Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: SADShooter on September 18, 2015, 05:10:21 PM
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Related to my jacked-up 1911 discussion, I need a clamping vise to hold a pistol frame. Looked at a wide array of options from $20-$200. If you have something that works well, please share suggestions.
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I have often attached some type of vice to a smooth flat board then clamped the board to a table top. Frequently is a lot more solid than the hinky clamps supplied on the self attaching vises.
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I have often attached some type of vice to a smooth flat board
You taped your cigarrette to a 2x4?
Brad
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I have often attached some type of vice to a smooth flat board then clamped the board to a table top. Frequently is a lot more solid than the hinky clamps supplied on the self attaching vises.
This. If you have a sturdy table. Bought a large vise for 50usd from lowes 10 years back. Works great. Heavy. That is both a plus and a minus.
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I have this Wilton vice that I have used to drill holes in free float tubes attached to rifles.
http://www.wiltontools.com/us/en/p/3-clamp-on-vise-stationary-base/33150
I pad the vise jaws with cardboard before clamping down.
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That Wilton is probably the best of the "clamping vise" range. Like an Anvil, a vise is one of those tools that should be simple and inexpensive, and just isn't. Stability, clamping strength, the jaws being parallel, and even the strength of the casting* all suffer with crappy vises. Since a clamping vise has two screws that need to be manufactured correctly, it's twice as likely to be crappy at any given price point.
I have 5 vises currently (in three "work areas") two Wiltons, an ancient USA made 4" I got from my grandfather, one HF china crap I haven't broke yet and a Panavise for guns. All are bolted to something sturdy. If you don't have the space luxury of dedicating a spot to the vise, like others have said, bolt it to like a 2x6, and then clamp the lumber down with C-clamps. That spreads the load out and will likely work better then the one clamp screw of a clamping vise. Basically, my experience has been you never really appreciate how you will reef on something in a vise until you have something in a vise that needs to be reefed on.
All of that said, you said you needed something to hold a 1911. I mentioned my Panavise (I have a 301 (http://panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=2)), and they make a clamping base. (http://panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=19) (mine is bolted to a table however). I REALLY like this for gunsmithing as it allows me a lot of flexibility in the orentation of whatever I'm playing with. It should be understood however, that this is more of a "holding things so you have two hands to work" vise as opposed to a "hold this tightly while I torque/hit it" kind of vise. If I set the Panavise so the rotation is against the hard stop it'ss hold an upper to torque a barrel nut, but that's pretty much it's limit for tight holding. It will however hold that upper (or any other gun) in any angle I want so I can see what I'm doing, and it'll do it with non marking jaws.
So the real question is what kind of work will you be doing to your gun?
Also, did you get the MSH out?
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"Great Vise Info."
Also, did you get the MSH out?
Thanks. I haven't yet, due to time, and because I want the vise to be able to apply more, and more controlled, leverage to the MSH. Holding the pistol with one hand and prying with the other isn't getting it.