Portable Vise options

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ryukin81

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Hi guys, looking to install a key mod rail onto an AR. Will be my first time doing any kind of wrenching. I have been contemplating/weighing the price of taking it to a gunsmith vs buying all the tools and doing it myself. I don’t own a work bench so I was thinking about getting a portable vise that would clamp onto my granite island. The rail does not utilize the existing barrel nut. For the experienced builders, would this “budget” vise be enough to torque down things?
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.portable-quick-vise.1000813520.html
or this, but only 3”
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.3--inch-clamp-on-vise.1000816972.html

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.
 
Not sure I would clamp a vise to my granite island. They are solid but still brittle and can crack easily.

Any way you can build yourself a small workbench? I used to have one of those: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.workmate-425-project-center.1000105450.html
Really handy and they fold. You can wait for the Crappy tire version to go on sale for about $20. You can set it up in the living room and have a vise on it.

GST
 
gstprecision said:
Not sure I would clamp a vise to my granite island. They are solid but still brittle and can crack easily.

Any way you can build yourself a small workbench? I used to have one of those: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.workmate-425-project-center.1000105450.html
Really handy and they fold. You can wait for the Crappy tire version to go on sale for about $20. You can set it up in the living room and have a vise on it.

GST
Click to expand...

thanks GST. i have thought about the granite not being a suitable base but i figured i would use wood in between. i'll consider that portable work bench. looks handy.
 
Vises are also used with hammers often enough. So clamping to the granite top of your kitchen even with wood pads is simply NOT a great idea. The cost of an accident would be just way too much to risk. Just don't do it.

The B&D Workmate linked above is a fantastic option for a fold up bench if you live in an apartment. The one shown isn't cheap but I can say from using this style of Workmate over the years that they are THE BEST solution if you cannot justify a fixed bench. And I say this not to defend it because I don't own one myself. So no hidden agenda or need to support a "bad purchase". The ones I've used belonged to other folks and I was just always highly impressed at how good this design is. If you cannot have a proper bench then this is a great way to make do until you can have a proper heavy and fixed bench with a proper fixed vise.

If you have a house at all where you can put a bench it's also not that hard to buy or make a small bench which will serve you well.

Don't skimp on the vise. I've never seen any of the clamp on styles that are large enough to be suitable for general use. They are fine for small parts and are well worth buying for that sort of use. But your first vise should be something larger.

If you end up with something portable like the Workmate then make up a block from laminated plywood so it fits in the jaws. Then bolt the vise to that mounting block and clamp it in the jaws of the Workmate. If you want to use something other than the Workmate I'd still suggest the bigger bench vise but in this case bolt it solidly to a double lamination of plywood that you can clamp down to some other work table using good big C or F clamps. That size of vise will be far more usable and capable than a small clamp on vise. Plus the big wooden base will allow for far more secure clamping than the typical small vise that has a C clamp like base and screw. The plate with the vise can be clamped in place with a few good size F clamps. Buy the 30 to 40cm long F clamps so they are useful for a large variety of applications.

A good vise for general gun work should weigh an honest 15lbs (7Kg) or more and have jaws that are a minimum of 4 inches (100mm) wide and which open at least as much as the jaws are wide. And when you shop for such a vise check that the movable jaw has very little play in tilt or side to side wracking. A proper vise will have a movable jaw with only the smallest amount of play and which moves cleanly in only the one direction. The play you are after is where the jaw can be felt to click side to side slightly in your hand but where you cannot see the jaws moving more than about the thickness of a business card. Vises with jaws that rattle around and can be tilted or cocked more than a fraction of a degree in any manner are good for nothing more than ballast. You cannot hold parallel shaped parts in jaws which won't hold a parallel position. And a movable jaw that can wobble around will never be parallel when under pressure. So you end up requireing a HUGE amount of pressure to hold the part instead of just a small pinch like it should be.

A GOOD vise won't be cheap. But a GOOD vise will last for the rest of your lifetime and is worth paying for up front. Expect to pay up around $80 to $140 for a GOOD vise.
 
If this is a one time deal take it to a gunsmith. By the time you get a bench, vice, barrel wrench, torque wrench, upper vice block and grease your way over the gun smith cost. But on the other hand if you want to tinker like me, spend the money for the right tools for the job.
 
BCRider said:
Vises are also used with hammers often enough. So clamping to the granite top of your kitchen even with wood pads is simply NOT a great idea. The cost of an accident would be just way too much to risk. Just don't do it.

