Swing-Out Vise Attaches To Pickup Bed

2001 - Volume #25, Issue #5, Page #41

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"My pickup is my portable workshop and I had just about every piece of equipment in there I needed except a vise," says Jerry Hessman, a custom hay contractor from Dodge City, Kansas.
He hit on the idea of mounting the vise on a swinging arm inside the pickup bed. That way, he could pull it out and use it either in the pickup bed or out on the tailgate. And when he was through, he could stow it away along the side of the bed behind the wheel well.
Hessman started with a 5-in. shop vise. He built a base to mount it on from two pieces of 2-1/2 in. angle iron that is 3/16 in. thick, welded together to make a channel.
By putting the two pieces of angle iron together, Hessman made a base wide enough that he could mount his vise without having to drill new holes in the base of the vise.
He says the base is long enough to reach out onto the tailgate, but short enough to let it slide up against the side of the bed behind the wheel well.
He found an old 2 in. Chevy tailgate hinge and welded one side of the hinge vertically inside the pickup bed next to the tailgate opening. He welded the other side of the tailgate hinge to the base of the vise.
The hinge allows the arm to swing out freely. He welded a piece of 1/8-in. flat iron, turned up 22 degrees on each end, to the bottom of the base to act as a runner to make it easier to slide in and out.
For quick, light work, he just swings it out to the center of the pickup bed. He can leave the vise in that position and still close the tailgate if he wants to.
When he needs a more solid base, he swings the vise out onto a piece of 1 by 2-in. tubing that he welded to the tailgate.
Besides a vise, Hessman's portable shop pickup bed features an air compressor powered by a gasoline engine, tool boxes to store air and hand tools, gear pullers, extra chain, a chain breaker, spare parts, bolts and nuts for his haying equipment.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerry Hessman, 10948 104 Rd., Dodge City, Kansas 67801 (ph 620 227-3688).

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Swing-Out Vise Attaches To Pickup Bed FARM SHOP Tools 25-5-41 "My pickup is my portable workshop and I had just about every piece of equipment in there I needed except a vise," says Jerry Hessman, a custom hay contractor from Dodge City, Kansas. He hit on the idea of mounting the vise on a swinging arm inside the pickup bed. That way, he could pull it out and use it either in the pickup bed or out on the tailgate. And when he was through, he could stow it away along the side of the bed behind the wheel well. Hessman started with a 5-in. shop vise. He built a base to mount it on from two pieces of 2-1/2 in. angle iron that is 3/16 in. thick, welded together to make a channel. By putting the two pieces of angle iron together, Hessman made a base wide enough that he could mount his vise without having to drill new holes in the base of the vise. He says the base is long enough to reach out onto the tailgate, but short enough to let it slide up against the side of the bed behind the wheel well. He found an old 2 in. Chevy tailgate hinge and welded one side of the hinge vertically inside the pickup bed next to the tailgate opening. He welded the other side of the tailgate hinge to the base of the vise. The hinge allows the arm to swing out freely. He welded a piece of 1/8-in. flat iron, turned up 22 degrees on each end, to the bottom of the base to act as a runner to make it easier to slide in and out. For quick, light work, he just swings it out to the center of the pickup bed. He can leave the vise in that position and still close the tailgate if he wants to. When he needs a more solid base, he swings the vise out onto a piece of 1 by 2-in. tubing that he welded to the tailgate. Besides a vise, Hessman's portable shop pickup bed features an air compressor powered by a gasoline engine, tool boxes to store air and hand tools, gear pullers, extra chain, a chain breaker, spare parts, bolts and nuts for his haying equipment. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerry Hessman, 10948 104 Rd., Dodge City, Kansas 67801 (ph 620 227-3688).

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