It Worked for Me: Modified Zyliss Vise

by Steve Kennel

Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021



The Zyliss vise is insanely expensive and implies more utility than it offers. I see these occasionally in dusty dark corners of other peoples’ shops, but never poised for action. This one followed me home from the local junk shop for less than the twenty bucks that was in my pocket, which seemed about right. I wanted a guitar neck vise and this looked like it could be adapted.

The heart of the beast, the adaptation that makes this thing useful as a guitar vise, is the swivel jaw attachment. Photo 1 shows it in pieces. The swivel bracket is sawn from a short piece of square steel tubing. A 1/4˝ bolt is the pivot pin. The bolt head is capped with rubber, and you don’t need to ask why. Photo 2 shows it assembled and ready to be mounted to the Zyliss jaws with pairs of #10 screws through holes drilled in the Zyliss jaws. The hardwood jaws are faced with plumber’s gasket material, which is tough but soft enough to offer a good grip while not marring the work.