Work bench with vises question

[badams14]

I have a heavy 3'x12' steel bench (1 1/4" thick top). Should I mount one vise on each end? Just curious what everyone thinks? Thanks


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[bobcatdan]

It's up to what you like a.what works for your overqll shop layout.

 

[JimbosGarage]

Just curious? Would there be a reason for a vise at both ends, Do you do work that requires two vises in such a small area? 3' x 12', If not one vise should be fine.

 

[CNGsaves]

YES . . . . both ends and one in middle !!

That is IF you've been on GJ a while and have a whole entourage of vises of different sizes and manufacturers !!!

Seriously, it will depend on what kind of work you do in that area of shop. You might want small vise on one end, and big honker on other end.

You can NEVER have too may vises !!! . .

 

[66354dream]

I only have 1 vise, and after reading " the vises of garage journal " thread I realized I mounted it wrong

 

[Ironhorse74]

As my favorite vices are women and alcohol. I think both in the same place are an advantage.

Brad

 

[mcmlvif100]

YES . . . . both ends and one in middle !!

That is IF you've been on GJ a while and have a whole entourage of vises of different sizes and manufacturers !!!

Seriously, it will depend on what kind of work you do in that area of shop. You might want small vise on one end, and big honker on other end.

You can NEVER have too may vises !!! . .

^^^ This ^^^ except just two vises.

I have a 10 foot workbench with a Wilton 9450 (4.5 in. jaws) on the right side and a Wilton with 4 in. jaws on the left side. The 9450 has a set of KMScott's excellent serrated jaws and is the one I use most as I am right handed. The other vise has smooth jaws giving me a nice alternative when a lighter touch is more appropriate. Not what I originally planned when I set up the workbench but for $50, the smaller Wilton was too nice not to put back into service and it has subsequently provided an added level of convenience.

 

[csp]

If you have to ask then you probably don't have an existing use for one at each end. If you come up with a use for the second one it can always be added later.

 

[Cyberbear]

I have a 5' x 5' work bench with only one vise and have often wished for another to hold the long items at both ends. Better to have it and not need it, except when you do.

 

[matt_i]

I would rent or borrow a magnetic drill press (Milwaukee, Jancy come to mind). Then you can drill and tap the thick top for holes matching the vise, if you decide that the work is changing, simply unbolt the vise and continue the adventure. Its hard to plan a shop to accommodate every single job. Obviously there are some hard points, but I feel the best bet is to build in flexibility where changeovers are fast.

 

[johninct]

Mount a big one on one end and a small one for delicate work on the other end.

 

[MoparTrucks]

Mount a big one on one end and a small one for delicate work on the other end.

Thats what I have on one of my work benches; works great for me.

 

[MikeF2316]

I have a cheap vise I bought that doesn't have a swivel base, I wasn't thinking when I bought it. Later I bought a proper swivel base vise. My workbench is just over 8 feet long, I mounted one on each end. I've only used the non swivel base one a couple of times, once was to work on pieces of the other vise when I was cleaning/refreshing it!

 

[f150skidoo]

My vise is attached to a 2" tubing and i welded some receiver tubing to the bottom of my welding table so i can remove the vise when ever i want it out of the way. I did'nt want a vise bolted onto my nice 3'x5' 1.25" Blanchard ground table top.

 

[Outlander]

My OCD would think I needed the same vise on each end, then realise that was foolish and I would end up with a spare

Reality is, I have 2 separate benches and a vise on each.

 

[Steevo]

Why only two vises on a 12' bench?
I think the GJ standard is one vise per every 3' of bench.

 

[BD1]

My vise is attached to a 2" tubing and i welded some receiver tubing to the bottom of my welding table so i can remove the vise when ever i want it out of the way. I did'nt want a vise bolted onto my nice 3'x5' 1.25" Blanchard ground table top.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
the receiver tube can be used for other equipment too. Shear, bench grinder, buffer, small roller, etc.

 

[taumac]

2 is always better than 1 and 3 it's a lot more fun. LOL

 

[Outlander]

Why only two vises on a 12' bench?
I think the GJ standard is one vise per every 3' of bench.

I think I over-achieved

 

[ATK305]

As my favorite vices are women and alcohol. I think both in the same place are an advantage.

Brad

LOL.... Well played Brad.

 

[vintovka]

I tried putting a vise at both ends of a 5 bench and it was a PITA. Long work just kept hitting on one or the other. Bad when working with finished stuff. Now just a 3vs record on right and a woodworkers vise in the middle (at bench height).

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: i'm going to set up a trailer hitch type attachment on my steel bench so i can change vises or grinders as i need them and when i don't need them they can sit on a shelf and out of the way.

check out this thread that has a lot of idea on the hitch idea several others.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252799&highlight=vise+stands

 

[Voi]

I tried putting a vise at both ends of a 5 bench and it was a PITA. Long work just kept hitting on one or the other. Bad when working with finished stuff. Now just a 3vs record on right and a woodworkers vise in the middle (at bench height).

I have both a machinist type vise and a woodworking vise on the same bench. Like the combination more than I thought I would. I don't use the woodworking vise for wood working but I've found it convenient to have.

 

[ARFLY]

Why only two vises on a 12' bench?
I think the GJ standard is one vise per every 3' of bench.

I thought the GJ standard was a vise every 3' of bench and then build a 30x50 shop to hold the rest of them.

It really depends on the type of work you do. I would put a large vise at one end of the bench and a smaller vise at the other end.

 

[metalmagpie]

I have two types of benches. One has a wood top and is a general purpose workbench. The other has a steel top and is used for hot work or dirty work or layout/assembly/fitting. In both cases I need to put long pieces sometimes along an edge. I do not want vises on my benches. I prefer them post-mounted on freestanding posts. Here is one of mine:

That post base is a scrap truck brake drum filled with concrete and tied steel.

I realize I'm a voice in the wilderness here, but then I do actual work on my benches every day.

metalmagpie

 

[ARFLY]

I have two types of benches. One has a wood top and is a general purpose workbench. The other has a steel top and is used for hot work or dirty work or layout/assembly/fitting. In both cases I need to put long pieces sometimes along an edge. I do not want vises on my benches. I prefer them post-mounted on freestanding posts. Here is one of mine:

That post base is a scrap truck brake drum filled with concrete and tied steel.

I realize I'm a voice in the wilderness here, but then I do actual work on my benches every day.

metalmagpie

That is a cool pedestal you made. I think would also be great for a bench grinder. Unfortunately I lack the floor space to do that.

 

[ClintNZ]

If you only have a fixed bench I find it useful to have a corner clear for clamping down flat stuff etc. Even better if the corner is square enough to use as a guide for laying out stuff for welding/glueing/whatever.

I like the idea of tapping some holes into the thick steel to make vice removal easy. I like my vice to be real solid so not sure I'd dig the trailer hitch mount for a larger one.

Cheers
Clint

 

[bobcatdan]

I put a vise on each end of my 8' bench. The big Parker on the right is in the welding area of the shop. The Columbian 503 1/2 is on the left in the rebuild shop area of the shop.

 

[bobcatdan]

I have two types of benches. One has a wood top and is a general purpose workbench. The other has a steel top and is used for hot work or dirty work or layout/assembly/fitting. In both cases I need to put long pieces sometimes along an edge. I do not want vises on my benches. I prefer them post-mounted on freestanding posts. Here is one of mine:

That post base is a scrap truck brake drum filled with concrete and tied steel.

I realize I'm a voice in the wilderness here, but then I do actual work on my benches every day.

metalmagpie

I would like a pedestal mounted vise as I find the one at work very handy. A good place to put one is my only problem.