Purchasing a barrel vise?

I want to buy a barrel vise for doing minor work on my guns (mostly muzzle devices), but I'm not sure what to buy. I really don't want to break the bank buying something that I wont use very often, but I want something good enough to keep me out of the gunsmiths shop simply because I cant support the rifle to work on it

I found a few on Amazon, but I would like to hear what you guys have to say.

https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-6722...id=1549283395&sr=8-3&keywords=Gun+Barrel+Vise

This one looks like something I could make in a few hours with scrap material that I already have laying around

https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-4651...id=1549283395&sr=8-2&keywords=Gun+Barrel+Vise

The 2nd one is the better design out of the 2. However, there are better designs. This design is better, and can be made very easily.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...ories/barrel-vises/barrel-vise-prod41623.aspx

I got the channeled soft jaws and they work well for a lot things.

WAGNER INDUSTRIES INC - Channeled MAGNETIC SOFT JAWS
100-003-410WB
Mfr Part: WI7090

https://www.wagnerind.com/product/7090-m

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/vises-accessories/vise-jaws/magnetic-soft-jaws-prod22513.aspx

Brownell's viper barrel vice would probably work for you. It is not for breaking loose things like Remington barreled actions ( those can be EXTREMELY difficult to remove ), it is more for switch barrel designs and is suitable for attaching/removing muzzle devices. They cost about $75.

I have gotten by with wood blocks drilled and cut to fit in combination with my standard vise. Used for muzzle devices, etc.

dist1646 said:

Brownell's viper barrel vice would probably work for you. It is not for breaking loose things like Remington barreled actions ( those can be EXTREMELY difficult to remove ), it is more for switch barrel designs and is suitable for attaching/removing muzzle devices. They cost about $75.

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I have one of these, and it has worked fine for my light-to-medium duty needs. Only caveat is that you'll need to sandwich your barrel in some cardboard to really get a good grip on it.

dist1646 said:

Brownell's viper barrel vice would probably work for you. It is not for breaking loose things like Remington barreled actions ( those can be EXTREMELY difficult to remove ), it is more for switch barrel designs and is suitable for attaching/removing muzzle devices. They cost about $75.

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Lots of good options, thanks guys. I think I like this one the best so far

Are you going to be rebarreling or just want to hold by the barrel while doing other things?
I have the Wheeler and it's good for doing barrel swaps on Mausers, Garands, etc.
I also have a 20 ton hydraulic press on my bench that I used to use for rebarreling tough ones using wood blocks and steel angle iron.
The little aluminum insersts for Bench vises are really only good for working on flash suppressors and holding the rifle while doing minor stuff, particularly AR type rifles. They aren't good for real barrel removal. They won't hold if you try to unscrew a receiver.

K-43 said:

Are you going to be rebarreling or just want to hold by the barrel while doing other things?
I have the Wheeler and it's good for doing barrel swaps on Mausers, Garands, etc.
I also have a 20 ton hydraulic press on my bench that I used to use for rebarreling tough ones using wood blocks and steel angle iron.
The little aluminum insersts for Bench vises are really only good for working on flash suppressors and holding the rifle while doing minor stuff, particularly AR type rifles. They aren't good for real barrel removal. They won't hold if you try to unscrew a receiver.

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I really just need it for holding the barrel while doing other things. I have no plans on re barreling anything myself.

engineerbrian said:

I really just need it for holding the barrel while doing other things. I have no plans on re barreling anything myself.

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In that case, the first thing you linked will work just fine.

engineerbrian said:

Lots of good options, thanks guys. I think I like this one the best so far

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That one is the closest in design to my Tubb vice and I have had that one for over a decade. It is made of steel and has been up to the task for every job I have done since I bought it. Sadly, the Tubb vice is no longer available or I would have recommended one of those.

GunBum said:

In that case, the first thing you linked will work just fine.

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Right on.
Be sure to still use something between the barrel and blocks, like a piece of leather, "pleather", rubber mat strip, or good old duct tape. Otherwise the aluminum can mar the barrel finish.

A Hooligan DIY Barrel Vise

Rather than start another thread I figured I'd tack on to this one.

DZ said:

I have gotten by with wood blocks drilled and cut to fit in combination with my standard vise. Used for muzzle devices, etc.

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^^^ This works, but I learned you need oak blocks!

