Panavise

Initial Purchase: 10/2015 at Amazon

In short, Panavise is amazing. I use them for nearly all hardware-based bench work. The vise head can separate from the base so you can swap in specialty vises based on the type of work you are doing, or swap in a different base to lock to the workbench. Couple that with a plethora of specialty jaw and jaw pads offered in the market…it was a no-brainer for me.

I started out with the 301 Base+Jaw and after using it went bananas and bought various add-ons to make my work easier. In hindsight, to stretch your funds, I’d recommend figuring out what type of workbench surface are your attaching to first? Can you bolt to it? is it smooth so you can use a vacuum base (my favorite)? Or do you need a clamp system? (I did this using a 2x6 + 1x6 that bolted to the vise base as shown in the last image since I couldn’t find a clamp system at the time.) After that buy the vise head(s) you need.

Recommended Accessories:

Pro Tip: Clean the vacuum base and surface with an alcohol swab/pad (or similar) if it doesn't seem to hold well.

If you have access to a 3D printer you might check out Thingiverse's collection of Panavise mods to adapt your vise to most anything needed.

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