Homemade yews. Bench vices – buy or make yourself? Assembly features of clamping devices

It is unlikely that in a home workshop there will be more required device than a bench vise. Even if you mostly work with wood, sometimes you won't be able to do without a vice. And if you don’t have a workshop, a garage or a corner in your apartment where you can repair simple household utensils, having a small benchtop bench vise can be a great help in many situations, turning kitchen table or even a stool for a mini-workshop.

First of all, about the purpose. The purpose of a vice is to securely fasten and hold a part or workpiece during processing. various instruments. Depending on what objects primarily need to be secured in a vice and what tools will be used to work with them, the design parameters of the vice vary. But the most universal and most common look like this:

The basis of any vice is a screw pair. In most cases, the screw is fixed in the movable part of the vice body, and the nut is fixed in the stationary part, which is either directly or through a rotary mechanism attached to mechanic's workbench or a special stand that ensures the immobility of the vice during any operations with the part fixed in it.

Types of bench vices

In addition to reliable support, you must clearly understand what types of work you will be doing and relate the choice of bench vise to them. First of all, this concerns the material of the case. In the post-Soviet space, it is often cast iron.

This material is hard, wear-resistant, but quite fragile. Therefore, if you are not going to bend thick steel workpieces with a sledgehammer without seriously preheating them, then feel free to take such a vice, and if you do, then it’s better to look for a steel one.

If you need to regularly fasten workpieces in such a table vise cylindrical, then it is advisable to make an overlay for the sponge with a triangular cutout. And if such operations are quite frequent, then we advise you to consider options for the design of a bench vice that are somewhat different from the standard ones.

In general, if we talk about the functionality of a bench vice, then first of all you should think about the size. If you know for sure that you will not have to work with large parts, then do not pay for extra metal, and perhaps even consider a compact machine vice.

Or vice versa - it is possible to work with large-sized parts, but without special effort when processing them. Then you can consider the option of a vice with the ability to pre-expand the jaws without using a lead screw.

If you do not have a workbench, and the list of works also includes more operations that do not require the application of brute physical force to the parts being processed, then the option with a table vice, secured with various clamps, is yours.

True, the latter are mini-tise, it is better to have them on the farm as additional ones. Large details You can’t clamp it in them, and you can’t put any serious effort into the workpiece being processed - there’s not enough pressure on the clamp to hold the vices themselves, but making a key for a lock based on a sample is just the thing.

In addition, such vices are sometimes indispensable if you need to unscrew a stuck nut, when you can use them as hand tools. Despite their miniature size, their jaw pressure is very good.

It is also worth mentioning a small vice on a ball joint, which serves for the convenience of processing very small parts of complex configurations, allowing for processing various surfaces parts from one fastening.

It is clear that the clamping force of the ball joint is not enough for serious physical exercise, so such a vice is suitable for quite specific types works The same, in our opinion not very serious, will be vices with fastening using a suction cup.

To secure them more or less securely, you need either a well-polished surface or glass. It is unlikely that they will be securely attached to other surfaces. And their functionality is also limited.

For all types of bench vices, you will obviously need additional pads to secure parts made from soft materials.

Some table vices have a pneumatic drive, which greatly facilitates the process of securing the workpiece.

But if you don’t have a mini plumbing workshop at home, then you are unlikely to need such a vice.

What else is important to know when choosing a bench vise? There are quite a lot of complaints from users about Chinese vices with cast iron bodies, equipped with clamps for fastening - they often break off, so if you want a cheap vice from the Middle Kingdom, it is better to choose one made of steel.

Choose a vice that has the least amount of play between the body parts when the jaws are set as far apart as possible. Also, if you do not need a rotating mechanism at the base of the vice for work, choose a model without it: you will save money and the structure is more rigid.

How to make a bench vise with your own hands

The question arises: why, with such an abundance of sizes, shapes and configurations of bench vices offered by the retail chain, bother with them? independent execution. When making a bench vice with your own hands, you can save up to 10 times in cost, and also make a device with the specified parameters.

And this is absolutely real, because almost everything that can be useful for making a table vice can be found at scrap metal collection points for mere pennies.

This is especially noticeable in the photograph, in which parts of a plumbing pipe valve with a flywheel are used as a screw pair.

