Good work holding is crucial to success, but it’s a challenge when dealing with unusual shapes and odd work angles. To solve that problem, the folks at Work IQ Tools came up with the IQ Vise. It’s an articulating vise that uses a ball-and-socket arrangement plus a variety of special jaws and locking pins to provide a versatile clamping platform.

 

Key features
I’ve seen lots of articulating vises designed for hobbyists and light work. This vise made with hardened steel and cast aluminum is much beefier than those. It still is limited to a 130-pound torque rating, but that’s plenty of clamping power for most woodworking applications.

The basic steel-jawed vise assembly rides on a ball-and-socket with a cam clamp to secure it at just about any angle. For more security, there is a big pin that goes through the ball to lock the vise in a fixed vertical or horizontal position. The whole thing perches above a metal mounting plate secured by three bolts to your benchtop.

The unit comes with accessory jaws that slide over the regular jaws to provide either a textured rubber flat gripping surface or a grooved rubber surface for irregular shaped work. Four locking pins secure the jaws in place.

 

How it works
Where this vise excels is being able to move into exactly the right position to conveniently hold work. That’s especially handy for carving, sanding, and detailing round or irregular shapes or otherwise awkward parts.

With the emphasis on adjustability, this vise is not the best choice for something that requires heavy torque (more than 130 pounds) or wailing on it with a hefty hammer. But if you need to do delicate work with carving and filing tools, sanding at awkward angles, or hold a part at just the right position for joinery or other work, this tool is a godsend. 

I really didn’t have a workbench in my shop that I wanted to dedicate to permanently mounting this vise, so I mounted it to a hefty 2x6 board that could in turn be easily clamped to a workbench or worktable as needed. That works exceptionally well, and it takes less than a minute to set the vise up or store it out of the way.

The basic vise sells online for about $280, including one set of accessory jaws. Other specialized accessory jaws are listed in the instructions as sold separately, including leather and pipe-fit jaws. There’s also a hands-free accessory pack for about $110 that includes mounts for a work light, magnifying glass, or cell phone holder, each on flexible shafts. Learn more at WorkIQTools.com.