Bench vise safety

Responding is Andy Kelson, marketing manager, JCBL Handtools , Chandigarh, India.

Answer: Safety precautions are necessary when it comes to the handling of mechanical instruments and panels to ensure incidents and injuries do not occur. A bench vise has proven to be quite a substantial piece of armor when it comes to performing work tasks. But users need to first understand some safety tips and warnings.

What is a bench vise?

To state in simple terms, a bench vise is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object that is to be worked on. It features two parallel jaws as part of the design. The device is widely used in the mechanical and woodworking industries, among others.

Bench vise safety tips

Here’s what you need to do to stay safe while using a bench vise:

• Cover your face and eyes with a shield, goggles and safety glasses.
• Always ensure the bench vise is securely fitted to the work table, with bolts placed in the right order.
• Keep the stationary jaw at a length of slightly beyond the working table to keep the long pieces away from interfering. In fact, always have a glance over the work surface and see for yourself whether the table or the surface holds firm under duress.
• Keep the vise and material size at a substantially compatible range.
• Check the clamping of the vise on the surface to see whether it offers full clamping.

Warnings

Time for some warnings:

• Never attempt to widen the jaws of the vise more than they have been designed for.
• Stay away from the handle extension and extra clamping pressure to ensure you don’t damage your work surface and vise.
• Don’t proceed to tighten the vise more than is required. Hand pressure on a vise is designed to hold until limited lining.
• Replace the part or the vise immediately if you notice stress fractures.
• Never attempt to weld the vise by self-repairing. It will void your warranty.

In a nutshell, if there are any specific words that work better in the handling of bench vise is the use of quality hand tools vices. Simply because quality never compromises and welds as in the case of cheaper and non-functioning pieces. Get yourself a piece of a best industrial bench vise and you could rest on your laurels without compromising on the quality.

Editor's note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be construed as a National Safety Council endorsement.