doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun Vise

Does anyone use a gun vise, like those from Tipton or MTM? If so what are the pros and cons and which would you recommend? Thanks.

Hi Steve,
I've had the Tipton for several years and am happy with it. I looked at the MTM on Google before commenting and it looks very nice, also. Looked like the MTM was more costly. At the same price, I might try the MTM but have no reason to need another one. There are lots of Tiptons on e-bay. E-bay shippers seem high. Midsouth is usually a good place to buy.

A Tipton was the first gun vise I bought and for years it was my only one. I now have two bench mounted ones, a copy of Brownells multi vise and a patternmakers vise. (Come to think of it I have an original Bisley somewhere too, portable.)

The Tipton is OK for simple stuff, cleaning, and messing with sights, I mounted many scopes with it.

But that's it, it doesn't hold sturdy enough to do any real work. I even epoxied about 10 lbs of lead shot into the base of mine and it still moves around. Scope work is usually straight down so it wouldn't move much but any work that requires horizontal force will shift the setup. It doesn't hold as well when the gun is placed upside down as right side up. I found I was often picking up the whole setup and turning it around.

Woodworkers Supply has the copy of the $250 Brownells vise for about $60. Might need some tweaking but a good deal. And yes, it's made in China

Parrot Vise

I should have mentioned that I will be using it primarily to clean doubles and the occasional (dare I say) auto. Right now I am padding the barrels with towels and clamping them to the bench with a wood working clamp. (The top of my bench is covered with an anti-fatigue mat) This seems to work ok, but I am progressing in my work and would hate like Hades to screw somthing up because it wasn't secured completly.

Thanks again!

Steve:

Although I have a homemade version of the Tipton (two bootjacks on a board), I clean doublegun (vertical and horizontal) barrels with steel wool under power on a brush with the barrels removed from gun. I have found that a simple U-channel constructed of 3/4" plywood and covered with jigging felt or carpet on the three sides of the U pads the barrels and prevents them flipping sideways from the torquing effect of the powered brush. Although not really necessary, if you want to clamp or screw the channel down make the bottom of the U wide enuf to create flanges alongside the upright legs. Made the base of mine 4"X30"; the two upright legs 1 3/4"X30"; the space between before adding 1/4" jigging felt 1 1/2". I also have one which has a considerably wider trough (intended for horizontal barrelsets) which does not work well because the barrels are not restrained against flipping. So I use the one I made for o/u barrels for both types.

jack

Might be OK but I assume when cleaning these barrels you'll be removing them from the reciever? If you do then the Tipton will have nothing to hold on to since it clamps on the stock. Also the breech end block on a tipton will not hold a set of double barrels well. I still think you'd be better with a bench vise and some blocks to hold the barrels. I clean double barrels by putting the breech hook in a vise between two sheets of lead.

The Tipton is better at cleaning bolt actions. And it's portable.

Steve:

You might also consider just making the "bootjack" type cradle with leather-covered Vee cuts in the uprights. Wedged is as good as clamped in my opinion.

jack

Dittos on Rabbit and Robbit's suggestions as to actual cleaning of SxS or singles. I clean all my shotgun barrels like Jack described and clamp the underlugs in a regular bench vice. For padding, I have two pieces of aluminum angle, with adhesive magnetic strips inside the top angle. This holds the angles to the vise jaws. Clamp the under lug between them and drill away. For barrels without flat underlugs, I have two wooden pads with half-round grooves. This will hold a single repeater barrel or SxS barrels. On SxS barrels I feel better about clamping them by the under lugs. Very slight worry that clamping them the other way could flex them enough to loosen solder. Not likely, but I feel better using the lugs. As to the Tipton type moving around, mine is usually clamped in a Black & Decker Work-mate.

Recoil Rob Check out http://www.grizzly.com for parrot vice Item #H3302
39.95 same vice offered by woodworkers supply

Jim H

You can't beat the Parrot for price, quality, and approachability standing upright with your head on strait. I've got an ancient Emmert on a heavy oak bench which is useful in the same way but you'd have to move the decimal pt. to buy that one now. I traded a rare Stanley rabbet scraper (basically a bench plane) for one nearly 30 yrs. ago. I can't even remember the number on the scraper now but it sure seemed important at the time. Even a metalworker's steel, or carpenter's wood leg vise can be very useful with various custom jaws and pads.

jack