Mounting a vise to a bench

[biscuit141]

For those of you who built your own benches, did you reinforce the area at all where you mounted you vise? Seems like I would want it mounted to more than just a 3/4 sheet of plywood.

 

[Jayincali]

Yes, I have mine reinforced with 2x6 double wide and double thick screwed and glued between each piece as well as the sides where its attached to the bench frame and between the top of the 2x6 and bottom of the bench top. Then used 1/2 bolts and doubled up fender washers on top and bottom. Might be over kill but wanted to make sure its solid.

 

[ZRX61]

3/4in plywood ain't gonna cut it. Minimum of a 2xsomething needed.

 

[mrstang69]

Glad someone brought it up cause I'm gonna mount mine this week. Can i use lag screws or does it have to be bolt/nut? Only reason I'm asking is that I dont do alot of heavy or big jobs on it. It just a medium size vise. Thanks in Advance!

 

[TheGrooveking]

You want bolt and nut, and I suggest jam nuts too, just to insure that it won't be loosening up. On plywood I would recommend a second piece of 3/4", so 1-1/2" in total. My vises are mounted to minium 1/4" thick steel plate tops or for wood 2" thick maple top. A vise when holding something large and being addressed with say a 24" pipe wrench with a cheater on it can generate a huge amount of force that the top will need to handle. Another thing to make sure of is that bench has enough mass to it so that it doesn't move around when you are torqueing sometihng in the jaws.

TheGrooveking

 

[ibedayank]

i have a 2x6 top and 2x6 frame... and i split the top with a vice
will be adding a steel plate on the top and going 3wide on the frame glued and BOLTED

 

[ibedayank]

Glad someone brought it up cause I'm gonna mount mine this week. Can i use lag screws or does it have to be bolt/nut? Only reason I'm asking is that I dont do alot of heavy or big jobs on it. It just a medium size vise. Thanks in Advance!

when you really need to tug on something in the vice...how well do you like bruises and bleeding?
depending on what size drillbit
lags can and have pulled out on me pretty easy from pine

 

[Kevin54]

It's not about the thickness so much as it is the load span. You can mount to a piece of 3/4 just fine, but you need to span the pulling load out. a plate of 3/16" steel underneath spanning the complete vise area would do this. A couple pieces of angle iron underneath would do this. Just using a 3/8" bolt and a fender washer will not accomplish this as well but will work as most vise work gets downward pressure and not upwards pulling pressure.

You also have to remember that if you are going to be using your vise for a lot of tugging, pulling, etc, that the bench top needs to be securely mounted and not just a piece of plywood setting on top.

 

[Thruxton]

I have a largish vise mounted on a double thickness of 3/4 plywood (badly in need of resurfacing - it has been in place for over a dozen years). It's held up well. In addition to the comments above I would recommend positioning it on the corner of your bench, and in such a way that the rear jaw is in line with or very slightly overhangs both the front edge and side edge of the bench, depending on how it is positioned, so you can hold large pieces vertically. I also fix the bench to the wall with brackets so it is more secure when I am wailing away on a workpiece in the vise. Helps a lot!

 

[billybudge]

For those of you who built your own benches, did you reinforce the area at all where you mounted you vise? Seems like I would want it mounted to more than just a 3/4 sheet of plywood.

Hi, thats what I made my worktop from, 3/4 ply, I use My vices alot, so, I mount each vice, this way, 3/4 ply top,then 1 mm thick rubber followed with 1/2 MDF, this has always worked for Me,
hope this helps,
the 1mm rubber really cuts down the vibration when clouting things in the vice with a hammer etc, helps to stop everything jumping off the bench shelfs, lol

 

[scooterseats]

I have the end 3' of my bench where my vice is mounted covered with a sheet of 1/4" steel plate. This not only reinforces the bench top it gives a place to do rough and dirty work, even some welding. If you get this bench roughed up you can just hit it with a disc sander and clean it up like new. I have used this set up now for over 30 years and it still can look like new even though it is usually covered with "Stuff" from the latest project!

 

[Timido]

1/4 plate in the corners 10guage top piece of metal its built Like a bomb shelter. Great for beating on stuff right on the bench tookk

 

[Marty256]

I used 3/8 self taping lag screws and made sure three corners of the vise mounts hit the 2X4 studs I used to build the bench. The other mounting hole I used 7/16th machine screw with oversized washers through the 3/4 ply. No problems thus far!

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

Mine is Lag bolted on three sides to 2 1/2" x 8" white pine and the 6x6 leg on the fourth side. Probably overkill for a 4" vise, but thats the way my bench is built. I'd rather overkill than under kill.

I'd say as a general guideline if your going to be bolting a vise to wood make sure the width of the board is as big as the jaw width of the vise.

4" vise 2x4 ought to cut it.
6" vise I'd use a 2x6 at least.

just my $.02

 

[Zeke]

I put mine on an old restaurant table pedestal.

 

[ozyborn]

I guess I do not qualify. My benchtop is a 1/2 thick piece of plate steel with a rubber mat on top and below as well. (helps out on noise from use) I just drilled the holes and bolted it through using some grade 5 bolts with lock washers. that was 10 years ago. I can put a car frame in the darn thing and the bench will not move.

 

[TOOL MASTER]

1/4" steel plate welded into the bench frame.......i bend lots of stuff with my vise

 

[snorky18]

Mine is mounted with large lags, 4-5". Two of the holes are over outside frame of the bench (2x6), then I mitered a board to put under the 3/4" top to sink the other two lags into., and that board is glued & screwed to the frame. Plenty of beating and bending done, and no problems.

 

[justanengineer]

I used them on benches for years until I used one at work on a pedestal. Now I am making pedestals for all of them. I like beating on metal that is in the vise, and not having everything else jump.

 

[Vicegrip]

My bench vice is mounted to a steel table top with 1 1/2 inches of plywood glued to the bottom and each layer to each other. Through bolts. Even with a thich steel deck the plywod halps dampen the vibrations and reduce flex if the table top is not thick.

 

[Flathead Red]

My benchtop is a solid core door. I run bolts w/ nots through the door and added 3/8" steel plate underneith. Not going anywhere.

Red

 

[evintho]

I mounted my 4" Wilton on two pieces of 3/4" plywood using 3 through bolts with nuts and 1 lag bolt. I've pounded metal on it and beat on tons of other stuff with nary a problem.

On the other hand, my 6" Reed got mounted to my welding table. It's got a 3/8" steel top plate. I use the Reed for serious metal fab.