Vices

[Jacob_Curtis]

I'm not talking about drugs, alcohol, or rock and roll. Instead what is bolted to your bench? To me vises easily become the center piece of a work shop.

vise.jpg

[Eric Estlund]

Yeah, one of those.

[Too Tall]

I'm not talking about drugs, alcohol, or rock and roll. Instead what is bolted to your bench? To me vises easily become the center piece of a work shop.

vise.jpg

Jinx. I've got the same one and am waiting on a steel pedestal from Tom Palermo. It gets used for so many things. A good vice is a nice thing to share.

[jscottyk]

Vises must be in the zeitgeist 'cause I was just about about to post a similar question. I'm trying to decide between a Yost or a Wilton tradesman vise.

[Eric Estlund]

Both are great. Think about working height and go from there.

[Craig Ryan]

Consider the version with a square throat instead of round. Tube blocks stay put there when you loosen it that way.

[EricKeller]

I had one of those Wilton bullet vises, and during a move I gave it away. The shear pin that holds the back cap is way too fragile for my tastes. In fact, the bench vises they sell have the same issue. I think a wimpy framebuilder should not be able to break a vise by hand power alone. I'm sure a lot of them have the pin replaced with something more substantial. If you look on ebay at how vises break, it's not because someone put a cheater bar on the handle, it's because someone beat it with a sledge or dropped it or something similar.

We have a Reed at work, it's incredibly nice. I really like the fact that it doesn't swivel. I was looking for vises a while back, but there are too many choices and I got brain lock. I have a horrible Chinese vise, need to replace it.

[Craig Ryan]

Although it's used often, I don't think a vise is where one should spend his money. 100 bucks can get 95% of perfect for any framebuilding need. They are cool though, and any man wants a bigger one.