I know there's alot of ingenious and creative folks here.
Do you have any examples of, or ideas for building an economical gun vise, one for securing a rifle to clean or work on?

Urathane here but sometimes leather or wood jaws

now i like that! good one.

Hard to beat for only $43...........

MTM Gun Vise

Could have been based off an old truck wheel for even greater DIY coolness - not that it's lacking - just saying. I have always wanted on like it really. Well done HM!

I just use a couple parrot vices vizes. Table top space is at a premium throughout my world.

thanks for spelling "VISE" correctly.
good luck with the project

Yeah, coulda gotten some REALLY interesting suggestions, had I used the incorrect spelling.

Thanks to all for the pics and ideas so far.
Yeah the MTM , pretty economical price.

I have scrap lumber and a fair amt of tools and stuff.
Would like to see what I can construct, if possible.

My son built this one for me in shop class.



The Plano Shooters Case is very handy, especially at the range and on hunting trips. I think I paid $30.00 for it locally.

Your son has some serious wood working skills!

Roundoak,
I made mine from oak
Not quite that nice, but it has worked for many years.

I use a regular bench vise like Tedthorn and MtnBoomer posted. Mine has a square channel and I just notched out 2 pieces of plywood so they sit down over the channel and the top sits flush or slightly higher than the top of the jaws. Throw those 2 pieces of plywood in and in 2 seconds its a gun vise.

I never clamp on the stock but on the barrel right ahead of the forearm. You can make it good and tight without making any marks and guaranteed not to move.

Like this.

Wyogal, for discussion sake here's a few more ways of doing it. It'd be via mail of course, but if you need any special pieces cut, just say the word...

About simple as simple gets. For awhile I used a clamp like this gripping the butt and laid the forearm on a stack of books. There's lots of pics of other simple to make rigs set up with these clamps.

Here's a nifty little butt clamping strategy that appears several times on a search for DIY gun vise...

I nearly bought one of these Tipton units. I'd much rather suffer it than the other retail models I've seen. Good Luck!

I added over sized wooden jaws with rubber sheets contact cemented to the wood to this inexpensive carpenter's vise from Harbor Freight. I use it for all sorts of rifle work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/vises-anvils/6-inch-portable-carpenters-vise-95203.html

I bought one of those a week or two ago for half price at Cabela's. It's the Tipton with Cabela's on it. They've redesigned the front rest with shallower but wider notches. It allows a "normal" width fore end to drop below horizontal, which is fine for cleaning but not what I wanted for scope mounting so took it back. I'll continue suffering my Outers rest with a rear clamping support until I find something better.

I made this one quite a few years ago and still use it

Had one of those for years.

Not as nice as Don's though.

Many thanks to all for the great ideas. Multipurpose, re-purposing, etc. Yard sales right around the corner.
Now I'm ready, and now got an idea what kinds of stuff I'm looking for, to make a gun vise.

Nice ideas, gentlemen.
Deerstalker, very nice work. I might borrow that design, and add adustable screw legs. Nice attention to detail.

Funny you should say that!

That's where I got mine. Cost me
$5.

+1. I just use a smooth-jawed vise with a thin piece of carpet to pad the jaws. You can't come close to clamping a stock as tight as you can a barrel. That comes in handy when you have to lean on something. Like separating the stock from the barreled action on a tight bedding job. And it takes about two seconds to spin the barrel in the vise to place the rifle at whatever angle is easiest for you to work on the rifle.

I have a little space at the end of the bench where I put a small trash can, it goes right under the muzzle. It's really handy for catching spent cleaning patches and the extra Wipeout foam when I use that.

I have used the Midway version for about 15 years, it works fine.

Nice work.

My son built the vise out of Oak, too. 1 3/4" and 3/4" board, 1" and 3/4" dowels and 1/4" panels. In addition, he glued rough out leather on appropriate places.

Saddlesore, is that routered hole in the base a hand hold?

I have been thinking about attaching a piece to the vise so I can hang it on the wall to save bench space.

Yepper. I clean guns the exact way. The vise method is quick and handy no matter what work you're doing on a gun. Personally I'll never bother trying to come up with something different.

The only thing I would caution folks on using this method, is that you have unyielding steel clamped tightly with the full length of wooden stock hanging out there unsupported. That's a lot of leverage. I'm always mindfull of that when working around the butt end of the rifle. The front end is not going to give, get complacent and walk into the stock sideways or use it to lean off of to reach and grab something and you might get a busted stock.

Some really fine creations here!

Bought a couple of the Midway version of the Tipton gun vise when they first came out. Place a rubber mat, piece of cardboard, or carpet under neath it and through a 2" truckers ratchet strap across the base and underneath bench tightening it up and rifle isn't going to move at all while working on it, works great that way particularly at the range while cleaning.

Phil

I always drive my semi to the range so I have a strap with me.....

I doubt if you even know how!

Phil

Works as a hand hole,but I put it in so levers from lever guns can stick down thru it.