You can also take a screw pair from an old vertical jack. Even if part of the thread has already worn slightly, then, as a rule, this small area from the edge of the screw, which will still need to be trimmed to shorten it. The lead screws of old lathes, screw presses, etc. are also very durable.

At worst, for very little money you can order a turner at the nearest vocational school such a pair with a wide nut, with a regular metric thread. Just make the diameter larger and the nut wider. In this case, the clamping force will be redistributed sufficiently large area due to the diameter of the screw and the number of turns.

As a last resort, just buy a stud with a larger diameter from a store that sells hardware, and a tall nut for it, or 3 regular ones, which you then weld in series, screwed onto the stud.

The classic version of a homemade bench vise

The photograph clearly shows the steel parts, almost always without special labor selected at the nearest secondary metal shop:

  • steel plate 200 x 200, thickness 3 – 6 mm (thicker is possible);
  • 2 channels (120 mm - external, 100 mm - internal) with a length of 160 mm and 300 mm, respectively; in your case, the dimensions may be different depending on the length of the lead screw;
  • steel ears from some large container;
  • 2 worn turning tools;
  • rod for the wrench, in this case a piece of reinforcement;
  • a screw or pin corresponding to the diameter of the rod, and 2 nuts;
  • 2 washers, with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the lead screw;
  • screw pair - any of those described (in this case - ordered by a turner), 335 mm long;
  • powerful plate for fastening the lead screw.

The lead screw on both sides of the plate is separated by washers, one of which, on the side of the threaded part, is welded to it, although with this diameter it can be secured with a cotter pin or retaining ring. Then this unit will be completely dismountable, which is clearly better for reasons of maintainability.

The handle on one side is sealed with a welded nut, and on the other side it is made collapsible after welding the thread from a screw of the appropriate diameter to it.

The nut from the screw pair is welded to the base plate flush with the 120 channel.

For normal fit of the inner channel with the lead screw attached to it, its ribs need to be lightly processed with a file.

The ears with jaws welded to them, made from cut turning tools, must be positioned with the lead screw screwed in. This way they will take the exact place. You can even twist the sponges together soft wire, ensuring their ideal relative position.

You can also first apply a notch to them using an angle grinder with a metal cutting disc.

Due to this type of fastening of the jaws, namely the shape of the hooks and the distance between them, non-standard parts that are widened towards the bottom can be fastened in such a vice.

Yes and maximum thickness The workpieces processed in these vices are quite impressive. And there is no need to talk about the maintainability of such equipment - you can see for yourself.

Dear readers, if you have any questions, please ask them using the form below. We will be glad to communicate with you;)

A carpenter's vice in a home workshop is simply an irreplaceable thing for those involved in manufacturing wooden structures and carving. Thanks to them, it will be much more convenient to process certain workpieces. It is best to do this also using a special workbench.

Of course, you can also treat the sides or end of the board with clamps pressed against the block. But the work will be much easier if you make a carpenter’s vice for a workbench with your own hands.

Finished product design

You can make carpentry vices yourself or purchase them at specialized retail outlets. The purchased product is a housing with a movable bar. It moves along two guides, and the base is a place for screwing nuts or bolts to the vice.

It is possible to attach all kinds of wooden, plastic or metal pads to the jaws. They are needed to protect the processed product from damage. It is especially advisable to set this if you are working with soft views wood

A shop vice is capable of fixing workpieces of at least 20 cm, and in order not to move the clamping screw for too long, it is better to use a special spring mechanism, which will do this much faster by moving the movable lip. In the required position, the tree is fixed with a screw equipped with a trapezoidal thread.

Features of homemade structures

Well, if you are going to make a carpenter's vice, then they will have a slightly different structure. As a basis, we will take a screw with a 20 mm thread, its length being 150 mm. Often similar designs are used in sports-type corners. They are inserted into vertical pipes to be used to lift certain things higher. The threads in such screws are quite large, but they are not designed for heavy loads. However, it is quite possible to make a carpenter's vice with their help. It is better for the screw to be longer, since the distance between the lips will increase.

Be sure to choose suitable pins, which can be purchased specially for this job or found at home. Other types of fasteners may also be suitable instead. Some even used motorcycle mirror attachments. They have a curved structure, so before work they need to be straightened on an anvil with a sledgehammer.

