Outdoor vise ???

[morrowsmowers]

Unfortunately I have to use my storage shed as my shop area as well and have limited room for a work table, etc. I would like to put up a stand outside the shed with a vise on it for those times when I can go out there and work on a project. However, it seems that the weather would ruin the vise and possibly the table or stand it is on. Anyone got a great idea how I can do this ???

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

[agmantoo]

Not really a problem to accomplish what you want and probably will use a lot. Get 2 pieces of rather large schedule 40 steel pipe. One piece , the larger diameter, needs to be about 36 inches long. The 2nd piece needs to be about 60 inches long and needs to slip fit into the shorter pipe. In the shorter length of pipe drill a through hole crossways about an inch from one end (this will be the top) Dig a hole approximately 36 inches deep and place 6 inches on stone (this is to permit rain to drain out) in the bottom, set the shorter piece on the stone and pour sakcrete around the pipe and let it set. On the longer piece have a plate welded to make a pedestal for the vise to mount. Stand this in the concreted short pipe and transfer the holes location onto the inner pipe and then drill those. You can then put a bolt through the holes to hold the vise while working. Afterward you can remove the bolt and then remove the pedestal and vise and set them in the dry.

[Blu3duk]

An old truck rim, a piece of 4 inch or bigger pipe and a plate to mount the unit to and you can roll it around in and out of the weather if you want. Another way to mount it would be a plate on the vise, a stinger to drop into a larger square tube which is made into a 90 the correct hiegt you want off yer reciever hitch of your trucks.

That said, dad mounted a cheap vise we picked up for under $30 to a couple of 4x6's we cut so he would have a vise for filing his power saw once inawhile amongst other things, kind a temporary fix in a similar sort of situation as you describe, and well after 15 years the posts rotted off and he had to move the vise to a iron mount on the back of his shop van..... its been outside now 17 years total... pretty good i think for a hunk of imported boat anchor steel.... now if it was a big hunderred pounder like my grandad had it problaby would have rusted shut in a season..... but that one was already froze up when we got it and we aint soaked it in tranny fluid yet.

the neat thing about making a mount for your reciever hitch is it is portable to out in the woods or field or even over to the nieghbors place where you are working on something that needs a vise, and it always in some place where it needs to be more cleared area for that long pipe to fit into.

William

[Gideon]

If you mount it permanently outside just put a plastic bucket over it. The handle can go under an end. I have an antique vise mounted on an old stump but the stump needs replacing so will be pouring some concrete soon. Am planning on using a pipe with pin hole. That way I can use it elsewhere if needed by simply pulling the pin. Thanks for the idea. Will only use about a six inch long pipe under the mounting plate to keep the weight down.

[spam4einstein]

This brings up a great idea for anyone pouring a shop floor. Get a 2"x2" pice of square stock steel and enbed it in the floor. You ned up with a square hole in the floor. It acts like a post holder for any tool you may need to use that you leverage hard on. Like manual tire chengers or vises you may want to bend heavy steel on.

[PlainFolk]

The company I work for has several service trucks with vises mounted to the rear bumper. The easiest way to keep them in working order is to always have some WD-40 handy. When through using vise, coat with WD-40 (or other rust-inhibitor) and cover with plastic bag and tie or, as stated above, a bucket.