Like engineerbrian I was motivated to have a secure way to hold a barrel while doing things like torque on a muzzle device. What got me moving is one of my TC Compass rifles has been with the local smith for over two months to get a muzzle brake installed. I have a couple other rifles that need brakes and really I didn't want them out of action for weeks and weeks. Enter Hooligan ingenuity.

Plan A was to buy a Wheeler barrel vise or a clamp like the ones pictured below. But I'd only use it a couple of times. I figured I could surely make something that'd work from stuff I have on hand. So I went to ->

Plan B: Cut some pieces of scrap 2x4. Clamp them together and drill a channel a little smaller than the barrel diameter. Then stick the barrel in the channel and crank the setup in a bench vise. It made sense so I tried - a couple of times. The results of that are in the "fail" pics below. I learned pine isn't strong enough and you definitely need something like rosin to give the blocks a better grip. So, on to ->

Plan C: I went to Lowe's and picked up a piece of oak 2x2 for $11. They didn't have any powdered rosin but a tack cloth is pretty sticky. And they are both made with pine sap... Back on the bench I cut a couple of pieces off the oak and put a cardboard spacer between them before drilling the channel (to give the blocks a little smaller hole for a better grip). Then I used the tack cloth to put some "sticky" on the barrel and blocks before chucking the assembly in the bench vise. The outcome?

Success! I love me some OAK!

Another point I learned is the grip of the blocks could maybe be better if the channel was drilled across the grain of the block, That's how the blocks in the Wheeler vise are drilled. I drilled mine "with" the grain because wanted more contact area with the barrel. Either way, the oak blocks held the barrel like a rock!



P.S. And now I know I coulda installed the muzzle brake myself on the rifle I haven't seen in a couple of months...

may not be fun as making something but Harbor freight sell rubber jaws with v groove cut into them and magnets on the back side for the vise .No puter skills or i'd send ya a link

buellsfurn said:

may not be fun as making something but Harbor freight sell rubber jaws with v groove cut into them and magnets on the back side for the vise .No puter skills or i'd send ya a link

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I haven't seen those, Lance. But I know what you're referring to and they may work. Harbor freight is ~ 45 miles away from me and today I was on a mission to get this brake on my 270 Win so I could shoot it!

We'll need to need to get CombatAK to check out the HF for stuff like this that will make our bench work easier!

This TC Compass isn't the best setup around, but it's a very accurate and fun shooter. Wiping off the pine "sticky" with some mineral spirits was easy-peasy. She's now ready to go shooting again!

GunBum said:

The 2nd one is the better design out of the 2. However, there are better designs. This design is better, and can be made very easily.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...ories/barrel-vises/barrel-vise-prod41623.aspx

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This is what's served me well for 30 yrs. Mauser, Enfield, FAL barrels all fit with a change in blocks. In fact, I had a custom set of FAL blocks make for it. And you need a honking sturdy bench/table to bolt it down to. Something that won't budge when you're cranking away on a stuck barrel.

j8064 said:

I haven't seen those, Lance. But I know what you're referring to and they may work. Harbor freight is ~ 45 miles away from me and today I was on a mission to get this brake on my 270 Win so I could shoot it!

We'll need to need to get CombatAK to check out the HF for stuff like this that will make our bench work easier!

This TC Compass isn't the best setup around, but it's a very accurate and fun shooter. Wiping off the pine "sticky" with some mineral spirits was easy-peasy. She's now ready to go shooting again!

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you know i never shoot a 270 before

buellsfurn said:

you know i never shoot a 270 before

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You know you are more than welcome to shoot this one.

I didn't mean to hijack engineerbrian's thread. But here's some history on this rifle and why it needed a muzzle brake.

On the first shot ever (back in November) I got scope bit firing factory ammo. We knew immediately we needed to tame the muzzle. But it's first 100 yard groups were giving us .278 MOA accuracy at ~ 2900 FPS. Not bad at all!

After that we lived with the recoil for a couple of months until I put a temp muzzle brake on the barrel. It not only tamed the recoil, it gave us great muzzle blasts for Hooligan pics!

Now that the weather has warmed up and a permanent muzzle brake is on, this rifle will see a lot more range time this summer.

Don't shy away from TC Compass rifles. They are terrific shooters!

j8064 said:

Rather than start another thread I figured I'd tack on to this one.







^^^ This works, but I learned you need oak blocks!

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Yes, indeed! My pine blocks are on their last leg and I've got oak ready to replace them.

I ended up with a variety from Amazon, but now that I’ve seen Joes oak blocks, i’m going to make set of those too