Example of product manufacturing

And now we will look in more detail at how to make a carpenter’s vice with your own hands. To begin, make a board using two clamping jaws. The size is determined individually, depending on your working surface in the workshop. Then on the front jaw you need to make markings for two holes, and they should be spaced as close as possible to each of the edges. We place the front board over the back one and make a hole in it depending on the diameter of the clamping bolt. We drill holes for the T-nuts according to the marks made earlier and then insert them there. Our carpenter's vice is already ready. Now you can place the back jaw on the table, press it with a clamp and, holding the part, make cuts.

There must be a slot in the long head of the screw to secure the handle. If it does not match the size of the handle, then it can be modified with a file, expanding the hole. Instead of using a lever to unscrew the clamping screw, you can use a design with a ring instead of a cap.

A carpenter's vice uses a pine board nailed to the table as a fixed jaw. And its moving part should have a thickness of 20 mm, a width of 18 mm and a length of 50 cm.

The hole for the screw must be made in both parts using an adjustable drill with a diameter of 21 mm, but for the studs you can use a regular one with a diameter of 10 mm, respectively. So that both sponges can be processed through and through in this way at the same time, nail them to each other with nails, and then remove the nails when the work is completed.

Benefits of using the product

We looked at how to make a carpenter's vice at home for the convenience of working with wood and other workpieces. There are other options for their manufacture, in particular designs with higher jaws, which are used exclusively for manual carpentry tools. Often in a work shop, carpenter's vices have a task called "double screw". Classic version products - two threads and two jaws, which are fixed in the front of the workbench, have been widely used for more than one century in a row.

Moreover, a carpenter's vice is enough simple thing in use. It is enough just to insert the part that needs to be processed between the jaws and tighten it with bolts. Thanks to them, carpenters got rid of many problems, in particular, they can process parts regardless of size, and they also help to level the backrest above the table surface.

Masters note the key advantages of the vice:

  • they can be placed anywhere on the work surface of the workshop, in this regard they are very portable;
  • since this product is not used by the master every day, they can be easily removed and placed on the wall in a designated place;
  • The product can be installed on a table and used as a large clamp.

How to make a vice with a pressed nut

To make such a product with your own hands, you need to prepare the following:

  • bolt with nut for spreading;
  • metal staples.

To prevent the key from breaking off the nut when squeezing a wooden or metal piece, it must be pressed into it. For this purpose, the sponges need to be heated over the fire and covered with it too. To assemble such a structure with your own hands, you will need a minimum of materials and necessary parts.

Assembling a vice based on shock absorbers

If you have experience and imagination, then you can assemble such a product from any old parts and devices that can be found in a workshop or garage. IN specific example we will need:

  • shock absorbers;
  • nut M18;
  • metal corner;
  • hairpin;
  • rod from the gas stop for the handle of the structure.

Using all the parts, we assemble the vice, and then attach it to the table. We drill holes in the corners between the shock absorbers and attach them. To make it easier to work with the key material, the corners can be welded. The shock absorbers will move easier if they are burned out a little.

Any carpenter who works with wood and other materials notes that a carpenter's vice for a workbench is very convenient device, which greatly simplifies the work. Moreover, you can easily make them yourself.

If you have to change your workplace, you can equip each of them with a personal homemade, hand-made vice. Their design, like everything ingenious, lies on the surface and is simple but very effective, like much of what the famous home master V. Legostaev offers.

Any self-respecting DIYer has a vice. However, a real full-fledged tool today is not only expensive, a good vice is also bulky and heavy. My workshop is actually the entire site: I have to work in different places, and a vice is needed very often. It turns out that you have to drag a heavy tool every time or run back and forth all the time to process parts.

Vise=Two pipes

It is known that gas and water pipes They are produced in such a way that any pipe must fit tightly inside a pipe of the next standard size. Taking this into account, I decided to take two pieces of pipe of two adjacent sizes. Inserted it into a large pipe and attached it to one of the ends using electric welding.

flange with large diameter nut - M16. On a smaller pipe, using the same electric welding, I installed a similar flange with a nut, but bigger size-M18. The M16 threaded rod in such a hole should rotate smoothly.

