Originally Posted by
merziac
When push comes to shove (literally) you will be glad its mounted to a sturdy bench and when you can use it for leverage as well.
If you truly have room and it is secure to the floor, a free standing pedestal can have advantages but you will still often need a bench to work from, on and in conjunction with the vise.
Thanks to this thread, after about the 12th or so post, it helped solidify my choice to mount my vise on the bench. But, I enjoy the stories and shop shots so why be a buzzkill and stop the fun? Plus, my hope is this in-depth thread helps others out in the future. So, the more information, the better.