This $60 tool was a total game-changer

February 3, 2023

`This $60 tool was a total game-changer`

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This $60 tool was a total game-changer

I’m not sure why I went so long without getting one.

Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer on

Reviewed by Kelsey Adams

A Stanley Maxsteel multiangle base vise.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

I’ve always said that good tools make jobs easier. This is why I highly recommend getting decent tools wherever possible.

Buying the very best you can afford at the time is rarely false economy.

But sometimes there’s a tool that so completely changes the way you work that you wonder why it took you so long to get one.

Also: Here’s why I have an earwax removal camera in my toolkit

This is how I feel about my new Stanley Maxsteel multiangle base vise.

Stanley Maxsteel multiangle base vise

$62.99 at Amazon

Stanley Maxsteel multiangle base vise features:

Totally adjustable and lockable positioning achieved with full 360-degree rotation swivel-ball design
Easily attached to most work surfaces with integral screw clamp
Durable cast-aluminum and steel construction
Removable jaw pads protect surfaces from marring and damage
Ideal for arts and crafts, model building, and electronics
Jaw width: 2.5-inch/63mm
Max jaw opening: 3-inch/75mm
Weight: ‎3.65 pound/1.56 kg

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I’ve been using “helping hands” for years for things like soldering or other fiddly work, but I’d never bought a vice before because I didn’t think I needed one.

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In my head they were big, bulky, industrial-looking steel objects affixed to a bench. My granddad had one, and I didn’t think it was suitable for the sort of work I do.

I was so wrong.

The Stanley Maxsteel multiangle base vise ticks all the boxes for me.

A Stanley vice holding a motherboard — A super versatile vice for electronics work.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

It’s small, yet really tough, able to handle big jobs. Don’t let those small jaws fool you — you can really clamp them down when you need to.

It’s also highly portable, yet can be clamped down to a bench, the back of a truck, or even a table, thanks to the soft jaws on the clamp.

An underside view showing the soft clamp. — A soft clamp holds the vice down to a variety of surfaces.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

You can swivel it to pretty much any position or angle to suit where you are and what you are doing.

The jaws are multipurpose — tough metal when you need to bite down, but with the option for a soft, rubber coating when you want to protect the item being held.

One cover on and one cover lifted off so you can see the metal — Metal jaws come with soft, rubber covers.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

For $60, this is a great vice, perfect for my needs. It can hold a variety of items, from circuit boards to car components to hunks of wood I need to work with.