Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb below, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article, I decided to finally roll out my review of the Real Avid Master Gun Vise. Anyone who has been following the series here on TFB knows that I consider a vise to be one of the best pieces of equipment that a gunsmith or armorer could have at their disposal. Does this example of a vise do the job? Let’s find out and dive into the review!

Real Avid Reading @ TFB:

• TFB Armorer’s Bench: Real Avid Master Gun Workstation Assembly
• TFB Armorer’s Bench: New Real Avid Master Gun Workstation Review
• TFB Armorer’s Bench: First Look – New Real Avid Master Gun Workstation
• TFB Armorer’s Bench: Closer Look – Real Avid Master Gun Vise
• Real Avid Introduces MASTER-FIT Armorer’s Wrench Kits

TFB Armorer’s Bench: Real Avid Master Gun Vise Review

Here, we at TFB hope to inform, entertain, and even inspire any would-be gunsmith or armorer out there. Ideally, with the information I provide and with the help of our sponsors, you can have some useful knowledge pertaining to the conservation and improvement of firearms technology while at the same time sharing experiences and teaching each other new tips and tricks along the way in the comments. Digging deep into what it is to be an armorer or gunsmith has significance but what is important is what those people do to show they’ve earned that title. I am happy to share my experiences and knowledge and hope it is informative!

Make your personal safety a priority:

1. Practice proper gun safety. Always make sure before the firearm hits your bench that it is unloaded and safe to be handled.
2. Wear the proper safety equipment. The main one would be safety glasses (decent ones) since parts are often under spring tension and you may work with high RPM tools. Other honorable mentions would be latex gloves or a respirator when working with potentially harmful solvents and oils. Also hearing protection when working with loud machinery or test-firing firearms.
3. Modifications, alterations, and customizations will void your firearm’s warranty 9.5 times out of 10. Please take that into consideration before attempting any at-home gunsmithing.
4. If you are unsure about proper safety practices, disassembly procedures, or warranty standards, stop, put down the tools, and consult a competent gunsmith.

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New! – Real Avid Smart Jaw Sleeves

It should be mentioned that recently, real avid, came out with some new vise jaws for the Master Gun Vise. These particular new ones are called Multi-Fit Smart Jaw Sleeves. They also came out with the Tube-Fit recently. Both of these new varieties will have a red rubber appearance while the stock removable and flippable Smart Jaws that come with the Master Gun Vise is a grey plastic and black foam combo.

Specifications: Real Avid Master Gun Vise

This vise features reversible Gun-Fit sleeves that can be easily attached or removed using locking pins. The sleeves provide versatility for different applications. One sleeve has a high-density foam pad that gently grips delicate surfaces. The foam compresses to hold items securely without marring the surface. The other sleeve is made of durable nylon with grooves designed to firmly grip gun parts, rails, barrels, silencers, and other components. The reversible sleeves allow you to switch between soft foam and rigid nylon gripping surfaces for the perfect hold on any item.

• Reversible Steel Jaw Plates
• Dual Purpose Locking Pins (4) for the Gun-Fit Sleeves and Lug-Lok™ Upper Vise Block (Sold Separately)
• Leveling Knob with 6 Degrees of Micro Adjustment of the Vise Jaws for Leveling Guns and Optics
• Torq-Lok™ Pin Locks the Ball and Socket Joint for High Torque Applications
• Speed-Cam™ Ball and Socket Locking Lever
• Articulating Ball and Socket Joint
• Quick Adjust Crank
• Gun-Fit™ Reversible Sleeves

The MRSP of the Real Avid Master Gun Vise sits at $299.99. It is made of quality materials, its tolerances are great, and it is packaged well.

One vise to rule them all. The first real bench vise made exclusively for guns and gun tools. Whether you’re building and customizing, repairing and cleaning or mounting scopes and accessories, this vise improves every part of the GUN DIY® experience. Quickly reposition your gun to any orientation without ever removing it from the vise. Insert the Torq-Lok pin for applying heavy force. Use the removable and reversible Gun-Fit jaw sleeves for a specific gun grip or turn the leveling knob for simple scope mounting and leveling. Build. Customize. Repair. Mount. Clean. All hail the King…

So, I have had the Real Avid Master Gun Vise mounted on my bench for a couple months now. I wanted to give myself no choice, but to use that since it would always be close to me. I never would have imagined using it as much as I have. This has had the very fortunate side effect of gaining an understanding of a product that I use almost daily.

Now, I understand that it may sound overly positive right off the bat. The fact of the matter is as a gunsmith I have found this vise to be extremely versatile and well worth a spot on anybody’s bench; not just gunsmiths’. The padded and removable vise jaws are extremely useful for different objects and workpieces. The sheer maneuverability and adjustability take the cake. It is extremely valuable to be able to make room around or at your bench when working on anything. It is nice to know that I can simply move the vise away for me if need be. Even better yet if I had to, and I am sure Real Avid does not recommend it, you can disassemble it, and there aren’t too many pieces. That being said, I do not recommend it either, but it can be done.

One particular flaw that this product has some of you may find to be counterintuitive to its purpose. It holds projects very well. But given the maneuverability and number of moving pieces, it is definitely not the same as a traditional vise. You may notice in the background I still have my normal vise. Despite my admiration for the Real Avid Master Gun Vise, I have kept on the normal vise. This is because I can beat the crap out of it and treat it like an anvil at times. I can not be worried about harming it. It is not that I believe I would harm the Real Avid Master Gun Vise but it definitely will shake and move and not be steady.

I do not attribute this to a lack of quality tolerance. It is just the nature of the beast since it is capable of being adjusted every which way. It is an excellent vise for doing most things. It has my seal of approval, and I use it far more often than my regular one. It is quickly becoming one of the most used items on my workbench, right behind a hammer, punches, and screwdrivers.

Closing Thoughts: Real Avid Master Gun Vise

In closing, I would like to recap briefly. If you are on the lookout for a vise that is particularly geared towards gunsmithing or highly adjustable. Look no further than the Real Avid Master Gun Vise. If you need something you can hammer on and keep things steady, it might not be for you. If it means anything, I do this sort of thing almost every day and the Real Avid Master Gun Vise has never shown signs of wavering. I highly recommend it and plan to keep on using it.

As always, thank you for reading TFB! Be safe out there, have fun while shooting, and we will see you next time for the TFB Armorer’s Bench! Also, let us know what you think in the comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

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