Manufacturer: Work IQ
Price as tested: $280
Link: https://workiqtools.com/collections/iq-vise-system/products/iq-vise
A vise for someone who wants ball joints on all the things.
This medium-duty bench vise sports a 360° quick-locking pivot and plenty of accessories, and it’s even sturdier than it looks. Designed to cover multiple types of jobs, it handles all benchtop and some front vise clamping cases.
The included Flex Fit sleeves are notched for various shaped workpieces, and grippy for softer materials. I wish all my vises came with a set like these. They also offer a suite of sleeves for wood, pipe, and other specialized needs.
Tools this nice get me excited to work on forgotten projects. The jaws are smooth and perfectly parallel, and grip anything from a 2 × 4 to a playing card. Spinning a part for a better angle is like turning it in my hand.
The quick release ball joint makes swiveling a cinch. Even without the bonus locking pin, I could put my weight into filing a hatchet handle and not shift the vise. They warn to keep dust out of the ball joint. I absolutely failed at that, but so far things are still moving fine.
They offer plenty of accessories that snap in with zero fuss. The light’s gooseneck is strong, but it tended to sag with some light banging on a part. Work IQ addresses this with separate accessory mounts that clamp, screw, or magnet mount to your bench. Any of these would have solved the sagging.
I’m grateful for the option of a light at all — it came in handy when shaping a hatchet handle. Another accessory is a phone holder intended for playing how-to videos while you work. I suspect this is the result of user research they did in the design phase, which is appreciated.
The Work IQ Vise isn’t as cheap as a fixed-angle vise, but it’s comparable to others of similar quality and capability. It’s top-heavy and wants to be bolted down, so it’s not ideal for something that normally lives under a table. On the plus side, it’s versatile enough that a spot on the bench is well-earned.
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