About to mount my vice on my HF44 toolbox.  I have an inline fabrication flush mount quick change plate that I was planning on routing into the to and I'm second guessing where to put it.  Originally I was going to mount it directly in the center, but the more I think about it the more I start to question that decision.  My original intent was to use the inline fab mount to be able to setup my Dillon SDB or single stage press on here when the mood/motivation hits me.  Ancillary benefit that I have a vice mounted to a quick change plate, and can mount my other tools to more to be able to quick swap to whatever (bench grinder, arbor press, buffer/polisher, belt sander, etc) as needed.  Right now this will be one of the primary work surfaces in the garage for the immediate foreseeable future.  

My prior home I bolted my vice to the left side of the bench (I'm right handed) because that was the open side.  I had it placed so the fixed jaw was flush with the front and side of my benchtop (swivel base) so I could have something clamped vertically in front of my bench. On this toolbox I can only do that on the left side, as the right side has the pull bar on it. I looked at changing the garage layout, but workflow wise it doesn't make sense to have it anywhere other than where it is.  

Pic of toolbox below - mine's the older version that's not as deep.  The top that's going on it will either be a 4' section of Laminate countertop with 3/4 ply glued and screwed to the bottom or red oak stair treads.  Will be securing the top to the box from underneath with screws

The question being where my vise is mounted? 3x1/2" carriage bolts to a 2" thick wooden work bench. I wail on that beast sometimes and want support.

That brings me to the question of  t-track... I reckon fine for a small vise if you're just work holding and maybe filing parts but i would avoid that of it has to be a rigid connection.

I wouldn’t mount a vice to anything that moved when I torqued on it.

This advice sounds solid

LOL nice pun

@Oldgold I hear you. If I could have a bench mounted to the wall it would be a far better setup.  I know going in this is a compromise going into it. I don't really wrench hard on stuff in my vice anymore.  I'm not doing a ton of automotive work anymore nor and I bending metal in this thing.  The heaviest torque I'll probably be putting on this thing is installing an AR barrel if I'm being honest.  Most of my work holding these days is for cutting, grinding/filing, or drilling.

Vise should be mounted to something immovable. Right corner for righties, left corner for lefties.

Don't mount on a rollaway chest.  Useless for anything more strenuous than peeling bananas.  Mount it to a sturdy BENCH, which is attached to the wall.
If you're right-handed, I like front right corner the best

why not both?  and on the side(s)?


Same as the hitch in my truck, no reason I couldn't put it there too.  




Sideways too!

Solid/sturdy is definitely key but I'm going to go counter to what some other have said. A vice doesn't have to be on a fixed bench, it just has to be sturdy enough to remain stable when working with it.

I pulled a fixture out of a scrap metal dumpster at a shop I normally buy scrap from. It's 20" x 24" and has a smooth/flat bottom with a very heavy (3x3x1/2 box tube) frame. I'm not sure what it weighs but it took 2 people to lift it in my truck. I'm guessing 200 lbs. I flipped it over, put casters on it, and mounted my heavy Yost vice on 1 corner to make a small mobile work table. That little table has proven invaluable. First off, my Yost vice is a pipe vice so it's taller than a machinist vice. Mounting it on a table that is about 24" tall has put it at an ideal height to clamp work and be able to get my body weight over it. The table is my mobile, cut, weld, and general metal working table. ETA, yesterday I had to do some welding on a livestock gate. I opened the shop door, pulled the gate in, rolled that bench over and clamped 1 end of the gate in the vice to hold it upright. If I have to work on long pieces of metal I can roll the bench/vice in any position I need.

One key importance that I think makes it stable is the casters are the type that locks the rotation of the swivel when locked, this keeps it very stable when locked. And weight is also important. A small table like mine wouldn't work if it wasn't so heavy.

I definitely wouldn't mount it on a toolbox...

Yeah, that's a bad idea.

This is the way . Also have a small drill press and bench grinder set up the same way . I went as far as to weld a couple down low to keep my Hitches off the ground

I’ve got my heavy duty vise mounted on my welding trailer- I reinforced the trailer frame underneath as just bolting through the expanded steel wasn’t gonna cut it.

I also have a 3” HF vise I got for $20 on clearance mounted to the tailgate of my truck. There’s 4 #10 bolts holding it on (not very sturdy) but I use it for chasing threads, sharpening saw chains, or just holding stuff if I don’t have the trailer

For your intended use I would just bolt through the worktop, but at some point you will want/need a solid vise for hammering/bending items

I only use a vice for holding stuff to either cut/file/sharpen, AR receivers to work on (upper and lower), and handgun frames I'm working on.  I also have a 1.5ton arbor press for pressing out pins I'm considering mounting to a quick change plate, a bench grinder, a bench polisher, a Dillon Square Deal B.  I don't have a need to bend metal in this vice.  Only bending I do is in sheet metal, and that's with a brake I made.  Cutting is almost entirely done with a cutoff wheel in a grinder, or a hacksaw if I really want to punish myself

Going with the quick change plate because of a lack of flat surfaces in the garage.  I was going to put in a long bench with cabinets and stuff.  But I doubt that's happening now with the price of sheet goods and the amount of time I plan to be in this house.

@Kitties-with-Sigs

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For benches where only 1 vise can feasibly be mounted, I usually go for the front left corner.

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You can see my 2 green machines out in my shed.  The bench on the right where the 2 Fat Max levels are also has a vise mounted but did not at the time I took that picture.

OP, based on your criteria, I would put the vise directly above the fixed wheels and not the swiveling.