A vise or vice (British English) is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

and

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...

. A

vise grip Locking pliers (also called Vise-Grips, a vice grip, Mole wrench or mole grips) are pliers that can be locked into position, using an "over-center" cam action. Locking pliers are available with many different jaw styles, such as needle-nose pli ...

is not a vise but a pair of lever-actuated locking pliers.

Types

Face

A face vise is the standard

woodworking vise A woodworking vise is a type of vise adapted to the various needs of woodworkers and woodworking. Several types have evolved to meet differing primary functions, falling under the general categories of front and end vises, reflecting their pos ...

, always securely attached to a

workbench A workbench is a sturdy table at which manual work is done. They range from simple flat surfaces to very complex designs that may be considered tools in themselves. Workbenches vary in size from tiny jewellers benches to the huge benches used by ...

flush with its work surface. Its jaws are made of wood or metal, the latter usually faced with wood, called cheeks, to avoid marring the work. The movable jaw may include a retractable dog to hold work against a

bench dog A bench dog is a removable clamp used on a woodworking workbench to hold an item fast while being worked. It is characteristically used in concert with an adjustable dog on a bench vise, allowing an item compressed between the two to be held fa ...

. A "quick-release" woodworker's vise employs a

split nut A split nut is a nut that is split lengthwise into two pieces (opposed halves) so that its female thread may be opened and closed over the male thread of a bolt or leadscrew. This allows the nut, when open, to move along the screw without the scr ...

that allows the screw to engage or disengage with a half-turn of the handle. When disengaged the movable jaw may be moved in or out throughout its entire range of motion, vastly speeding up the process of adjustment. Common thread types are

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...

and

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

. Traditional woodworking workbench vises are commonly either face vises, attached to the front of the workbench near the left end of its long side (for a right-handed worker), or end (or tail) vises, attached to or forming part of the right side of the narrow end of the bench.

Engineer's

An engineer's vise, also known as a ''

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

vise'', ''

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

's vise'', or, informally, a "bench vise", is used to clamp metal instead of wood. It is used to hold metal when filing or cutting. It is sometimes made of

cast steel Steel casting is a specialized form of casting involving various types of steel cast to either final/net or near-net shape. Steel castings are used when iron castings cannot deliver enough strength or shock resistance.Oberg, p. 1332 Examples ...

malleable cast iron Malleable iron is cast as white iron, the structure being a metastable carbide in a pearlitic matrix. Through an annealing heat treatment, the brittle structure as first cast is transformed into the malleable form. Carbon agglomerates into small ...

, but most are made of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

. The jaws are often separate and replaceable, usually engraved with serrated or diamond teeth. Soft jaw covers made of

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

(for woodworking) or

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

may be used to protect delicate work. The jaw opening of an engineer's vise generally equals its jaw width, though it may be wider. An engineer's vise is bolted onto the top surface of a workbench, with the face of the fixed jaw just forward of its front edge. The vise may include other features such as a small

anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...

on the back of its body. Most engineer's vises have a swivel base. Some engineer's vises marketed as "homeowner grade" are made of

pot metal Pot metal (or monkey metal) is an alloy of low-melting point metals that manufacturers use to make fast, inexpensive castings. The term "pot metal" came about due to the practice at automobile factories in the early 20th century of gathering up no ...

or a very low grade of iron. Many homeowner's bench vises have an exposed screw.

Variants

=Combination

= A combination-vise combines an engineer-style vise with a subsidiary set of curved serrated jaws below the main for clamping pipe. A pivoting base is standard.

=Clamp-on

= A clamp-on vise is a light-duty bench vise secured to a board, table, or bench by a vise-type screw on its base. Rarely pivot.

=Vacuum-mounted

A vacuum-mounted vise is a small engineer's vise secured by a

suction cup A suction cup, also known as a sucker, is a device or object that uses the negative fluid pressure of air or water to adhere to nonporous surfaces, creating a partial vacuum. Suction cups are peripheral traits of some animals such as octopuses ...

base and used by hobbyists for very light duty work. No pivot.

Machine

Machine vises are mounted on

drill presses A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to i ...

grinding Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade. Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to: Grinding action * Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting * Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing * Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...

machines and milling machines. Abrasive chop saws have a coarse-threaded or cam-actuated machine-type vise built into the saw. Image:ViceDrill-4inch.jpg, A small machine vise used in a drill press Image:TruLockMachineVice.jpg, A machine vise that can be rotated Image:Soft Jaw Used on CNC Mill Full.jpg, Aluminum soft jaw shown holding five parts at a time in a

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a ...

milling machine

Pipe

A pipe vise is used by a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

to hold pipes for threading and cutting. There are two main styles, yoke and chain. The yoke uses a top-mounted screw to clamp the pipe between two fixed angled jaws at its base; the chain style secures the pipe by wrapping it within a chain designed to adjust to length by link, tightened by a cam lever.

Other

Other kinds of vise include: * Hand vise * Compound slide vise; a more complex machine vise. It allows speed and precision in the placement of the work. * Cross vise, which can be adjusted using

leadscrew A leadscrew (or lead screw), also known as a power screw or translation screw,Bhandari, p. 202. is a screw (simple machine), screw used as a linkage (mechanical), linkage in a machine, to translate Rotation, turning motion into linear motion. ...

s in the X and Y axes; these are useful if many holes need to be drilled in the same workpiece using a drill press. Compare router table. * Off-center vise * Angle vise, with two jaws closing against a right angle * Sine vise, which use gauge blocks to set up a highly accurate angle * Rotary vise * Diemakers' vise * Saw vise – used for sharpening hand saws * Pin vise (for holding thin, long cylindrical objects by one end, or used as a drill (scale modeler's pin vise)) * Jewellers' vise * Fly tying vise, used to secure fishing hook in

fly tying Fly tying (also historically referred to in England as dressing flies) is the process of producing an artificial fly used by fly fishing anglers to catch fish. Fly tying is a manual process done by a single individual using hand tools and a var ...

* Leg vise or post vise, which is attached to a bench but also supported from the ground so as to be stable under very heavy use, as by an auto body repairman or blacksmith *

Shaker broom vise The Shaker broom vise is a specialized production vise that made the normally round broom flat to make it more efficient for cleaning purposes. The Shakers' invention revolutionized the production and form of brooms; in the process greatly expa ...

* Rigging vise, otherwise known as a triangle vise or splicing vise, which has three jaws. Used to close thimbles and splice rope, cable, and wire rope. * Mantle Vise, more recently referred to as a Fractal Vise, used to hold workpieces with complex forms

References

Notes

Citations

{{Measuring and alignment tools Metalworking hand tools Woodworking clamps