The B&D Workmate linked above is a fantastic option for a fold up bench if you live in an apartment. The one shown isn't cheap but I can say from using this style of Workmate over the years that they are THE BEST solution if you cannot justify a fixed bench. And I say this not to defend it because I don't own one myself. So no hidden agenda or need to support a "bad purchase". The ones I've used belonged to other folks and I was just always highly impressed at how good this design is. If you cannot have a proper bench then this is a great way to make do until you can have a proper heavy and fixed bench with a proper fixed vise.

If you have a house at all where you can put a bench it's also not that hard to buy or make a small bench which will serve you well.

Don't skimp on the vise. I've never seen any of the clamp on styles that are large enough to be suitable for general use. They are fine for small parts and are well worth buying for that sort of use. But your first vise should be something larger.

If you end up with something portable like the Workmate then make up a block from laminated plywood so it fits in the jaws. Then bolt the vise to that mounting block and clamp it in the jaws of the Workmate. If you want to use something other than the Workmate I'd still suggest the bigger bench vise but in this case bolt it solidly to a double lamination of plywood that you can clamp down to some other work table using good big C or F clamps. That size of vise will be far more usable and capable than a small clamp on vise. Plus the big wooden base will allow for far more secure clamping than the typical small vise that has a C clamp like base and screw. The plate with the vise can be clamped in place with a few good size F clamps. Buy the 30 to 40cm long F clamps so they are useful for a large variety of applications.

A good vise for general gun work should weigh an honest 15lbs (7Kg) or more and have jaws that are a minimum of 4 inches (100mm) wide and which open at least as much as the jaws are wide. And when you shop for such a vise check that the movable jaw has very little play in tilt or side to side wracking. A proper vise will have a movable jaw with only the smallest amount of play and which moves cleanly in only the one direction. The play you are after is where the jaw can be felt to click side to side slightly in your hand but where you cannot see the jaws moving more than about the thickness of a business card. Vises with jaws that rattle around and can be tilted or cocked more than a fraction of a degree in any manner are good for nothing more than ballast. You cannot hold parallel shaped parts in jaws which won't hold a parallel position. And a movable jaw that can wobble around will never be parallel when under pressure. So you end up requireing a HUGE amount of pressure to hold the part instead of just a small pinch like it should be.

A GOOD vise won't be cheap. But a GOOD vise will last for the rest of your lifetime and is worth paying for up front. Expect to pay up around $80 to $140 for a GOOD vise.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the time for all that advice. The workmate does interest me a lot as i do work on other non firearem related projects. It would come in handy as an all around use.

If this is a one time deal take it to a gunsmith. By the time you get a bench, vice, barrel wrench, torque wrench, upper vice block and grease your way over the gun smith cost. But on the other hand if you want to tinker like me, spend the money for the right tools for the job.
Click to expand...

Yeah im between the two. Although even if the same and maybe one time thing at least i get satisfaction and extra tools.
 
You didn't say if you were locked into an apartment or super small house where a proper shop just isn't possible. You can build a DARN nice and solid work bench for the cost of a Workmate. But of course a good and proper bench sort of needs a home. If you simply don't have such a spot for a proper bench then the Workmate is pretty much the next best option IMO.
 
Just a little side note on the Workmate workbench. I've had one for at least 30 years and I've abused it beyond what any normal person would/should do. Hammered, drilled, tossed, left outside over the winter, (actually, it's outside now), climbed (NOT recommended), used it for casting, just about anything and everything. Overall it has to be one of the cheapest tools I've bought. Saved me a lot of headaches. It won't do well as a vice base if you're going to be applying a lot of torque but that's because it doesn't have the weight to do this. I have clamped a vise for smaller jobs. Great tool over the years.
 
Big boar, there's a simple solution to it wanting to move around with torque. Stand on the lower horizontal supports.

A Workmate isn't going to work well with a barrel vise on it but for most things it'll do OK even if it means adding our own weight to lock it down for a little more moxie.
 
Build or have someone build a plate/bracket that will slip into the trailer hitch on your vehicle. Wouldn't be a full time shop but for the odd use should work fine.
 
I have a vise on a home built tri stand I made. I use this vise for a lot of stuff. I made a mount for my hornady Lock N Load single stage press, so now I can use the press in my vise. I use the vise for a lot of other stuff as well. Hell with it I could even reload at the range if I wished.
 
LUCK12 said:
Build or have someone build a plate/bracket that will slip into the trailer hitch on your vehicle. Wouldn't be a full time shop but for the odd use should work fine.
Click to expand...

If only i had a hitch. I managed to score a nice 6" heavy duty vise from my father. It was collecting dust. Ive seen videos of people mounting it to a panel for portability. Im thinking of just driving on the board as the mounting bolts will be flush to bottom.
 
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