1: This is my Panavise with its vacuum base and steel jaw
inserts.
1
Both of these vises use a ball joint which allows the vise to
be rotated to nearly any angle. This is a valuable feature—if
I’m filing something to shape using the vise, I will rotate the
vise so the object is at right angles to my line-of-sight so I
can accurately judge my progress.
The Proxxon vise is less expensive than a comparable
Panavise model, and works reasonably well. However, I was
somewhat disappointed by the roughness of the ball joint.
Ultimately, I ended up purchasing another Panavise, but one
with a vacuum base. I also purchased a set of steel replace-
ment jaws which solved the problems I had with the earlier
nylon jaws. My current vise is shown in (1).
A vacuum base for a modeling vise is obviously a personal
choice. The advantage of a vacuum base is that it can be
moved to different places when needed, something you
can’t do if the vise is attached to the workbench. But a vise
with a vacuum base needs to be locked down by moving a
