table vise

by **lightfoot** » 26 Jun 2006 17:05

Anybody know where I can pick up a portable vise with a vacuum base to use while I practice my picking?

by **Shrub** » 26 Jun 2006 17:07

You mean sucker mount and not vaccume?

To be honest your better getting a clamp on one and simply glueing rubber pads to the grips, get one that has an angle adjustment on it, a sucker one will be all over the place and rubbish if you ever want to cut anything on it but its up to you,

Have a look on ebay forstly then go for wallmart and doller stores, you should find both types quite easily i think.

by **lightfoot** » 26 Jun 2006 17:17

Thanks shrub,
I 'll start looking for one that I can clamp or drill. My next set of lessons cover hand filing and I guess I thought a portable one would be ok. but your probably right. thanks again, Greg

by **Shrub** » 26 Jun 2006 17:21

A portable one will be fine but get one that clamps if you can, they are just like a 'G' clamp with a vice on top.

If you look at the toool vids etc you will see they use ones that are mounted to the clamp via a ball and socket that can be locked, this means that you can angle the vice to anywhere you want, i think one of those would suit you best for when you start useing it as a lock holder.

by **Locksmoker** » 26 Jun 2006 22:43

I got my vacuum base suction vise at my local Lowe's for like $26. Im sure any home depot or place like that would have them.

by **lightfoot** » 26 Jun 2006 23:33

I wish we had a Lowes or Home Depot here but I live in the middle of NOWHERE. Kind of like George Clooney in O' Brother where art thou- This place is a geographical oddity - 2 weeks from everywhere. Only place besides Walmart (already checked) is a home improvement store called Barton"s . When I asked the guy b-hind the counter abt a vise, he spat tobacco juice in a can on the counter, scratched his head and said" not round here young fella" Looks like I'm stuck trying to find one on the net. The foley -belsaw catalog has a decent looking one that swivels at the base but it lists for $37.95 I was hoping I could find one a little cheaper but if all else fails I can always order that one. Thanks again guys for the help. If Home depot has a web site I might try there. G

by **maxxed** » 27 Jun 2006 4:12

swvel vices are also used by electronic hobbiests, check any local place that carries that type of product

by **Shrub** » 27 Jun 2006 8:15

I havent looked but im sure ebay will be full of them.

by **Buzzzy** » 27 Jun 2006 9:41

lightfoot wrote:Thanks shrub,
I 'll start looking for one that I can clamp or drill. My next set of lessons cover hand filing and I guess I thought a portable one would be ok. but your probably right. thanks again, Greg

Shrub is right these are these are bad for any kind of filing, tool work. I do use it to hold locks while picking. I view it as a clamp with a weighted base, in this respect it is an ok substitute for a lock board.

Good luck
Buddy

by **jimb** » 27 Jun 2006 10:07

I bought the same vice fb sells (recommends) at Lowes for around $26 bucks. It will work for filing but it sometimes will loose it's vacuum and you have to re-stick it to the table. It will swivel and tilt.

Lowtech said this in another fb thread: "I went to harbor freight and got a nice vice that clamps to a table for about $11"

by **lightfoot** » 27 Jun 2006 19:06

I found some decent vises on e-bay that clamp to a table but I only have abt 2.5" of room from the edge of table to a brace underneath. Does any one know if thats enough room for the type that clamp or am I better off drilling holes to secure it? This table is rather small sort of a small dinnette table that I bougt for ten bucks. My thoughts were that I could secure the vise at one end and my F-B 200 key machine at the other end. The ones I saw on e-bay are listed as 3.5' vise (assume thats jaw width). The table is abt 4ft L by 2or 2.5ft w . Thanks for everybodys help. As I said b4 moneys a bit of an issue and if I buy one that doesen't work I'm stuck wth it til nxt month b4 I could afford to buy another one. Greg

by **Gordon Airporte** » 27 Jun 2006 22:11

I clamp my mortise cylinders in those big spring clamps to work on. It gives me more to grip if I'm holding it freehand, and I can turn the lock sideways and stick the spring clamp in a drillpress vise if I want it to stand on its own. The vise is heavy enough and has a wide enough base that it works pretty well.
I've found that having it at the right height is important for avoiding fatigue and muscle kinks when you have a lock that takes a lot of time and effort to pick.

by **lightfoot** » 27 Jun 2006 23:34

thats one of the reasons I thought the tall swivel suction types would be ideal as oppossed to the wood worker types that are barely above table height- it would give more eye to keyway sight while trying to pick plus u can angle them if need be.
Greg

by **NKT** » 28 Jun 2006 20:35

I've got lots of vices. I normally pick hand-held. What on earth does one have to do with the other?

by **Lowtech** » 29 Jun 2006 4:19

Lightfoot, harbor freight sells a multi-angle vice and drill clamp that should suit your needs. It has a ball and socket base that allows for the vise to be rotated to many angles. The jaws are covered with nonslip plastic. It will clamp to most tables, and is made of cast aluminum. While it's not as heavy-duty as a regular bench vise, it's worked well for me on a number of padlocks. Hope this helps.

table vise

table vise

Vice

Who is online