This page is about choosing a vise you can carry. How face, leg, tail and twin-screw vises hold work is in the vise guide, and choosing a vise to bolt to a bench is in how to choose a woodworking vise. Many small vises sold as portable bench vises are engineer's vises for metal, with hard jaws that mark wood; they are included here only where a woodworker would choose one.
Note— How this guide was made
It compares kinds of portable vise and their published specifications. No vise was tested for it, no product is ranked, and no price or rating appears.
Start from where it will clamp
| Where and what | Kind of vise | As one maker states it |
|---|---|---|
| A table or worktop; small parts | A small clamp-on vise | Yost's COV-3, which Yost calls light duty: 3 in jaws opening 2.5 in, for surfaces up to 2 in thick |
| A bench or table edge; boards on edge | A woodworking vise with a table clamp | WoodRiver's 6 in vise: 4-5/8 in opening before facings; clamps to surfaces up to 2-1/4 in, or screws down through its tabs |
| Dovetails and joints on board ends, at a raised height | A Moxon-style twin-screw vise clamped to the bench | Benchcrafted's hardware: two 8 in acme screws with handwheels; you make the jaws, and the vise clamps to any workbench |
| No table or bench to clamp to | A portable workbench with its own jaws, or a vise on a stand | BLACK+DECKER's WM425 Workmate: adjustable jaws, vertical clamping and four swivel pegs |
| Metal as well as wood | An engineer's clamp-on vise, with soft jaw covers for wood | Hard jaws; keep it for the metal jobs |
A vise on a stand is only as steady as its stand; check what the stand's maker states for it, as for any portable bench. Choosing a portable bench is covered in how to choose a portable workbench.
Equipment notePaid link
Portable workbench
BLACK+DECKER WM425 Workmate
BLACK+DECKER's WM425 Workmate from the table above: a bench that is itself the vise, with adjustable jaws, vertical clamping and four swivel pegs.
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What to check
| Specification | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Clamp capacity | The thickest edge it clamps to: 2 in for Yost's COV-3, 2-1/4 in for WoodRiver's 6 in vise. Measure your table or bench at the edge, including any lip or apron, before buying. |
| Opening | The widest work it holds: 2.5 in (COV-3), 4-5/8 in (WoodRiver) — and WoodRiver notes that jaw facings reduce it. A Moxon vise's opening depends on its hardware and on the jaws you make. |
| Jaw width | How long a piece it supports on edge: 3 in (COV-3), 6 in (WoodRiver). A Moxon vise is as wide as you build it. |
| Throat depth | How far down between the jaws work can sit: 1-5/8 in on the COV-3; not every maker states it. |
| Jaw faces | Iron jaws mark wood. Plan on wooden or soft faces, and remember they take up some of the opening. |
| Mounting both ways | WoodRiver's vise has a table clamp and tabs for screwing down, so it can be portable now and fixed later. |
| Weight | Light enough to carry, heavy enough to stay put: WoodRiver states 6 lb 4 oz; Yost does not state a weight for the COV-3. |
| Force | None of these makers publishes a clamping force. A missing figure is not a weak vise, and no figure is given here. |
What a portable vise cannot do
- Stay put under heavy work. It is held by its own clamp on one edge, so hard sawing, planing or chopping can shift it, or move a light table under it. Heavy work wants a heavy bench, with a vise fitted to it; see the workbench guide.
- Hold long boards flat. A small vise grips a small area; long work held flat is a job for dogs and holdfasts on a bench, covered in bench dogs and holdfasts.
- Replace a portable bench. Where there is nothing to clamp to, a portable bench's own jaws or a vise on a stand does the job.
- Clamp any surface. A worktop thicker than the clamp capacity, a rounded edge or a thin overhang will not hold it; protect finished surfaces with a pad under the clamp.
Checklist
Before buying a portable vise
- The surface you will clamp to is within the vise's stated clamp capacity
- The opening, after jaw faces, holds your widest work
- The jaws are wide enough for what you hold on edge
- It is a woodworking vise, or you have soft faces for an engineer's vise
- It can be screwed down later if it becomes a bench vise
- The work you plan is light enough for a clamped-on vise
- Instructions and parts are available from the maker
Safety— Clamp it, then check it
Tighten the vise's clamp fully on a sound edge, try the vise by hand before working, and keep the table or bench from tipping when you lean on the work. See woodworking safety equipment and woodworking safety rules.
Sources
This guide is specification-based: it compares kinds of portable vise by what their makers state, and no vise was tested for it. Every figure is one maker's for one product. None of these makers publishes a clamping force, and none is given. The Moxon hardware figures are from a retailer's listing because the maker's page could not be read. Which kind suits which job is established workshop practice, not a ranking.
- 1.
Yost Model COV-3 3 Inch Clamp on Vise. Yost Vises.
Used for: A light-duty clamp-on vise, in Yost's words, for home, shop and professional use: 3 in jaws opening 2.5 in, 1-5/8 in throat depth, fitting benches or surfaces up to 2 in thick; gray iron; 3/8 in pipe capability; no force figure.
- 2.
WoodRiver 6" Woodworking Vise (HWV011). Woodcraft.
Used for: A woodworking vise with 6 in jaws opening 4-5/8 in with the screw fully engaged, which jaw facings reduce; an integral table clamp for surfaces up to 2-1/4 in thick, and predrilled tabs for permanent mounting, screws not included; two 1/2 in guide rods and a 1/2 in screw; 6 lb 4 oz; no force figure.
- 3.
Benchcrafted Moxon Vise Hardware. Highland Woodworking (retailer listing).
Used for: Hardware for a Moxon vise — two 8 in acme-threaded screws, two 5 in cast-iron handwheels and four nuts tapped 3/4 in × 8 tpi, and a cork-rubber liner — with the jaws made by the user; designed to clamp to any workbench and to hold work at a comfortable height for cutting dovetails and other joints on board ends.
- 4.
Workmate Portable Workbench (WM425). BLACK+DECKER.
Used for: A folding portable workbench with adjustable jaws, vertical clamping and four swivel pegs; a frame BLACK+DECKER states supports up to 550 lb; 37.4 lb.
About this buying guide
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