It was to this stud that I installed a nut at a short distance from the end, which was securely secured using electric welding. After that, I inserted a threaded rod into the cavity of the small pipe so that the fixed nut was inside the pipe and rested against the flange with big hole. I screwed another nut onto the protruding end of the stud and also secured it with welding. Between the flange and the nuts, I pre-installed intermediate sliding washers. Now the end sticking out of the pipe is sufficiently threaded rod screw into the nut of a large pipe. The result is the main working element of the vice. All that remained was to install the pressure plates (jaws) and support plates (paws) on the vice. I made the jaws from a square pipe, and the paws from a corner. And the vice is ready!

For ease of maintenance, I welded a nut to the protruding end of the threaded rod in such a way that, by inserting any rod into it, it was possible to easily rotate the axis and control the vice.

Homemade vices have disadvantages

When working on such a vice inner tube It can spin behind the hairpin, but it doesn't scare me at all. You just need to hold this pipe in the desired position when fixing it. And it’s not difficult to eliminate this drawback - just install the lock.

It’s even easier to make a vice from two scraps of similar size square pipes. All technology remains the same.

DIY vice - photo

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Vice is one of the most important tools in any workshop. It allows you to expand the range of work and increase efficiency: thanks to them, the master’s hands are free, and the processing of parts is carried out on high level, and without outside help. Few people know that high-quality vices can be made with their own hands. You just need to show some ingenuity, skills and attentiveness. Next, about the intricacies of the process of creating a tool.

Vices are widely used in construction work as an element-holding tool for various parts. The product in question is presented in the form of a base (body) with two clamping tubes, which allow you to firmly hold the part during milling, planing or drilling.

A vice is considered one of the main metalworking tools, because the quality of their final processing will depend on the strength of fastening of parts. In addition, such a product frees both hands, thus allowing you to carry out certain processes as accurately as possible.

Depending on the operational features, vices are divided into two categories: carpentry and metalworking. The latter, in turn, are divided into rotary and static. Static bench vices come in chair and parallel vices. The former do not have elements for permanent fastening and are easier to install/dismantle. The second ones differ more overall dimensions and are firmly attached to the work surface.

Bench vices are designed primarily for working with fairly soft materials: plastic, wood, etc. They have high clamping jaws, which are either fixed statically or rotated on the base.

Machine tools are designed to work with hard materials, for example, metal. Their clamping jaws are less high for greater convenience and efficiency.

Making an instrument at home

To make a vice with your own hands, you need to prepare a certain set of materials and tools:

  • Metal plates;
  • Pins;
  • Boards;
  • Metal rod with a diameter of about 2 mm;
  • Fasteners.

The minimum tools you will need are an electric drill, a sledgehammer, a file and a hacksaw. The easiest way to make a bench vise with your own hands is therefore presented below. step-by-step instruction to create just such a tool:


Advice. Vises made at home can be more effective and convenient due to the fact that it is quite possible to adapt them to carry out any specific operations.

If you plan to make a vice with your own hands, you should take into account some nuances that will determine the strength and service life of the tool:

  • Material. Steel is most often used to create the product. It is advisable to choose a quality one, since the reliability and durability of the product, as well as its ability to firmly hold the part during processing, largely depend on this.
  • Product size. If you plan to work primarily with small parts, it is better to give preference to a compact model: it will be more convenient and easier to work with.
  • Thread pitch. Important point, which many often miss. The thread must be clear and small if spot work is planned.
  • Sponges. It is important to pay attention to the size and shape of this element. The first indicator depends on the type of products that will be processed, the second - on the materials of the workpieces. If you plan to work only (mostly) with soft materials, it is better to make the jaws flat.

Advice. Since you are making your own vise, you can go beyond standard model, having done optimal tool exactly for your needs. Remember that with the help of an additional option you can make the vice more efficient in operation. For example, the presence in a product rotary mechanism Allows you to work with small parts.

That's all the subtleties you should know about creating such a tool as a vice with your own hands. As you can see, this process is quite simple, and the result of the work will please even experienced craftsman. Good luck!

How to make a vice with your own hands: video

If necessary, it is not difficult to make a suitable vice with your own hands. It’s not just that the tools offered by manufacturers are expensive, bulky and heavy: they often do not meet the needs home handyman. This is especially true when you need high accuracy parts, strict parallelism or perpendicularity of their surfaces, the ability to easily move the vice from one place to another, etc.

