A vise is a woodworking tool that woodworkers use for clamping- the holding of pieces of wood during projects such as drilling, wood planning, filing, sanding, or sawing. Usually, the vise is mounted in the front of a workbench. It’s then bolted safely on a workbench to allow for heavy-duty tasks to be carried out without the pieces falling. Using the best woodworking vise for your projects will ensure precision and top quality final products.
The standard woodworking vise comes in the form of metal and has large jaws that clamp small as well as large pieces of wood. The vises exist in different types, such as quick release vises, woodcraft vises, as well as plain screw vises.
In this article, I have reviewed the very best products for clamping that you can find on the market today. I’ve further provided a buyer’s guide with comprehensive information on things to consider to get the right product for your different woodworking usage.
Read on to find more about the reviewed products.
Table of Contents
1. Eclipse Quick Release Woodworking Vise, Gray Cast Iron, 10″ Size
This Eclipse woodworking vise is the overall best woodworking vise if you are looking for a vise with a quick-release mechanism. It comes with a quick and easy way of repositioning your workpieces, especially when handling a big woodworking project.
This tool is excellent for professional use in a workshop.
When you buy this tool, it comes with an adjustable front stop that allows for extra clamping, especially when you are using it alongside a bench stop. It means you can use it as a tail vise or regular vise depending on your ongoing project.
The jaws of this tool have heavy cast iron. Its slide pods, on the other hand, are products of industrial-grade steel. Therefore, this tool guarantees you several years of regular use. Additionally, the jaws of this vise have a design that allows for positive clamping, even in situations where there is extreme clamping pressure.
Furthermore, this vise comes with a tommy bar for enhanced safety. The tommy bar protects the vise from extreme stress by bending first before the vise does.
The Summary of Top features
- It comes with a quick-release trigger for faster adjustment of the tool.
- This tool is fitted with an adjustable front stop (dog) that offers a standard vise and a tail vise in one
- The vise has two predrilled holes for quick stable mounting to your workbench
- It comes with a tommy bar that provides enhanced safety
Pros
- It comes with two cast tabs for mounting screws
- The lever of this tool makes it effortless to open and close the vise
- It features a 7-inch jaw width plus a 3-inch throat depth
Cons
- Its front stop does not have a high extension.
2. Yost M9WW Rapid Acting Wood Working Vise, 9″
The Yost is a great woodworking vise for home as well as a professional woodworker’s use. This tool is constructed using rugged cast iron. One of its amazing features is the quick release mechanism that disengages the screw for a faster adjustment. All you need to achieve this is to simply pull the lever then slide the jaw back or forth. You can engage the screw through turning the handle clockwise for a super strong holding control.
Additionally, the vise has a buttress threaded main screw that ensures a powerful clamping. You can use the bench dog of this tool in conjunction with a bench stop if you are working on oversized projects.
Furthermore, the jaws of this have predrilled holes that allow for optional wood facings that you look to mount to the vise.
The Summary of Top Features
- It comes with heavy-duty cast iron for durability
- This tool has a quick-release mechanism for rapid opening and closing the vise
- It comes with an adjustable front stop (bench dog)
- Safety is not an issue in this tool thanks to the tommy bar that protects it from extreme pressure
Pros
- It’s a fast performing tool thanks to the quick-release mechanism
- You are safe with this tool
- It is durable
Cons
- There are instances where the jaws are not parallel.
3. Shop Fox D4328 9-Inch Quick Release Wood Vise
The Shop Fox D4328 is one of the best woodworking vises that you should consider if you are looking for a great performing tool. Its design allows it to offer trouble-free woodworking duties for as many years as you could count.
Structurally, this tool is a heavy-duty cast iron material that is durable by nature. This vise has a maximum jaw opening of 10 inches, and a jaw width of 9 inches makes it perfect for professional projects.
The vise allows you the flexibility to mount it on a workbench that measures 2¼ inches thick. Additionally, you can use a shim to install it on a workbench that measures 1½ inches thick. The jaws of this tool come with pre-drilled holes for attaching non-marring jaw pads and protect the surface of your workpieces.
Furthermore, this woodworking vise has a quick-release mechanism that allows for clamping and release of workpieces within seconds. If you move the lever towards the main handle, you will disengage the screw, and if you are looking to activate the quick-release mechanism, then slide the jaw effortlessly.
One other thing about this tool is the sliding stop dogs that make it possible for you to work with projects longer than what the vise can clamp.
