4-1/2 in. Light Duty Bench Vise with Swivel Base

Vice is for light duty work and not meant for high torque tightening. Jaws are wobbly and when closed jaws don't align correctly. For hobby work or light clamping and the price it's will work well.

I was using the vise to loosen some stuck pipe. I snapped that baby right at the base. A vice should not break

Purchased this due to an immediate need for a project. I wasn’t expecting much from a Bessy vise due to previous experiences, so I wasn’t entirely disappointed. I previously returned two Bessy drill press vises because the jaws were nowhere near square. The jaws on this vise are relatively square, but they are out of alignment by 1/4” (see pic). Not a big deal for my usecase nor at this price point, just saying. My concerns are the arm is very thin. I’ve never seen a vise with such a thin arm. And there is a HUGE amount of play. I’m going to moly it and try tightening everything up a bit, so this is just my initial opinion. Will update soon. It’s labeled as “light-duty,” so at least the manufacturer is being honest.

Mounting hardware should be included. A bench vise doesn’t work if you can’t mount it to a bench. The vise looks nice sitting on my bench. Unfortunately I don’t have time to go buy bolts with the shortened hours the stores are open.

Easy to setup and mount to my bench.

This is a great value for the price. The vice has the ability to hold pipes in a pipe grip under the main jaws. I used it to hold a half-inch IMC conduit so that I could put threads on the end of the pipe using a rented threading tool from Home Depot. Since I don't have a workbench (yet), I opted to make a raised surface using 2x4's on their side. I still had to use a pipe wrench to hold the back end of the conduit in place while I cut threads into it. I only had 3 conduits to put threads on and without the vice it would not have been possible. Other vices that I looked at did not have the pipe vice under the main jaws unless you got to the BV-MPV5. The vice weights 11 pounds (per the manual) and can be secured using 3/8 inch bolts. The one I bought was made in China.

Well its been 2 years since I bought it. So far so go. I bought it because I have limited space in my work area and its not to big or bulky. I mounted it on my work bench. Works well and also swivels. I recommend it!

This vise is very small, looks like a toy. My wife even laughed when she saw it. Quality is not the greatest, has alot of slop. Should be ok for very light work.

I went to Home Depot my favorite tool store, and the fact that I get my Veteran discount there :). I purchased this vise and I love this product. I need something a little bigger than what I have so this vise which I think pulls out to 4+" and I like how it swivels. I am able to bolt it down to my work bench very quickly. It is pretty heavy duty and I have no complaints about it. Thank you Home Depot for having a ton of tools and everything I need :) Kevin blackmer

A great vice for most things around the house. Advertised as light duty, and that is very accurate description. Although, it is also specified as having a 3 3/8” max jaw opening. That is with the maximum limit of screw engagement. But it will actually open up to 4 1/2” and hold with a couple of threads engaged in the nut...for very light work on larger items. When closed tight, the jaws match up very well. Will clamp a very small item, if needed. Very little backlash in the tightening screw. Make no mistake...it takes some tuning up. First thing to do is to take off the base and remove the paint from the swivel surfaces. Then take a grinder and rough those surfaces up for better gripping to lock it from swiveling. Tighten down the locking nut as tight as possible, to keep it from moving out of place. When mine is locked, the bench will move before the vice will swivel. If necessary you can always mount another locking bolt in at 180 degrees. But that limits how much you can swivel. And if you clean out the paint and rough the surfaces, that shouldn’t be needed. Secondly, grease up the sliding gib on all sides and the 6 pitch acme screw. Work them in and out to the limits several times and regrease as needed. This will smooth out the action so that velvety smooth “one finger” actuation is normal. I mounted on the corner of the bench with 3/8 x 1 1/2 lag bolts. And set it so the swivel stop was 45 degrees from the 90 degree bench corner. This allows for full swivel on the end on the bench as well as the front. Then drilled four 1/4” holes through the vice mounting holes, for driving in the lag bolts. Summary...Once tuned, this vice is very solid and operates super smoothly. If you do heavy automotive work, you will neeed a more heavy duty vice. For most, household general purpose jobs it is all you need. A very good value for the price.