give them to you or sell them for like $10... The bigger the STEEL rim you can find, the better. Stick it face down, weld a pipe to it, fill the rim with concrete. I usually pre-drill a piece of plate steel for my vise then weld that to the top of the pipe first. Depending on how big of a rim you find and if you fill the pipe it can weigh a couple hundred pounds. I have one of my Reed 4C (6" combo) and even with my fat *** up in the air trying to push down on the handle it hasn't tried to tip over. I like it on the rim because that way I can move it around the shop if need be. If it was on a table then it's kind of stuck there...

 

[SweetD]

Obviously you can treat your vise however you want to, but to put a cheater bar on the vise handle is asking for trouble. The vise is engineered to take a maximum force at the handle, and a cheater bar will likely exceed that force, rendering your vise broken eventually...



Dave

 

[laser3kw]

but to put a cheater bar on the vise handle is asking for trouble.

thanks for the replies.

I generally use a cheater on the part mounted in the vise not the vise itself.
For instance, the Mitter manual tubing bender only has a 4" stub. I may use a 4' or a 6' "helper" to draw the tube around the mandrel. That is my concern, the torsion around the axis in a situation like that. If I throw a couple of hundred pounds on a 6' bar I know I can move a 8' x 3' workbench that isn't anchored down. I would like this vise to have enough free space around it to work on longer parts also. I thought about a floor mount but am not sure how to and where I would put it just yet.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Oh damn... yeah... hmmm... Either like some 2" steel plate as the base or you might have to anchor bolt it into the ground.

Why not mount your tubing bender directly to a base itself and eliminate the chance of damaging a vise?

 

[laser3kw]

Why not mount your tubing bender directly to a base itself and eliminate the chance of damaging a vise?
__________________

the tubing bender is just for example. I sometimes have the need to do similar "straightening" or "bending" or "tweeking" to either undo a wrong or to coax something into being pretty.
some call it "percussive maintenance"

 

[TheShrine]

I mounted one here



...and this pedestal vise on the tire rim.

 

[sublimate]

Wow! A wooden 2-post lift!

 

[laser3kw]

that has possibilities!

 

[TheShrine]

that[/B] has possibilities!

I can use it on my truck receiver, also my Kawasaki Mule and I have a couple of receivers mounted elsewhere around my property. I just pull the vise and move it to where I need it.

 

[porschedude996TT]

I mounted both of mine on the top of my bench and then a supporting post to the ground.

 

[porschedude996TT]

Another one...

 

[porschedude996TT]

Another two???

 

[laser3kw]

I can use it on my truck receiver, also my Kawasaki Mule and I have a couple of receivers mounted elsewhere around my property. I just pull the vise and move it to where I need it.

That was the light bulb moment I got as soon as I saw it. I could have several mounting points and I could also rotate 90º (180º) if needed. I could foresee a combination of porschedude996TT's bench post and your reciever mount for great flexiblity.

When in doubt, make it stout!

 

[lilredex]

A few more ideas here...


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205527

 

[Mr onetwo]

Here is a little stand I made from some scrap.2 1/2" inside 3" ...it rotates 360 degrees.It will suffice 'til I make my fab table with pockets this winter.

 

[Exceller8]

Very nice!

 

[FltEngCPO]

that has possibilities!

I really like one!

 

[ddawg16]

I made a welding table out of 1" thick plate steel (top alone weighs 150 lbs)

The vice is on a pivot so I can swing it down when I'm not using it.





But I really like the vice mounted on the wood post......THAT does have possibilities.

 

[Exceller8]

John, that is a very cool idea!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Double layer of 3/4" plywood top, steel plate under the vise. I put a layer od 2x4s under the plywood and another piece of 3/4" plywood.

I originally was going to put another layer of steel under the bench top but I decided to leave it off. I figured the vise would break before the bolts would pull through all the lumber. I did break one of the jaw faces a few weeks ago and the vise is still solid.

 

[Paticus]

I was lazy and never bolted mine down. Good thing because having the flexibility to move it around is very useful (for me). If you decide to go that route, build a slightly larger base and bolt the vise to it so you have more clamping area to work with.

