Narhay

Now that I will have a shop space I am wondering about some bench mounted tools. I am happy with my Park workstand and Minoura truing stand for the time being.

Bench mounted grinder/buffing wheel.
Bench mounted vise. I have heard the prevailing advice is to get the oldest, heaviest and biggest vise one can buy.

easyupbug 

You will love these tools and not know how you got by without. Bicycle work is light duty but I believe you are on the right track thinking used industrial quality, Toronto must have used tool shops where these can be found. I have an ancient Milwaukee bench grinder with a wire wheel and stone and should it ever die I know I can get bearings or have the motor re-wound, good luck with a Harbor Freight, and I am not bashing the Chinese that can do outstanding work when required. My buffing wheel is actually an old motor with an adapter, someday I will get a bench mandrel so to not have to switch between a sewn and loose buffing wheel. Same with the vice, a 3.5 or 4" Wilton is all you will need but an older industrial can not be worn out or broken. I have had these three mounted on benches but now moved to stands to allow odd shaped objects to be worked. I have one of my wood working wood jawed bench vices holding a Colnago chrome fork as I write this about to get a new headset.

SJX426 

I have been using one of those HB 6" grinders for over 10 years. Which I had a second one. Need is for two grind stones, fine and course, wire wheel and buffing wheel.

You are on the right track!

Bikedud

Might want to consider- I have a nice 6 inch Craftsman bench vise that I use for heavy work, but I have a cheap Harbor Freight 4 inch that I actually use more often. It has replaceable steel jaws that I removed and installed PBT plastic pieces to hold components (no scratching and marring). It holds components really well so I can drill, polish, paint, or whatever with harming the finish on the part.

Velo Mule

Wilton's are great vises. I have one. But they are over priced in the market now. If you have the dough, great, You'll love it. If you just need a good vise, get a good old vise that is in decent shape. I picked up a broken Morgan Milwaukee for free that had a broken acme screw. I was able to order a new screw and then I had a good sturdy vise for, at the time, under $50.

The other bit of advise on a vise is that my Morgan Milwaukee is big and sometimes gets in the way. So, bigger may not be better all the time. For bicycle work, you may not need bigger than 3" and swiveling may not be important either.

The knock against the Harbor Freight vises is that the casting is not that good. For a vise, I'd try getting a decent used one.

rumrunn6

love my vise. got it 20+ yrs ago when someone was throwing out an old workbench on wheels. I scavenged the vise. had lots of signs of wear. it gets a lot of use in my basement. sometimes using it as an anvil! cpl yrs ago got an updated, more modern vise at a yard sale but haven't swapped them out yet. I should really do that

nlerner

I bought this vise when my previous one developed a crack in its base after 20 or so years. Very satisfied with Wilton.

gugie 

I bought a big, heavy, crappy vice from Lowe's when it was on sale. Disassembled it, polished the rotating base faces and the body parts that make sliding contact, greased all the contact points up along with the threads, works like a charm.

unterhausen

unfortunately, people have discovered antique vises. I bought a nice one 5 years ago, wanted another for my basement shop and the prices have gone through the roof. To make it better, Ebay vises are often broken.

I had a Wilton bullet vise that I gave away decades ago. In order to keep them from breaking, wilton holds the nut in with a shear pin that breaks very easily. Every one I have ever seen has a nail driven in where the shear pin is supposed to go. I told the student shop manager that and he got really mad because I was disrespecting his new vise. A week later, someone had broken it. The student shop has an old Craftsman vise now. Parker, Reed, Starrett are all much better vises.

oddjob2

Rehash, lol

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...-us-photo.html

I have been using a large Columbia vise.

Plan your storage system too. It is amazing how many parts accumulate.

sloar 

crandress 

+1 and purchased for the exact same reason...

I like the grinder idea too, would like to add one myself, but I would also like a bench mount bike stand if I could get my hands on one cheap. The park works fine, but wouldn't mind a second on on the bench.

