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Pony 5" Bench Vise Review: A Welder's Take
✅ Bought with our own money, used in Rick's shop.
“The perfect vise for 99% of what I do.”
Rick, owner of RickTheWelder
I recently bought this vise on Amazon and I think it's great. It's heavy, reasonably priced, and solid. It's the perfect size: not too big, but definitely the perfect vise for 99% of what I do.
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How Rick uses it
In Rick's words: “I bolted it to my welding table. I use it for holding parts and for clamping things to drill.” It does two main jobs on that table:
- Holding parts for welding and fit-up. It holds a part steady and square while he tacks and welds it.
- Clamping parts for drilling. It holds the work tight so it doesn't spin or walk when the bit bites.
What a 5" vise is good for in a welding and fab shop
- Holding brackets, tabs, and small weldments steady while you tack them
- Clamping stock for drilling, grinding, filing, and cutting
- Bending and forming small flat bar over the anvil and horn
- Holding round stock and pipe in the pipe jaws
A 5" jaw is a middle size. It's big enough for most bracket, tab, and small-frame work, and it doesn't take over the bench the way a 6" or 8" vise does.
What to check when you mount a bench vise
- Mount it to something solid. Use a steel welding table or a heavy bench, not a thin hobby top that flexes.
- Use every bolt hole with grade 5 or better bolts, flat washers, and lock nuts. Don't use lag screws into thin wood.
- Put it at a corner or edge so long parts can hang down past the bench.
- Snug the swivel lock nut before you hammer or bend. The swivel base isn't made to take heavy blows.
- Don't weld on the vise body, and don't heat the casting red-hot. Vise bodies are cast iron, so use a ground clamp on the part, not on the vise.
- Don't put a cheater bar on the handle. If it won't hold, you need a bigger vise or a different setup.
Who should skip it
- Heavy blacksmithing or big structural work, where you're pounding all day. Look at a bigger, heavier vise built for that.
- Woodworking, where you want a woodworking vise with smooth, wide jaws that won't mark the wood.
- Anyone without a solid bench to bolt it to. A vise is only as good as what it's mounted on.
As an Amazon Associate, CanItBeWelded.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices change, so we don't list one; check the current price on Amazon.
Reviewed 2026-10-18 by Rick. Nobody paid us for this review, and the affiliate link doesn't change what we say.