Originally Posted by
J.Higgins
I rebuilt my Starrett this summer. In my humble opinion, having a heavy-duty vise married to a heavy-duty bench is the cornerstone of a good workshop. You may not need it every day, but when you do need it, there is no substitute. Got a stuck seatpost? Clamp it up and give it a twist using the frame as leverage. Shortening a steerer tube? Also I think that having it bolted to a bench is the only way to go because if its free-standing, well, you've got to walk around it. It also would have to be bolted to the floor for usability and safety.
+! But I will take it a step further. The single biggest reason I bought a house was to have a place to mount the vise. First thing I did whole looking was see where the shop and work bench were supposed to be. The house I bought had an old table. I bought the vise, measured up the mounting bolt pattern and had a co-worker CAD model me a 3' roughly square piece of 1/2 steel plate drilled for the vise. (I worked for a shipyard.)
When I moved, the first thing I did was go to the local lumber outfit and buy enough wood to build a very solid table with the vise at the corner by the garage side door. (I can open it and hold very long items in the vise.)
That vise is my number one tool, by far. I do have to replace it. Sears no longer supports them and neither does the US maker. VIse is fine but the jaws are shot. (They've been beaten on with some serious tools.) (I could take them to a machine shop and have them make new ones but a whole new vise will barely cost more.)
Ben