Hobbiano 

If you can find a Baldor bench grinder used they run very smooth and last pracitally forever and are made in USA quality. They also are available in a slower speed 1725rpm as well as the more common 3450 rpm. The slower speed is nice when using a wire wheel or buffing wheel,
That being said a 3450 rpm model will get the job done. I picked up a used 7" Baldor 3450 rpm for $30 a few years ago, Before that I had a 7" Craftsman grinder that was adaquate for about 30 years until a tree fell on my garage and crushed it. But it was much lighter and noisier and vibrated much more than the Baldor.
I have a 5" made in USA Craftsman bench vise that I've had for a long time as well that serves its purpose okay, but not great. It has a swivel base that seems to slip no matter how tight you tighten it and then when you want to loosen it to rotate the vise its hard to get the swivel clamp bolt loose. If you can find a Wilton or similar profesional grade vise at a good price, that would be better. I would say 3-1/2" width jaws or wider would be best. Whether to get a swivel base or not should be considered. And the heavier your workbench is the better it is.
I also use a small drill press vise just sitting in a shallow, flat pan, to clamp my wheels by the axle lock nut in, when servicing the hubs. Doesn't need to be bolted down for that purpose and the pan will catch any bearings before the hit they floor and disappear.

gaucho777 

+1 Both vises and bench grinder/buffing wheels are essential items in my workshop.

Garage/estate sales are a good source for old tools and vises.

I mounted mine on a solid piece of wood, and then I fasten down the wood with the vise or grinder down with c-clamps to my workbench. That way I can easily get them out of the way if needed.

davester

I broke my last vise (front jaw snapped clean off and almost crushed my foot) trying to remove a freewheel. So, after an unsuccessful hunt for a quality older vise I ended up with a huge Yost ductile iron vice. I also bought magnetized plastic jaw covers for it. It's big but very versatile and the jaw covers make it so that it won't mar delicate parts. I love it! They have cast iron versions of the same one but since pretty much all the affordable vises by anybody are made in China now I didn't want to rely on casting quality. Here's my current one:

Yost 5" vise

cyclophilia 

Vises: I prefer the older American and British manufactured ones for their quality of materials and construction. A good vise is a lifetime investment.

Wire wheels for polishing parts: I prefer to run a wire wheel at slower speed (500-1000 rpm) than a typical bench grinder (1750 and 3450rpm are common) so that I am removing a lesser amount of oxidation or material with each pass. This allows for preservation of the patina on vintage parts and keeps you from going "too far" with the abrasive.

A tip for the use of new wire wheels, whether on a grinder or in a Dremel tool: let the new wheel run for a minute or two with no load, to help the bristles to settle properly on the pressed flanges. This is supposed to help the wheel to last longer.

Another tip for first-time grinder users: never use a grinding wheel to remove material from aluminum. You will foul the grinding wheel with debris. A hand file is a better tool choice for use on aluminum.

I hope others will share their opinions.

fender1

Parts cleaner?

bark_eater 

I just picked up a large slow cooker for parts cleaning. Buffers kind of scare me. I brought home bench top drill press from the scrap yard and I was thinking I'd set it up horizontally and run a felt pad nice and slow to avoid any unintentional acceleration's.

John E

Good tools are always a pleasure (and sometimes a safety feature, always a frustration-reducer). All I need now is a bigger workspace!

brandonk

I reccomend a pedistal mounted vice, easy to move around and allows for taking the work outside. Works great for freeing stuck seat posts and stems too.

JohnDThompson 

Not only will aluminum clog the grinding wheel, it can also become a serious safety problem: a clogged wheel gets hot, and the thermal stress can cause the wheel to shatter, sending shrapnel out at high velocity.

Don't do it.

randyjawa 

Bought both my bench grinder, now a polisher, and my six inch vice at yard sales, many years ago. Paid $4.00 for the grinder (negotiated from five down to four bucks) and can't recall how much I paid for my vice, but, knowing me, I did not pay much...