Essential Tool: Real Avid Master Gun Vise

If you're going to be doing any kind of gunsmithing work, whether on old or modern guns, you need a vise. Trying to balance the gun on your workbench or hold it in your lap just doesn't cut it.

While any vise will work, I highly recommend the Real Avid Master Gun Vise. I got mine from Brownells.

The reason I recommend this vise in particular is because it was purpose-built with gunsmithing in mind.

The articulating ball and socket allows you to turn this vise every which way possible to get your gun in just the right spot for whatever you're working on at the moment. The ball also locks with three different options: a cam, compression lever, or pin. In short, there's no reason your work should move once you've got the position dialed in exactly how you want it.

The stainless steel jaws come with reversible gun-fit sleeves, which allows you to switch between aggressive metal, medium-level plastic, and soft foam. This allowed me to switch between working on filing metal parts to sanding a wooden stock in a matter of seconds. The convenience can't be beat.

Mounting the vise was also really easy. I don't have a dedicated workbench space in my house, so I put the vise on a portable worktable. Real Avid included the bolts and other hardware needed to mount the vise, which is a huge plus. This way, you don't have to go searching for the right size bolts, etc.

I've only had my Real Avid Master Gun Vise for a couple weeks, but it has already paid for itself multiple times over in my process of building a Kibler Woodsrunner flintlock rifle.

If you're in need of a vise for your gunsmithing projects, I cannot recommend this one enough. You won't regret your purchase.

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