My buddy swore by using old inner tubes as bench vise pads. He was right.

I always used to buy those rubber vise jaw covers from the hardware store for like $8 a pack. Then my buddy Tom comes over last month and cuts two strips off an old bicycle inner tube and stretches them over the vise jaws. Holds metal and wood way better, no slipping at all. I've been using the same pieces for three weeks of heavy work and they haven't worn out yet. Anyone else try this or got another cheap alternative for gripping stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth87812d ago

Swears my friend Kevin heard about this trick from some old timer at a garage sale and tried it on his bench vise. He cut a strip off a worn out mountain bike tube and stretched it over the jaw, and the first thing he clamped was a smooth steel rod. Said that thing held so tight it didn't budge when he tried to wiggle it by hand. He's been using that same strip for six months now, and he told me it still grips like new. I gotta give it a try myself one of these days.

noah_webb12d ago

Oh man, that's a solid trick but nobody's mentioning the real hidden benefit. The rubber conforms to whatever shape you're clamping, so it spreads the force way more even than bare metal jaws. That means you can clamp thin wall tubing or soft brass without crushing it into an oval. Kevin might not realize it yet, but he just saved himself from buying expensive soft jaw inserts for delicate work.