Shop Cabinet

[1918ColonialRevival]

...What I really want is vises for a work bench, but every time I see a Craig's List for them, they're gone before I get a hold of the seller.

For some reason, and it's probably due to the tv shows out there that shall remain nameless, people think an old vise or anvil is made of gold. Fifteen years ago you could get them for practically nothing.

If you're able, I'd recommend getting a couple of different vises. I have a big one that I use for automotive and outdoor equipment work. It's really helpful for separating rusted metal items. Then I have a smaller one for household type items.

[PaulJohnson]

I agree with 1918 ... the type of vice will be determined by what you are doing.

The prices on Craigslist and other forums can be ridiculous for the mechanics vices. They are like clamps - you can never have too many

Depending on your need, one like this may work.

Pony 27091 8-Inch by 7-Inch Medium Duty Woodworker's Vise https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HPU3DM/re ... UTF8&psc=1

That is a record style vice that mounts under a bench. They have been very helpful when repairing window frames or trying up joints with a chisel. My recommendation is to line the inside of both jaws with 3/4” maple or some other hardwood. Doing so will protect any pieces in the vice.

PJ

[Gothichome]

That work bench is WAY too clean and organized!

My thoughts as well, ‘a place for every thing and every thing in its place’ some thing I have never been able to accomplish and maintain. I use the very precise bucket method of organizing my tools, one for plumbing stuff, one for electrical stuff, one for window restoration stuff, but even that gets messed up.
As far as anvils go being a HD mechanic, I like my vise heavy with a horn on the end for peening things. Stay away from the Chinese units, they are junk. If you can find an old English or German made Vise by it.

[phil]

record made both woodworking and mechanics vices in england and they are ok.
Then they moved to india and now make junk ,
Pony used to make great bar clamps but they also became chinese junk

I did some research in trying to implement a shop with a bunch of them and the best I could find were in australia but import costs were pretty prohibitive since they are so heavy. I could not find one made in north america.

Any old German stuff is sure to be good. new german stuff, dont trust it. probably not made in Germany.

That pony pictured above will work but if you are serious , it isn't a good casting.
I got a woodworking vice from lee valley , around $200 or so. made in europe not china. not as good as an old record but not too bad.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/to ... ench-vises

record is the most common and if you buy one used just check the casting and it will say made in england if it is. I have sandblasted and repainted lots of old record ones. Ive seen a lot of the made in india ones fail already.

they are what they are, even a cheap vice is better than nothing.
on my bench I installed a mechanics vice and a woodworking vice. I have the mechanics vice on a hinged hunk of wood that can tip over and sit on top of the bench , and resides beside the bench when not in use. I also have a little mechanics vice that I clamp in the wood vice sometimes if I dont feel like clearing the top to flip the mechanics vice into place.

that way , If i do finish the antique chair I started into, I can have my top flat for woodworking and not have the mechanics vice in the way for woodworking. best of both worlds, no room for two benches. I use the top of my tablesaw a lot as a work surface since it inevitably gets cleared once in a while.

some of the mechanics vices swivel. some do not.
the woodworking vice I linked to has a little piece that lifts up to allow you to use bench dogs.
some have that, some don't.

some like making wood vices from wood and you can get the mechanical parts and do that. I think its easier to mess up the wood ones so I dont own one myself, maybe if you only did only woodwork then they might be ok.

[Lily left the valley]

{snippet}some like making wood vices from wood and you can get the mechanical parts and do that. I think its easier to mess up the wood ones so I dont own one myself, maybe if you only did only woodwork then they might be ok.

I hadn't thought to check yet for a place that sold parts for the wood vices--so thank you for mentioning this. For some reason your post brought to mind one wooden wood clamp--I can't remember where I picked it up--that has wooden threads as well. The other wooden clamp I have has the metal threads and definitely seems younger in age. A while back, I did get one of the fold-up Craftsmen benches for some project or another, but I haven't used it yet since we moved here. My dad did a lot of his work on that since he didn't have a shop.

For now, I'm primarily looking for wood vices. I would like to do more metal work down the road, but I'm nowhere near ready for that yet. As it is, I'm still picking through a few crates we'd picked up curbside or as a leftover lot from wherever and finding all sorts of tools that will be useful for the projects I have more near term in mind. Quite a few have rust issues while I'll have to take care of first though.

I'm really glad for this thread because it's put the cabinet/tool storage need in general back into mind.

[Lily left the valley]

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions! I should quote you all and ask a few things, but don't have as much time as I'd like for that right now. Should I start a new thread on vises and clamps maybe? I don't want to detract further from shop cabinet talk.

[phil]

a new thread is cheap
I have some really old bar clamps where the bar itself is made of wood. Ill try to get a pic to add as they are neat and pretty rare.

a woodworking vice can be made of metal with wood cheeks. if you want woodworking vice Id get that type. some have wooden threads or a wooden handle. I'd leave those for the real purists .

If you look at my air return vent thread you can see a typical woodworking clamp, a couple of those are handy and you can use them to clamp stuff to the bench or in a lot of ways. they are good for glue ups because they don't leave circular indents like a metal clamp, but you can always pad it with a scrap. they have a further reach than most C clamps and open quite far too.