What do you look for in a gun vise?

K

KBrun

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Hey all, as I'm going into the final semester of my senior year of school, I am working on a project for a company that is looking to create a gun vise on a modular bench. We are looking for insight on what you folks who use these daily may look for in a vise/ bench combo. We've looked at Tipton style vises, etc. And are looking for any improvements you may be looking for in a bench/ vise setup.
Any ideas? Thanks all

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No such animal as a "one size fits all" gun vise.
Is this for wrenching on them, or a "holder" like the Tipton?
 
I use a small rotating vise with smooth jaws, or
A really large rotating one with wooden jaws.
I also have a wooden one for long guns with a clamp for the stock and support for the barrel, used mostly for cleaning.
Like tobnpr sez, not just one vise.
A vice is something else.
Most folks have lots of different ones there, too. :)
 
I like the Wilton Tradesman vise. It swivels and has a anvil you can hammer on.

The jaws can be handled several ways:

Plywood with cork glued on it for each side. We made our own.
Copper lined jaws. We cut copper pipe in half lengthwise, hammered it down, annealed it and hammered it to the contours of our vises.
Nylon jaws. Stores like Brownells sells nylon jaw inserts that have magnets to hold it onto the vise jaws.

Pivoting vise jaws are nice for oddshaped objects. Combine this with a mount that allows it to be pivoted (think bowling ball base like an engraver's vise) and it's great fo checkering and stockmaking too.
 
"...a gun vice..." Like FITASC says, it's 'VISE'. 'VICE' is a crime. snicker.
If it says 'gun vise' on the box, it's going to cost more. Anything with the word 'gun' or 'gunsmith's' will cost more. Won't be any better quality.
Smithies use regular 4" bench vises(same as machinists, et al) and make a pad out of 3/8" plywood and 8 ounce or so leather.
Cork will get shredded fairly fast. Magnets move when you don't want 'em to. And nylon is kind of slippery stuff. Does have other uses though.
"...folks who use these daily..." If it's your shop, you look at the cost of the thing mostly.
Oh and the bench itself is as important as the vise.
 
I like the P3 rifle vise.
I just bought one for the guy I hunted with and built a bench for it to sit on.

Mine is very modified so that the vise is clamped in a bigger vise.
 

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5" Harbor Freight bench vise. But you don't seem to mean a gun vise, you seem to be talking about a gun cradle for cleaning and minor maintenance, ala Tipton's product. For me, a Tipton Deluxe with better stability would be the choice. But I wouldn't pay more than what a Tipton costs.

Jeff

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weaselfire said:
5" Harbor Freight bench vise. But you don't seem to mean a gun vise, you seem to be talking about a gun cradle for cleaning and minor maintenance, ala Tipton's product. For me, a Tipton Deluxe with better stability would be the choice. But I wouldn't pay more than what a Tipton costs.

Jeff

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Click to expand...
We want our design to be as versatile as possible. Somehow incorporating both designs would be a huge plus.
Clark said:
I like the P3 rifle vise.
I just bought one for the guy I hunted with and built a bench for it to sit on.

Mine is very modified so that the vise is clamped in a bigger vise.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the pictures and name. We will look into this and see what we can work with.

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What do you look for in a gun vice?
Click to expand...
Well, like any other vice, it should have no redeeming social value. But hey, if it involves guns, I like it!

Oh, vise, not vice. Never mind!:D
 
I made my own. It is stronger than just a Tipton-style cleaning vise but not strong enough that you could hold it for serious work (like rebarreling). I use it mainly for cleaning and scoping. I used a large set of woodworking parallel jaw clamps for the holding mechanism and a upright piece with a "U" cut into it for the barrel side. That barrel side slides to as close as about 6" from the jaws (so I can use it for handgun work) and it slides as far away as about 22" so I can use it for holding fishing rods. The barrel end also slides up and down to keep the object level.
 
I use the tipton rest for regular work, my only beef with it is the stock clamps are flimsy, when you clamp down on a stock, the supports bend out. I guess this helps in avoiding over torquing the stock and marking it; however, if you are attentive enough one would be wary of that.

I also use a 5" bench vise that rotates, one side being a pipe vise and the other a flat jawed vise. I can roll the vise over and pad a barrel and hold it tight and use the flat jaws for anything else. To reiterate other posters, non marring surface options on the jaws or jaw replacements is a plus. I use solid wood jaws covered with what I need - copper, lead, felt, nylon, etc.
 
There's a problem, for me at least, with a do-all vise. If I need a bench vise, I need a bench vise. I can use various blocks in it to hold rifles and pistols, as well as holding parts to work on. A cleaning cradle is a different use. A shooting rest, such as a Lead Sled is a third.

A single device combining these functions will take on the lowest common denominator of all the functions. It's like buying a station wagon because sometimes you need a car and other times a pickup. It's not effective at either task.

Jeff

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We want our design to be as versatile as possible. Somehow incorporating both designs would be a huge plus.
Click to expand...

There's really more than "two" designs... and there's a reason for the differing style.

Different applications, call for different tools.

A gunsmith's vise- well, one of a gunsmith's vises- needs to be positioned so that the jaws overhang the edge of the bench it's mounted on so that a barrel can be hung vertically from it's (padded) jaws. Yes- we need dedicated barrel vises as well- but there are times a barrel needs to be vertical.

A cleaning "vise" or one for what I'll call "workholding" (I have the Tipton and like it for this) needs to be versatile, and many will want it to be portable, as well. Then there's the light duty machinists vise, then there's the big HF el cheapo vise when you need to beat the crap out of something, file on a top edge, etc.

I had one of the "gunsmith" parrot-jaw vises. It wasn't long before I snapped the cast iron jaw into pieces- and I wasn't abusing it, either.
 
Google "parrot vise". This is the vise I use for many projects. It's sturdy, has large smooth jaws, which can be covered with a variety of non-marring inserts, can be swiveled into various positions for greater ease of working on whatever.

I use my parrot vise mostly for woodworking projects, but I've used it for metalworking ones as well. If I need to put a serious amount of clamping pressure onto something metal, I also have a more traditional vise for that task. I also built a long-gun vise out of mahogany that I use for just holding the gun stationary for general work, such as cleaning.
 
I use two vises, and my favorite is the old Versa-Vise, or parrot vise. The next is a standard heavy vise. I have lead and leather jaws for both.
 
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