Every workshop could use a vise or two and whether it’s a professional shop or a hobbyist’s basement there’s a wood working bench vise made to hold all types of projects. A vise with an opening of 7” to 9” is usually fine for most home wood shops.

One of the key considerations for buying and using a wood working bench vise is the ability to add jaw inserts to protect the wood with which you are working. There may be a lot of pressure put on a project piece that can be damaged unless proper protection is available. Maple inserts work well as they are durable and won’t harm the finished face or your project.

There are also wood working bench vises which can be adjusted around odd-shaped projects such as gun stocks or rounded items. A good option is a vise that only has one bolt to attach it to your bench and can be rotated 360 degrees to give you access to the project from any side without having to constantly remove it, turn it and re-clamp it.

Many Means Available To Hold Project

Different sizes of wood working bench vises are available to perform just about any function in your wood shop. As the years pass, when a new situation arises, there’s a new tool devised to make the job better. The same holds true for vises. There are corner vises for holding corners together like with picture or mirror frames. There is a wood working bench vise that can hold pieces together for gluing for table tops that can be used for any project with more than a typical width.

Double-threaded wood working bench vises used to hard to keep a constant pressure on both sides of the vise, but newer designs have them chained together so that even pressure is applied on both ends of the project.

Another feature you need to consider on your wood working bench vise is the quick grip feature that allows the vise jaws to be slid together before gripping it tight. Conversely the same feature should allow for quick release.

Whether your wood working bench vise is an end mount or a front mount will depend on the type of work you’re doing and the size of your work bench. Most wood workers may prefer the vice be on the front of their bench, towards the left side and not on top, as that position allows the stock to lie on top of the bench. Again, this depends on the size of the projects you will be working with.