No-drill benchtop vice-mounting suggestions

[rob_s]

You don't realize how much you rely on something until it's gone...

I'm renting a house with a garage and in it is a work bench made out of plywood over top of the old kitchen base cabinets prior to the renovations they did. Pretty common occurrence. The issue is that I'm not allowed to drill holes in the plywood top.

I'm thinking maybe of attaching a vice to a 2x10 or 2x12 and looking for a way to clamp it down to the bench top? Have to examine tonight and see if that's even feasible.

Any other possibilities or suggestions I'm missing? I have at least three projects on hold from pre-move and one new one, all hinging on this damn vice issue. not to mention various woodworking and household things I'd like to be doing.

[LOKNLOD]

A 2x12 with the vice mounted via lag screws that is the full width of the surface could be clamped at each end (and perhaps along the middle) depending on the amount of overhang on the countertop. My experience with a similar setup is that torquing around on the vice will want to lift it up off the table.

Do you have room to make a free-standing vice mount instead of putting it on the table? I have one made from an old wheel for the base and an upright of square steel, but options abound for exactly how to make it. An image search of google for "vice stand" turns up lots of similar designs (some good, some horrible). You might be able to find a commercially available one, too.

Having the vice free-standing makes a lot of the gunsmithing type work much easier for me because I'm not always running into the bench with everything. It's very versatile if you've got a wee bit of space for it. Plus it leaves your table top free.

[Robb Jensen]

You could clamp down a vise with bigass C clamps. I'm gonna have a fixture made to fit the Class III hitch on my pickup so that I can have a traveling vise for working on ARs outside of the shop here.

[rob_s]

I have a metal-frame workbench that I've errected inside every house I've lived in for the last 10 years, but that's a no-go here and there is no room in the garage for it between the cabinet benches and stored items (mostly the plywood and landscaping tools). I'm assembling the wood to build some shelves to try and better organize some of those items but it's really only to make floor space to walk around the car better and *maybe* store my bench-top tools off of the bench. The garage has multiple windows as well further compounding the storage issue.

[SteyrAUG]

I'm thinking maybe of attaching a vice to a 2x10 or 2x12 and looking for a way to clamp it down to the bench top? Have to examine tonight and see if that's even feasible.


In my experience clamp down options simply don't work for anything requiring a vice. Any real job will simply torque it out of the clamp.

Your best bet is to buy or build a simple "work bench" and attach a vice to it properly. I put one of those Home Depot specials on my back porch with a vice bolted through an extra 2x4 on the bottom of the table surface and I haven't managed to break it in 5 years of trying.

Could also build a new workbench over the existing one so you use essentially the same space.

[dhrith]

Given the constraints you've listed I'd probably mount it to another 3/4 sheet of plywood and lay it on top of what's there. Countersink from the bottom of the sheet. Long as you don't get crazy trying to torque stuff down I don't think they'll pull through and a full sheet should hold things down and stable enough. Could always just use two sheets together too.

[rob_s]

Picture of the bench in case it helps.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q111/rob_s/gun%20stuff/b2476cd7.jpg

[Erik 1]

How hard would it be to remove the existing top, set it aside and put piece of 3/4" plywood in it's place for the time being?

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Screw it, just go fishing.

[kartoffel]

How big's the plywood top? I'd consider the cost of replacing the plywood top well worth it, versus the PITA of a shitty vise that wobbles all over the place.

[rob_s]

Robb's post reminded me of something
http://www.harborfreight.com/hitch-mount-vise-plate-66260.html

http://www.pickupspecialties.com/Extend_a_truck/hitchet_trailer_hitch_mount_adaptor.html

http://www.vansantent.com/welding_accessories/Macs_Vise.html

[rob_s]

How big's the plywood top? I'd consider the cost of replacing the plywood top well worth it, versus the PITA of a shitty vise that wobbles all over the place.

I would too, but the landlords are a little... particular.

I'm leaning towards covering the existing over with a full sheet and buying a crummy harbor freight vise I can abandon here when I leave. Free vise and plywood offset not leaving things exactly as I found them.

[VLODPG]

My buddy bought one of these to mound his vice & reloading press. It might be a good option

http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inch-solid-oak-workbench-93454.html

Seems to be quite a solid platform from what I saw.

[rob_s]

I have a bench I could use, but I have no place to put the bench that I have.

[Scoby]

Just plug the mounting holes with wood putty when you leave.