Clamp-on vice or bolted vice
Updated: October 2026
You can pack a vice into a cupboard, or leave it on one bench all year. A clamp-on vice or bolted vice is that choice, and the easy option walks when the cut gets heavy. Clamp on when the top must stay undrilled and the job is light. Bolt down when the vice stays and the bench can take the holes. Prices are on the [bench vice comparison](/hub/workshop/vice). Products Compared used these amazon.co.uk files on 16 October 2026, with no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You can pack a vice into a cupboard, or leave it on one bench all year. A clamp-on vice or bolted vice is that choice, and the easy option walks when the cut gets heavy.
You can pack a vice into a cupboard, or leave it on one bench all year. A clamp-on vice or bolted vice is that choice, and the easy option walks when the cut gets heavy. Clamp on when the top must stay undrilled and the job is light. Bolt down when the vice stays and the bench can take the holes. Prices are on the bench vice comparison. Products Compared used these amazon.co.uk files on 16 October 2026, with no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Mounting | Weight | Jaw width | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Stanley Stanley 1-83-069 | Clamp-on | 1.5 kg | 75 mm (3 inch) in the item name | 9.2 | about £22.31 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Stanley Stanley 1-83-065 | Bolt-down | 5.04 kg | 100 mm (4 inch) | 8.6 | about £29.95 | View offer |
| Best value |  TEENO TEENO 70 mm | Clamp-on | 1.86 kg | 70 mm | 8.0 | about £18.99 | View offer |
On this page
Choose a clamp-on when the bench must stay undrilled
A clamp-on is right for a kitchen table, a rented bench, or a Workmate you fold away, and for work light enough that a walking base shows itself before anything breaks. ITS says bolt the vice if it lives in one workshop, and clamp on only for moves, and only if the clamp does not creep. Tooled-Up says bolts for demanding work and a clamp-on for occasional use.
The clamp-ons here are the TEENO at £18.99, the LDHHYH at £21.99, the Zazafolora at £19.99, the DASBET at £14.59, the WinHub at £17.99, the Stanley 1-83-069 at £22.31, and the BUYSK at £7.99. The Buyfun at £45.99 is less clear: its one UK review describes fixings for a bench or a Workmate. Stated bench thickness is 36 mm on the BUYSK and up to 62 mm on the LDHHYH and the WinHub. The others are silent in the Amazon files.
A TEENO base loosened while the owner cut steel screws. A Stanley 1-83-069 clamp broke on a golf shaft. A clamp that creeps is not almost bolted.
Choose bolts when the vice lives on one bench
Bolt the vice when it will stay, on a solid top, ideally over a leg. A Cycling UK thread describes a small vice bolted to a timber bearer, then clamped to a temporary bench. That is forum opinion, not a test of these listings. The bolt-down listings here are the Stanley 1-83-065 and the DAYUAN. The Stanley is £29.95, 100 mm, 5.04 kg, 4.6 from 4,845 reviews. The box includes no bolts; one UK reviewer used M5s. The DAYUAN is £24.95, 4 inch, 4.7 kg, 4.4 from 261 reviews, with lugs and an anvil in the title. UK owners reject industrial. The BestEquip title says clamp-on and the bullets say mount it on the bench. Leave that as a conflict.
Bolts do not turn a £25 vice into a Record. Toolstation's Irwin Record 4 inch is £49.99 at another shop. Faithfull allows coach screws from about 50 mm of solid timber, and through-bolts when the top is thinner. UK reviews say the Stanley 100 mm lock slips after the base is bolted. Bolts stop the base leaving the bench. They do not repair a lock that creeps.
The choice does not fix a weak casting
A cracked body fails either way. UK reviews include a Zazafolora that cracked after one use, a DASBET that cracked in half, and a WinHub that crumbled. Bolts would not have made that metal thicker. Covers that fall off, and a seized TEENO screw, are not mounting faults. If the casting is split, stop. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives 30 days to reject goods that are not of satisfactory quality.
Hammering, a wide woodworking jaw, or a forged engineer's vice is outside both columns. At work, PUWER still requires a suitable vice. A clamp that walks is not suitable because the title said heavy duty.
Which way for the job in front of you
Pack the vice away and stay on light wood or hobby parts: use a clamp-on, and the TEENO is the best value for that job if you accept the steel-cutting limit. Leave the vice on one bench for light garage metal: bolt the Stanley 100 mm or the DAYUAN, and still test the swivel lock. The TEENO remains the best value clamp-on only for the light jobs that price is aimed at.
Common questions
When is a clamp-on the right vice?
When you must pack it away, you must not drill the top, and the job is light. In this set that is the TEENO, LDHHYH, Zazafolora, DASBET, WinHub, Stanley 1-83-069, and BUYSK, within any bench thickness the file states. The TEENO at £18.99 is the best value for light portable work. It is the wrong vice once the base has to stay still while you cut steel screws.
When should I bolt it down?
When the vice will live on one bench and the top is solid enough to drill, ideally over a leg. The Stanley 1-83-065 and the DAYUAN are the bolt-down listings here. The Stanley box does not include bolts. Bolts keep a vice in place. They do not turn a 1.5 kg hobby clamp into a fitter's vice.
Will a clamp-on hold steel?
Not as a rule in these reviews. A TEENO base loosened while the owner cut steel screws. A Stanley multi-angle clamp broke on a golf shaft, which shows the clamp as the weak part even on a lighter job. UK reviews call the small clamp-ons light-duty. A regular hacksaw job belongs on a bolted vice, and those two are still described as light-duty as well.
Does bolting down stop a swivel from creeping?
It stops the base leaving the bench. It does not stop a lock that slips. UK reviews say the Stanley 100 mm turntable creeps under load even though that vice is bolt-down. Test the lock with the workpiece in the jaws. If the top rotates when you lean on the file, the bolts have done their job and the lock has not.
Which products in this set are which type?
Clamp-on: TEENO, LDHHYH, Zazafolora, DASBET, WinHub, Stanley 1-83-069, and BUYSK. Bolt-down: Stanley 1-83-065 and DAYUAN. The Buyfun's single UK review talks about a bench or a Workmate, so do not file it as a simple edge clamp from the title. BestEquip's title says clamp-on and the bullets say bench mounting. That conflict is unresolved.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources for mounting, sizing, and consumer-rights context. Listings checked 16 October 2026. Prices on amazon.co.uk move.
- HSE, PUWER overview (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- HSE, HSG129 health and safety in engineering workshops (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Wonkee Donkee, engineer's vice sizes (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Wonkee Donkee, woodwork vice sizes (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Toolstation, vices (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Faithfull, mounting a bench vice (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- ITS, bench vice (retrieved 16 October 2026)