How to Install a Vise

Choosing and Preparing the Location

• 1

  Decide where in the room you want to put your vise. Try to determine how much space you will need on either side of the vise. For the best long-term results, choose a location that gives you the maximum wall-to-wall distances of whatever room you're using. Also, don't neglect to give plenty of space in front of and behind the vise.

• 2

  Make sure that the workbench or countertop is, or can be, safely secured to the floor, and that the floor in turn is solid and can support whatever amount of force you may expect it to stand up to. Again, for the best long-term results, overcompensate in terms of securing your workbench to the floor in case a heavier than usual job comes up, and also as extra protection against an accident.

• 3

  Choose a corner of the workbench or countertop to install the vise. A corner is important to allow you to place irregularly-shaped objects in the vise, or to place objects in the vise at angles that aren't more or less parallel to the surface of the workbench or countertop. Use the marker or pencil to trace out the area around the vise's base. Use the sandpaper to even out and slightly roughen the surface where the vise will go.

Installing the Vise

• 4

  Replace the vise and use the marker or pencil to mark the position of the screws that will attach the base of the vise to the workbench or countertop. Use one of the screws (these should be included in the vise kit) to pre-drill shallow holes to guide the screws in. Alternatively, you could use a drill bit that is a little smaller than the width of the screws to do this.

• 5

  Replace the vise once again, making sure that the handle of the vise is facing outwards from the front of the workbench or countertop. Begin to drill in the screws, but do not screw them all the way in. Once you have partially screwed in all the screws for the base of the vise, check to make sure that the vise is now in the position you want it.

• 6

  Finish screwing the base of the vise into the workbench or countertop gradually, by moving from one screw to the next without sinking any of them all the way down. When each of the screws has half an inch left, continue screwing until they are flush with the base of the vise. This will ensure safest, most solid attachment of the vise to the workbench or countertop.