The Summary of Top Features
- It comes with a 9-inch jaw width
- The mounting height (workbench thickness) stands at 2-1/4-inch
- Has a 10-inch max jaw opening
Pros
- It can hold large workpieces
- The guide rods of this tool is perfectly polished
- Its screw has acme threads
Cons
- This vise requires that you buy the mounting screws and bolts separately.
4. Bessey BPC-H34 3/4-Inch H Style Pipe Clamp
It is arguably the best woodworking vise that you can buy today. This tool has an exclusive design with an innovative style. It is a pipe clamp vise that rests on two legs giving the user the most stable clamping.
The jaws of this tool are crafted from cast iron and covered with a zinc-plated clutch to provide the tightest holding as well as durable service.
Bessey offers the tightest hold and further protects the materials from unprecedented damage and scratch. In place of the commonly used threaded screw, this vise introduces a threaded spindle that moves the pivoting jaw in and out. Besides, the handle of this tool is a crank-style for easy and convenient moving of the handle without friction.
Additionally, the higher base mounting in this vise allows you to work on a clean work surface. You can even shift this vise to your chosen position so that you enjoy more comfort while working.
Its specifications are nominal with ¾” pipe clamp and 2.95 lbs of weight. It is portable and the best woodworking vise if you are looking to shift your working locations.
The Summary of Top Features
- This tool has an H-shaped Foot Assembly that stabilizes the clamp in two dimensions to provide a dual-axis stability
- It has a casting jaw for durability
- The device comes with 2 soft jaw caps that prevent the damaging of materials clamped
- It has a zinc plated clutch components, and black oxide coated threaded spindle
- The H style base of this tool prevents clamps from tipping over
- The vise comes with a crank handle that clears work surface when you are opening and closing the jaw on the clamp
Pros
- It’s affordable
- This vise durable
- You can move it from place to place(portable)
Cons
- It’s not great with too much pressure.
5. Yost M7WW Rapid Acting Wood Working Vise, 7″
Here’s another best woodworking vise from Yost. This tool is excellent for both professional and domestic use making it a perfect fit for optimal performance. Besides, it features a rapid nut mechanism that lets you do faster to clamping and reposition of workpieces.
All you need to do is a simple pulling of the vise nut lever upward and hold it if you are looking to disengage the vise nut. After that, you can adjust the vise jaws as you want and release the lever. Once the main handle rotates, the vise nut will be engaged, tightening its jaws.
This woodworking vise comes with a buttress thread in the main screw. The design of this buttress thread allows for tighter clamping. Additional. It makes the opening and closing of the jaws smoother. One more thing about this vise is that it comes with an end stop that ensures there is no excessive opening of the vise.
The pre-drilled holes in this tool allow for faster and easier mounting on a workbench. Besides, there are further pre-drilled holes on the jaws that will enable you to mount wood facings to keep your workpieces safe.
The Summary of Top Features
- It has a heavy-duty cast iron and steel construction for durability
- The quick-release mechanism allows for rapid opening and closing the vise
- It features an adjustable front-stop (bench dog)
- The tool comes with Tommy bars for safety purposes
Pros
- It’s durable thanks to heavy-duty steel and cast iron construction
- The tool has an adjustable bench dog
- Safe to use
Cons
- There cases where the jaws are not parallel
6. Yost Tools 750-DI, 5″ EXTREME-DUTY, 2X Stronger, Bench & Pipe Vise.
The Yost series has a reputation for producing some of the best woodworking vises in the market, and Yost 750-DI is no different. This tool weighs up to 50% more than its competitors, which makes it reliable.
It comes with a ductile iron body that is 3X more durable than cast iron Vises. Extreme Grip Machinist Jaws feature comes with serrations that grip parts better. Additionally, it comes with self-align Pipe Jaws that conform to the part that they grip, hence reducing the marring and increasing clamping pressure.
What’s more about this vise is that it features a 360 degree Gear Lock Swivel Base that prevents it from turning once you have locked it down. It further comes with the Quick Action Pull pin that gives you room to rotate the vise quickly and with ease. This vise has up to twelve different locking positions. Above all, it features a reinforced anvil and 4 mounting tabs that securely attach it to the Work Bench.
The Summary of Top Features
- The head of the vise rotates 360 degrees with 12 locking positions providing access to the three jaw sets.
- Its 360-degree swivel base adjusts the jaws’ direction so that the placement and locks are in place.
- The ductile iron body of this tool makes it durable
- This vise has three sets of replaceable hardened steel jaws: Parallel serrated top jaws, Serrated pipe jaws, Smooth V-jaws for round and flat stock.
- It has a pipe capacity of 0.125″ to 3.5″.
Pros
- It’s durable
- Heavier than most competitors
- It comes with up to 12 locking positions
Cons
- The base plate of this tool is thinner.
