Buy Vices Online in Australia
Vice Selection — Quick Reference
Vices are workshop clamping tools holding a workpiece securely while you CUT + DRILL + FILE + WELD + ASSEMBLE. Right vice depends on what you're holding + how hard you'll work it.
| Vice Type | Best For |
|---|---|
| Bench Vice (Standard) | General workshop + engineering + fitting — workshop standard |
| Bench Vice (Swivel Base) | Rotation for awkward-angle work |
| Bench Vice (Anvil Top) | Light striking + bending work integrated |
| Machining Vice (Milling) | Milling machine + drill press — precision parallel jaws |
| Drill Press Vice | Drill press table mounting — secured workpiece |
| Cross-Slide Vice | X-Y positioning under drill |
| Pin Vice (Precision) | Watchmaking + electronics + fine work — small bits + small parts |
| Pipe Vice (Yoke / Chain) | Round pipe holding — plumbing + threading |
| Welding Vice | Heat-tolerant — workpiece during welding |
| Soft Jaws (Aluminium / Brass) | Soft material clamp without marking |
| Jaw Sizes (75mm-200mm+) | Match to workpiece — larger = heavier + stronger |
Critical: Bench vice typically 100-200mm jaws for general workshop; 150mm = workshop standard. Cast iron body = robust; ductile iron = higher impact resistance. NEVER use vice as anvil unless designed as anvil-top — cracks body. NEVER over-tighten — strips screw + cracks jaws. Brands: Dawn, Mack, Wilton, Maxigear. Companion: clamps, workbenches, hand tools, bench vice guide.
Vices are workshop clamping tools that hold a workpiece securely while you cut, drill, file, weld or assemble. The right vice depends on what you're holding (and how hard you'll work it): a bench vice for general-purpose engineering and fitting, a machining vice for milling and drill-press work, a pin vice for fine precision and watchmaking.
Types of vices
- Bench vices — the workshop standard. Jaws sized from 100 mm to 200 mm+, with optional swivel base for angled work. Cast iron or forged steel body for shock load and long life.
- Machining vices (mill / drill-press vices) — precision-ground jaws and bases, designed to bolt to a milling machine table or drill-press table. Lower profile, much tighter jaw parallelism than a bench vice.
- Pin vices — small hand-held chucks for gripping wire, drill bits and small parts in fine assembly, watchmaking, jewellery and electronics work.
- Pipe vices & chain vices — chain or roller-jaw vices that grip round pipe without crushing. The plumber's and pipefitter's standard.
What to check before you buy
- Jaw width — size to the work you actually hold. 125 mm is the workshop default; 150 mm and 200 mm for heavier engineering.
- Body material — cast iron is the standard for general bench work; forged steel takes harder shock loading without cracking.
- Swivel base — lets you angle the work without moving it in the jaws. Worth having on a bench vice you'll use for varied work.
- Anvil & pipe jaws — built into many bench vices for striking work and gripping round stock without crushing.
For deep-detail product picks across each type, browse the sub-collections: Bench Vices, Machining Vices and Pin Vises.
Companion ranges: Clamps · Hand Tools · Machining
People Also Ask — Vices
Q: What's a pipe vice (chain vice) used for?
A pipe or chain vice uses chain or roller jaws to grip round pipe without crushing it — the standard vice type for plumbers and pipefitters working with round stock, where a standard flat-jawed bench vice would mark or deform the pipe.
Q: What's a pin vice used for?
A pin vice is a small, hand-held chuck for gripping wire, drill bits and small parts. It's the standard tool for fine assembly, watchmaking, jewellery and electronics work, where a bench vice would be far too large and heavy-handed.
Q: Cast iron or forged steel — which vice body should I choose?
Cast iron is the standard body material for general bench work. Forged steel is the better choice where the vice will take harder shock loading, since it resists cracking under impact better than cast iron.
Q: Why would I want a swivel base on a bench vice?
A swivel base lets you angle the workpiece without repositioning it in the jaws, which is genuinely useful if the vice sees varied work rather than one repetitive job. It's worth having on a general-purpose bench vice, less necessary on a dedicated single-task setup.
Q: How do I choose the right jaw size for a vice?
Match the jaw size to the work you actually hold rather than buying the biggest vice available — a larger vice (150mm, 200mm+) suits heavier engineering work, while a smaller vice in the 100-125mm range is easier to work with for lighter benchwork. AIMS stocks vices from 75mm right up to 200mm+ jaw widths.