 

[Guster]

My Record #23 is bolted sollid to the right hand side of the 1/2" steel workbench top. To the left I have a smaller fice on a receiver tube that can extend out about 1m to hold bulky things to weld on.
I have one of these for working on fiddly bits too:

 

[fnieto]

I used a fire truck drum. Heavy,stout and portable. Fire maintance gives them away for free to firefighters as they aren't allowed to turn them due to insurance liability reasons. (Right side of photo)

 

[2mJps]

I have noticed something about vices here and at shops i have been in most vices are for decoration. They are way to tall to use. When i go to diffrent shops to work i fill like standing on a milk crate to use them. I dont think you can bolt one to a bench and use it unless your bench is short. I have my vice mounted to a truck rim. In the summer i move it out side to hold things to grind on.

 

[Guster]

That is a preference thing. I'm tall'ish and like my jaws at elbow height which is ergonomic for using a hacksaw or grinder. Means I can stand upright when working at it rather than bending over my work. My lathe also sits a little higher so I don't have to bend to use the saddle handwheels. Whish my mill could be raised a bit but then I could not get the drawbar out unless I put a hole in my ceiling(which I considered)

Otherwise I've reconditioned my vice and used the paint off it(sadly) - hardly just decoration.

 

[Steevo]

Bolted through the bench top, and frame, directly above a vertical steel support leg:

 

[Thumper68]

I'll have to get a pic of mine this weekend (even though its from china) I have it mounted to a post that is bolted to the floor with lots of room around it. The post consists of 3 inch square welded to a 12 inch dia. base plate that is bolted to the floor, the top plate was drilled for the vise base and then cut to match so nothing sticks out past the vise.
When I built the shop I planned for it there is 110 power to the post so when using tools I can power them with no extension cord running along the floor. Just wish I had thought further ahead and run a air line as well.

 

[csrc5129]

I mounted mine to a butcher block I cut to fit the top of my box. The bolts extend down through the top of the box as well. It also turned out nice when I used the router on the corners.

View media item 33188

 

[Fyrme]

This one weighs about 150lbs and has casters I can tilt it back and roll it where ever I want it.

 

[laser3kw]

WOW!
I guess that defines "heavy duty"!

This one weighs about 150lbs and has casters I can tilt it back and roll it where ever I want it.

tilt it back & roll it? with what? A tow truck?

 

[Thumper68]

Pic as promised, I planned this out before we started the shop build, there is a conduit under the floor feeding 110 to the post.



I drilled the mounting holes for the vice and then traced around the base and cut it to fit, I didn't want any over hang to get in the way of work since the vice will swivel in 2 dimensions it works very well for getting work in the best possible postion for welding or other work.



The post is 3 inch square with a 1/4 inch wall, I cut in a duplex steel box and bolted it in place, cutting the conduit to the right length was the worst part.

The base is off a old K band dish so no I didn't drill all the mounting holes, but nothing is going to pull this out of the floor.

 

[ez-duzit]

Oooooo. I like that, being able to work all around it.

 

[Fyrme]

WOW!
I guess that defines "heavy duty"!

tilt it back & roll it? with what? A tow truck?

Laser, this is the pic I was looking for the other day to post but couldn't find it.

 

[my68spit]

I mounted mine to a butcher block I cut to fit the top of my box. The bolts extend down through the top of the box as well. It also turned out nice when I used the router on the corners.

View media item 33188

How far from the edge on either side is that vise mounted? I have a similar setup (butcher block on top of steel cabinet), but can't decide how close to the edge I should mount. Far enough forward that the rear jaw face is flush with the front of the mounting surface? further back than that? It's a small vise that will see very light general use and I just can't decide how far in to mount it.

 

[Magneto]

Some great ideas in this post.

 

[metalmagpie]

I like to use truck brake drums for freestanding vises too. I don't understand why the stand pictured above has wheels, though. It's very simple to tilt the thing and just roll it to where you want it. My buddy has one and put four female threaded anchors in his floor so he can bolt it down solidly for bending.

metalmagpie

 

[Fyrme]

I like to use truck brake drums for freestanding vises too. I don't understand why the stand pictured above has wheels, though. It's very simple to tilt the thing and just roll it to where you want it. My buddy has one and put four female threaded anchors in his floor so he can bolt it down solidly for bending.

metalmagpie

Because it is worlds easier, trust me. I rolled it many times before I mounted the casters. I would never go back.

 

[ez-duzit]

If I had the space, I'd love an old fashioned, bolted down, heavy duty, cast iron pedestal. But my shop was already overcrowded before I bought a lathe, vertical mill and miter bandsaw. This discussion has helped me to start thinking outside the box.

I like my bench tops to be clear, with nothing sticking up. So my woodworking style vise gets most of the use. Now I have a very heavy Mac vise that is usable but needs to be sturdily mounted. A rock-solid quick-disconnect fitting would allow mounting location options.