If you’re reading this, then the chances are that you’re familiar with a bench vise and have most likely used one at some point. What you may not realize is just how many ways you can put your bench vise to use.
Let’s look at 10 handy uses for a bench vise.
Bench Vise Uses
- Using A Saw – It doesn’t matter if the saw uses battery power or elbow grease; sawing wood can sometimes be an awkward activity. If you’ve tried sawing with your wood laid on other objects, such as saw horses, but still weren’t happy with the stability, you may like this idea. Clamp that wood using your bench vise, and it’ll be held firmly in place until you’re done.
- Glueing Wood – Many times, a c-clamp will do just fine to hold pressure onto a project while wood glue dries and sets. However, there are other times when that’s not practical or effective. If you need to make sure the pieces don’t move at all once they’re properly placed, clamping them into a wood vise is a great way to make sure they stay put until completely dry.
- Sanding – This is another activity that can be awkward for a solo worker. When sanding a piece of wood, you may find that you are spending more time keeping the wood in position instead of sanding it. By clamping it into your vise, you’ll be free to position yourself however you need to in order to get the job done.
- Drilling – Once again, this is an activity that needs you to be precise. It requires your material to be stable and unmoving, which is the specialty of the bench vise. Clamp it down and drill away!
- Open Vise Grips – When a set of vise grips have been tightened to a ridiculous level to accomplish a task, they can sometimes be difficult to open again. Your bench vise can make it simple. Put the handle that has the release lever inside the vise, then crank it shut. It will be able to provide enough pressure to unfreeze your grips, but be careful! When they open, they’ll open with a lot of power.
- Open Stubborn Glue – Glue is made to stick things together, so it should come as no surprise to any of us when we go to open a tube of glue and find that the cap is stuck to the tube. What some don’t realize is that you can break that seal by clamping the cap into your vise. Be warned, however, that you may break the cap during this process.
- Use as A Tool Clamp – If you make use of tools that you must fix into place with c-clamps before use, like a planer or grinder, you can avoid that hassle by clamping your tool with your vice. Of course, you’ll want to make sure you use wood or silicone to protect your tool from damage. Be sure not to clamp it too tightly!
- Metalworking – If you have metal that needs to be cut, polished, or worked on with a grinder, clamping it into your bench vise will make it much simpler.
- Removing Bearings – If you’re doing engine work and need to remove a bearing from the rod, clamping the rod into your bench vise is a great way to get it out. Once it’s clamped into place, you can then use a hole punch and hammer to drive the rod out of the bearing.
- Crack Nuts – This may be the most interesting item on this list, but it’s one that may come in handy around lunch time. A vise will crack any kind of nut. Of course, this makes sense due to the crushing power of a bench vise, but it’s a use that many don’t think of for this tool. Keep a bag of your favorite snacks in your shop and get to cracking when you feel your stomach rumble.
Of course, none of these tips will do you much good if you don’t have a bench vise. Now that you see just some of the ways you can use this tool, look over our Bench Vise Buyer’s Guide and pick one up.
You’ll be amazed at how useful a bench vise can be.
Reader Interactions