Figure 1. Mechanic's vice V. Legostaev.

It is very difficult, and often simply impossible, to accurately drill holes and process workpieces efficiently, holding them with your hands or pliers. Need a bench vise. Convenient operation with wooden products, wood carving is impossible without a carpenter's vice. Both of them do not have to be bought in a store - if you have the appropriate skills, they are not difficult to make yourself.

Homemade bench vise

This simple, lightweight, but at the same time very effective design was developed by the famous home craftsman V. Legostaev. The operation of the proposed model is based on the fact that water and gas pipes are produced in such a way that a sample of a given diameter fits tightly into a product of the next standard size.

In Fig. 1 shows its device. Individual elements the structures are indicated there by the following numbers:

  1. The inner (moving) part of the vice is a section of water pipe.
  2. The outer (fixed) part of the vice is a piece of pipe of the following standard size.
  3. Running nut (M16).
  4. Lead screw (M16).
  5. Collar.
  6. Front support.
  7. Rear support.
  8. Pressing jaws are pieces of rectangular pipe.
  9. Fixing nut (M16).

A flange with a nut having an M16 thread (3) is welded to the end of the pipe section (2), which is the outer, stationary part of the vice. The same flange with a larger nut (M18) is welded to the end of a pipe section (1), which is the internal (moving) part of the vice. This nut is on inner surface The flange serves as a kind of bearing for the stud (4) with M16 thread.

Metal vice design elements.

A locking nut (9) is screwed onto the left end of the threaded rod and fixed in this position by welding. Washers are installed between these nuts and the flange to reduce friction. Right, long end The stud is screwed into the nut of the large (outer) pipe. A thick washer or nut of suitable size is welded to the left end of the stud, into the hole of which a knob (5) is inserted. It allows you to conveniently rotate the axis to control the vice. As a result, the main working unit of the proposed design will be obtained.

Jaws (8), made from sections of rectangular pipes, are attached to the inner and outer pipes by welding. To obtain a completed design on outer pipe supports are attached (6 and 7). They can be made from metal corner And rectangular pipes. Homemade vice ready.

To prevent the inner pipe from rotating, you can make a longitudinal slot in the outer pipe and screw it into the inner part fixing screw. This will not be necessary if you use sections of two similar-sized pipes of square or rectangular cross-section as the outer and inner parts of the main assembly.

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Homemade carpentry vice

In a home workshop for a workbench on which you can process wooden crafts, there is always a place. Doing this by laying the workpieces on a workbench or securing them with clamps is not always convenient, and sometimes even impossible. This is especially true for processing the ends of workpieces, since metal spoils the surface wooden parts, leaving marks on them.

Figure 2. Homemade carpentry vice made from timber.

This means that you can’t do without a carpenter’s vice, and in order not to waste money, you can also make them yourself. An example of such a design is shown in Fig. 2. The body (1) is usually attached to the workbench tabletop, and the movable plate (2) moves along guides (3). The movable plate moves due to the rotation of the screw pin (4), which is screwed into a fixed nut fixed to the back side vice bodies.

A carpenter's vice is attached to the workbench with long screws or bolts and nuts. Overlays - wooden, plastic or metal - can be attached to the jaws of the vice. Without them, workpieces may be damaged during processing. This is especially important when working with soft woods.

One of the main components is a screw pin (4) with an M20 thread. You can order it from a workshop or look for it in a sports store. The longer it is, the wider the sponges can be spread. With a cutting length of 15 cm, they can be separated by a distance of about 8 cm. To attach the handle, a hole of a suitable diameter is drilled at the end of the screw. You can try to find blanks for making guides (3) in a hardware store among the fasteners or at a flea market.

The jaws (1 and 2) are made from two pine boards. A hole is drilled in each of them for a screw and guides. For accuracy, before drilling them, it is better to connect the boards, for example, with nails, which are then carefully removed. For processing long workpieces, you can make a vise with longer jaws and two clamping screws.

Thus, making a bench or carpenter's vice with your own hands at home is really not difficult.

And having become familiar with the operating principle and structure of the proposed clamping devices, it is quite possible to develop your own design.