The vise that moves to the work. A traditional bench vise holds your work in one position: square to the bench, at bench height, facing the way the bench faces. Every awkward job after that is you bending around it. The IQ Vise is built on a ball-and-socket joint with the IQ Lok Quick Cam lock, so you set the angle the job actually needs, lock it solid, and get both hands back on the work.
How much force will it actually take before it slips?
176 Nm — 130 ft-lbs. That is the number to compare against, and it is the one most listings do not publish. Hardened steel and cast aluminium throughout, no plastic in the load path. It is rated to be leaned on.
The IQ Vise won the Rising Star Award for Best New Product at the National Hardware Show in 2024, and carries a 5-year warranty.
Will it grip something that isn't flat?
This is where a bench vise normally gives up. The double-sided Flex-Fit jaws it ships with handle flat stock, pipe, timber and odd profiles without marring the surface. When a job needs something more specific, the jaws change over in seconds on four locking pins:
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Woodworking jaws — for timber, without the bruising
- Pipe-Fit — for round stock
- Sure-Fit and Leather — for delicate and finished surfaces
You are not buying a different vise for each material. You are buying different jaws.
What are the four ports on it for?
They are IQ Connect ports, and they take the hands-free accessory range — a work light, a magnifier or a phone holder, clipped exactly where you need it rather than clamped somewhere nearby and pointing the wrong way.
The mounts work the same way. A bench mount is the permanent option; the magnetic mount puts the vise on any steel surface and takes it off again, which is the one that suits a shared or rented space where drilling the bench is not an option.
What are the actual dimensions?
| Jaw width |
125mm |
| Jaw opening |
up to 100mm |
| Height × depth |
240mm × 190mm |
| Base |
190mm × 100mm |
| Weight |
5kg |
| Maximum torque |
176 Nm (130 ft-lbs) |
| Warranty |
5 years |
Mounting hardware — three 6mm-20 × 2–60mm carriage bolts, washers and nuts — is in the box.
Should I buy the vise or the whole system?
Start with the vise and one set of jaws. The IQ Vise is designed as a system you extend, not a kit you have to commit to up front, and the jaws and mounts fit the vise you already own whenever you add them. The honest exception is the magnetic mount: if you already know you will not be drilling into your bench, buy it with the vise rather than after, because it changes where you can work on day one.
If you are weighing it against a traditional workshop vice, we have written that comparison out properly: The Best Bench Vice in Australia.
Amarra DIY Hub is the exclusive licensed distributor of Work IQ Tools in Australia and New Zealand.
