Bench vise

A bench vise comprising a movable jaw frame having elongated spaced apart side frame members and a movable jaw member mounted to extend between said side frame members at one end thereof, a fixed jaw assembly positioned between the side frame members including means to guide the side frame members for reciprocal movement relative to said fixed jaw assembly, said fixed jaw assembly including a fixed jaw support and a fixed jaw plate carrier mounted on said fixed jaw support for limited movement when the fixed jaw plate carrier is not under load, said fixed jaw plate carrier being aligned with said movable jaw member to permit clamping workpieces, a shaft member fixedly mounted on said fixed jaw support and extending between said side frame members, and housing means for rotatably mounting said shaft member at an end thereof opposite from the fixed jaw support and on an outer side of the side frame members, said housing means for rotatably mounting said shaft being adapted to be fixedly attached to a bench, cooperating means between said fixed jaw support and said fixed jaw plate carrier to react to said fixed jaw support clamping loads exerted by said movable jaw member on said fixed jaw plate carrier, comprising a pair of inclined surfaces oriented relative to the axis of movement of said movable jaw frame to urge the fixed jaw plate carrier toward the movable jaw frame under compressive clamping loads.