Vise stand

Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
7,933
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
I'm in the need of a Vise Stand, I thought.....I'll just jump on the internet & see what's available, WOW....Talk about disappointment.

Wilton has one that looks to be 1/8" steel construction for $539. I'm not one to whine about prices......But this is $25 worth of steel, some welding & crappy paint. If this was full 5/8" steel....I could almost understand with it being heavy duty & just plain heavy.

I know people fabricate them out of Semi truck brake drums & have been around them for years, But they still walk across the floor when something needs special persuasion or some heavy duty bending/torquing.

My grandfather had huge Cast stands bolted to the floor of his shop every bit of 12" diameter at the riser. I know they were some kind of cast because they had a name, city, state raised in the casting. I don't remember the details it's been 38-40 years since I last saw them when he sold his building.

I guess I'll build my own.....I scoped out a 40' light pole at my buddies shop "He owns a electrical contracting business", I think I can torch off the bottom 5 feet of it, Take to another buddy that works for Wilbanks Metal & have it finish cut at right height with a bandsaw. Buy a 18"x18" 5/8" plate & weld it to the top.

I may have to have it welded, Not sure my Miller 212 set to kill will have enough penetration even if I beval the top of the riser? I don't have a Tombstone/Stick.

Thoughts? I guess I'm complaining as well....."Am I the only one that needs/wants a heavy duty vise stand?"
 
I sometimes curse at my bench vices for lack of clearance but manage to get by with them.

I think you're on the right track, just make sure the light pole is an easy to weld metal? I'm no welding expert but thought that if it's aluminum (to plate steel), it could require a different process than steel-steel.

However, put an 18"x plate on top? I thought the point was you don't have any extra material sticking out past the vice, just what is required for a strong mount?
 
Last edited:
I don't want to beat up my work benches, My big one is topped with Aluminum plate. I have 2 military OMC tables that are from the 50's....Really stout tables but still don't want to beat them up. The 4 legs are hinged, So any force will be passed to the hinge pins.

You make a point about the top plate being too big, I can downsize that to just fit the vise base, Though I may have to drill & tap holes for the Vise base as they may end up right over the riser.

For a stable base.....I hate tipping a bench or a stand while trying to torque fasteners on a sub-assembly & end up bracing it with my body. Drop-out differential assemblies are a big offender.

Some addon's would be nice.....Like a engine stand adapter (Round pipe) welded to the riser, Maybe make another adaptor for a small Anvil.

The light pole base in question is steel & it's either powered coated or epoxy painted.
 
I want one. i have a vise on my work bench, but every time i sharpen mower blades, it throws metal bits all over everything on the bench. I want a stand i can keep at the corner of my garage and move it out when i grind. then move it back.

I may look at welding something up. I like the truck drum idea, as i can roll that out, and i don't do any really heavy things for it to walk.

I agree the one at northern tool could easily be made and its not a $500 piece at all.
 
I think you need to fabricate something that you'll be happy with. What about taking a used table made from angle Iron and making it smaller for your needs? Anything on your Local Craiglist for sale?
 
This Palmgren stand weighs 59 pounds and is designed for their grinders and buffers but the top plate has multiple holes and slots. The base and top are cast iron with a 3½" steel column. Will likely need to bolt it to the floor or something else you you need to apply much persuasion to what's in the vise but it's a much better price than the Wilton you were looking at.

Click this link to see their listing of national distributors or find one local. Or just search online for that Palmgren p/n. It lists for $144 but appears you can find it for less than $120 online.

[Linked Image]
 
You might check into leg vices. They incorporate a heavy duty vice with a post, which you attach to a work bench. They're built for heavy work, pounding especially. If the post is set on a concrete floor people often put it on a plate to distribute the impact loads from pounding.

You might find a well used one on the internet.
 
Originally Posted by TMoto
This Palmgren stand weighs 59 pounds and is designed for their grinders and buffers but the top plate has multiple holes and slots. The base and top are cast iron with a 3½" steel column. Will likely need to bolt it to the floor or something else you you need to apply much persuasion to what's in the vise but it's a much better price than the Wilton you were looking at.

Click this link to see their listing of national distributors or find one local. Or just search online for that Palmgren p/n. It lists for $144 but appears you can find it for less than $120 online.


Thanks....But that won't work, I'd break it.

This is kinda what I was looking for..........

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
 
CLine, I used to have my antique Wilton mounted to a pedestal stand that I fabricated but I really didn't like it. I used a disc blade for the bottom 8" pipe that I filled with Portland cement and then a heavy plate top. It just moved around too easy on the floor. I like it best mounted to the corner of my 36"x36" welding table.
 
Thanks P10.....I seriously considered building a nice heavy table.....But my OCD would make it take to long
grin.gif
, With projects like this I like to have a GOOD starting platform & I believe the Light Pole base will give me that. With 1" diameter anchors.....I don't think it will move much.
 
My vice stand I made about 20 years ago and still use it regularly, is made from an old truck (semi) brake drum. I welded a plate across it (you could also bolt on a plate using the lug holes if you wanted) then welded a 4x4 1/4" box steel post to that, welded another plate on top of that to mount the vice and perfection, and basically used scrap everything so cost was zero. It doesn't really move when getting heavy handed, it is heavy and can be a handful to move around but mine is for the most part stationary.
 
Last edited:
I gave up on stands and if I really need to do some pounding, I drilled some holes in the concrete floor, and just bolt the vise to the floor.
 
To old & spent too many of my prime years wrestling with stuff on a shop floor, This stand is for my business.....Anything to avoid working on the ground!!

I was going to cut the pole where it was, But my buddy said to take the whole thing. Good thing I didn't sell my 40' gooseneck yet! Got it home but haven't cut it yet.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
 
Many people are making tools these days and they don't even last for a year. I've recently bought some things from swindens.co.uk and I am really curious about their quality. Last weekend, I was speaking with my friend about a power drill and he had told me that he was upset that he had spent a couple of hundreds of dollars for nothing. After a couple of uses, the drill broke down and he couldn't do anything about it, but argue with the people that sold it to him. Hopefully, I am not going to have any problems like these
 
@clinebarger I really like the extra heavy duty design. You can never go wrong by over engineering things!

@Wasquez When I read the initial post I immediately thought of the stand I have been eying for a while. It may not be quite what you are looking for but I plan to get this one as soon as I clear some space for it.

 
Last edited:
Back
Top