Fortunately, there’s never an end to the parade of tools and accessories to make life better in the shop. This time around we’ll take a look at a versatile bench vise and a slick jig for drilling holes in cabinets, along with a couple of well-made saw blades, and, lastly, a handy jig for sharpening chisels and plane blades.
IQ VISE
Most bench vises quietly do their job at the end of the bench. In my shop I have a metalworking vise that’s attached to a block of wood that fits in the face vise on the workbench when needed — which works just fine. The vise shown here made by Work IQ Tools does all that and a lot more. The vise itself is a conventional-looking vise that’s attached to a rod and ball cradled in a base that bolts to your bench.
As you see in the photo, the ball allows the vise to be adjusted to about any position you could require and then is locked in place with the proprietary “Quick Cam” feature on the underside of the base.
There are all sorts of practical uses for a vise that rotates in this manner. These photos show this feature in action. But it’s not just for woodworking — when you combine them with specialized sleeves it opens all sorts of possibilities.
FIVE SLEEVES.
There are five double-sided sleeves available that slip over the jaws of the vise. Each uniquely serve to protect the workpiece they’re holding and they lock in place on the jaws with pins. The vise comes with the Flex-fit sleeves. The main photo shows the leather sleeves in action.
Here, you see the Pipe-fit sleeves gripping a galvanized pipe.
There are the Woodworking sleeves doing what they do best.
The Sure-fit sleeves (not shown) are an upgraded combination of the multi-grooved side of the Flex-fit sleeve, and a compression-fit foam surface similar to the Woodworking sleeve.
The vise along with the four additional sleeves (sold separately) can be purchased online at their website Workiqtools.com. Or, you’ll find everything available at Amazon.com.