7. Wilton – 78A, Pivot Jaw Woodworkers Vise – Rapid Acting (63144)
The Wilton is another best woodworking vise that you should consider for your workshop. It has a reputation as one of the best-performing wood vises out there.
Wilton is more or less the same as the famous Yost series of woodworking vises. It can work with a workbench with 3-inch thickness; all you need is to install it at the top of the workbench.
The fixed jaw of this tool has a hole where you can screw it at the side as well as at the bottom in your workbench.
You can move the front jaw can and use it as a full-length dog and is 10 degrees pivot that makes it easy to clamp un-regular shapes.
This tool comes with a jaw whose maximum opening is 10 inches.
The Summary of Top Features
- It has a jaw width of 4 by 7 Inch
- The maximum jaw opening of this tool is 10 Inch
- This tool has a rapid-acting nut
- It weighs 30 pounds
- The vise comes with mounting instructions
Pros
- It comes with a quick-release mechanism
- The vise is durable
- You can use it to clamp irregular shapes
Cons
- It comes with quality control issues.
8. Sjobergs SJO-33274 Woodworking Portable Smart Vice
If you’re looking for a tool that you can move with from one place to another, then SJO-33274 is the best woodworking vise that you should consider. The manufacturers of this tool had portability in mind when they were creating this product.
As you can tell from the name, this woodworking vise is smart. It gives you the flexibility to use it in the clamping of workpieces quickly on several mounting surfaces. Besides, it can support up to three mounting options, among them mounting it with clamps, screws, as well as dowels. It gives you the flexibility to mount it on a picnic table, sawhorse, workbench, and other possible mounting surfaces.
This woodwork vise comes with four ¾ inch bench dogs for an excellent clamping. Additionally, it comes with a clamping width of 4½ inches, which makes it ideal for clamping small to medium woodworking projects. Another thing is that you can move the bench dogs so that you clamp odd-shaped workpieces, making it suitable for different wood crafts.
The Summary of Top Features
- It comes with an exceptional clamping width
- This vise can support heavy-duty projects.
- It is incredibly versatile with four ¾” round bench dogs for optimal clamping options.
- This tool gives you up to three mounting options: the dowels, screws, or clamps, making it perfect for almost any application.
Pros
- You can easily carry it around
- It can be used as either a portable or permanent woodworking vise
- The vise comes with a heavy-duty 1-inch MDF top
Cons
- It is a bit pricey
Best Woodworking Vise Buyer’s Guide
There are so many woodworking vises out there, and not all of them perform the same way. Most of these products do not come cheap, so you must spend your money on the right products.
In this buyer’s guide, I have included some of the essential aspects of woodworking vises that you need to consider before shopping for one. These aspects include:
Watch the video below on how to install a woodworking vise
Size
Bigger woodworking vises are generally meant for bigger projects. Therefore, if you are a woodworker and looking to buy a vise, you must be aware of the extent to which you intend to use the tool before shopping for one. Small projects call for the use of small vise and vise versa.
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In case you are into fine detail work on smaller pieces, it makes no sense to spring for the largest vise available on the market. Otherwise, you will end up wasting a lot of time opening and closing to achieve a smaller clamp.
The Ease of Use
How easy it is to use a vise does not necessarily affect the price of one. However, it should be one of the first things that you consider when you shop for this tool.
If you are looking for a vise that you can use without so much struggle, you need to go for the ones with a quick-release mechanism. It will allow you to temporarily take the vise off its track and have it close to its final location. You can put it back on its track and turn the handle to make it tight.
The Quality
If you have keenly gone through the list of best woodworking vise in this article, choosing a product with high quality should not worry you. If you are looking to get the best quality possible in a woodworking vise, then you should consider things such as the central support column, the big bar running down the middle, and steel in the structure.
Conclusion
Woodworking vises are a must-have tool for any woodworker, especially if you are going to do clamping here and there.
My overall best woodworking vise is Eclipse Quick Release Woodworking Vise, Gray Cast Iron, 10″ Size; I considered several factors, including the price, user experience, and performance when settling for this product.
Regardless of my choice, I’d like to let you know that all the products reviewed in this article are of top quality and will serve your purposes with utmost perfection.
I hope that you have read and found this content relevant to your quest to get the very best product from the market. If you feel the same, kindly share with me your thoughts on the comment section below. Meanwhile, enjoy your shopping!
Tyron Otieno
Tyron is an avid woodworker and writer. He founded this website to help other woodworkers, whether hobbyists or professionals by sharing his knowledge and experiencie after a decade of woodworking.