MetMo Stainless Steel Fractal Vise 32
- 200 year guarantee: built to last a lifetime
- Try risk-free: 30 day money back on returns
- Trusted by over 30,000 customers
Product Details
- Clamp any shape
- Your third hand
- Stainless steel, so you can clamp a (tiny) tank
A desktop Fractal Vise in full stainless steel with hardened stainless steel jaws and a 32mm (1.2”) clamping zone.
Materials
Hardened Martensitic Stainless Steel (Grade 420C hardened to HRC48-55)
Stainless Steel (Grade 316)
High Tensile Brass (HTB1)
Class 10.9 bolts (Grade 304 stainless steel)
Silicone Rubber (Engineering grade shore 60A)
Shipping & Returns
Available to ship immediately.
30 day returns policy.
Dimensions
Size:
Closed: 56.5mm (2.2") x 38mm (1.5") x 44mm (1.73")
Open: 88mm (3.4") x 38mm (1.5") x 44mm (1.73")
Weight: 630g (1.3 Lbs)
Technical Details
Finish: Heat treated stainless steel,
Maximum Tested Tensile: 3000Nm *We can definitely go higher than this
Clamping Pressure: 1965 PSI (pound per square inch)
Jaw Opening Distance: 32mm (1.2")
Jaw Depth: 20mm
What's in the box?
- Stainless Steel Fractal Vise 32
- 2.5mm Allen Key
- 1.5mm Allen Key
- Spare Grub Screws
MetMo Stainless Steel Fractal Vise 32
If you have any questions, you are always welcome to contact us. We'll get back to you as soon as possible, within 24 hours on weekdays.
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Shipping Information
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A Forgotten Relic, Reimagined for the Modern Day
Let's face it, most things we need to hold are not perfectly parallel, leaving what you're working on teetering on the edge of slipping out... No more, with the mighty fractal jaw!
Six independent movements allow the clamping surfaces to perfectly wrap around what you're working on, holding it secure and steady. Ever wanted a flexible iron fist with the grip strength of a coconut crab? Well, this is your answer.
Who's It For?
Whether you're 3D printing, model making, fixing things around the house, fancy having a completely unnecessary phone stand, or just want people to marvel at your new desktop wonder as they clamp their own finger… trust me it’s the first thing everyone does.
What Can It Do?
Need to hold a toy shark down? It might happen... But seriously, with two sizes available depending on what you work on, it can hold any arrangement of difficult shapes steady for you to file, paint, cut, drill, weld, or whatever you need. We're giving you that third hand you've always wanted, but made of solid metal.
Why Have We Created MetMo Fractal Vice?
We've been playing around with the concept of making a Fractal Vise for a long time, but the immense amount of machining made the cost im-fracitcal to make and sell (bah-dum tsh). Sure, there are really big versions of this around, but what about the desktop makers? That’s where we started; a classic design miniaturised for all of us working on things that little bit smaller.
A Powerful Tool and the Perfect Desk Toy
Watching the fractal jaws move with six independent parts shifting individually to gently wrap around an unusual shape is endlessly satisfying. You'll find yourself constantly clamping objects just to see the jaws move and appreciate this precision engineering wonder.
Back to the Future Part IV, the World's First Miniature Fractal Vice
"Someone must have thought of this before..." you say? You're right! The fractal vice concept dates back to 1913, but it was originally designed for massive, expensive machinery. We've taken that precision and miniaturised it into a handy desktop size – the versatile 'third hand' you need for everything from models and 3D prints to watches, jewellery, tools, and more.
Clamp Any Shape
The fractal jaws will clamp any difficult shape, like round tubes, irregular mouldings, or miniature bananas! It gives you a secure way to hold your commonly unclamp-able parts, so you can work on your projects in totally new ways or just save your hands from cramp!
A gentle hug for your weird shaped bits, each jaw moves to wrap around any shape to grip on multiple points. This makes it ideal for delicate items and difficult shapes that would be impossible to hold with a standard vise.
Do It Once, Do It Well
Every part is machined from premium metals then hand finished to a brilliant shine. Fractal Vise is designed to last a lifetime, and will still be a working vise in 200 years. "Do it once and do it well" was the mindset of toolmakers from hundreds of years ago and we have embodied that same mindset with Fractal Vise, intending for it to be passed down to future generations of young tinkerers, apprentices, and budding engineers.
Vise on Vise
With its parallel design you can upgrade your existing vise by placing your Fractal Vise into any standard or machine vise in seconds. You can adapt your pillar drill, milling machine, or bench vise with a Fractal Vise to work on difficult parts with your existing setup.
Clamp on the Move
Designed to be mobile so you can move it around your desk or workspace to wherever you need it. Want to move it under a light? No problem! Need to evade a tiny child’s fingers at speed? Easy.
Then when you're done, easily tuck it away; "keep it secret, keep it safe" as a wise wizard once said.
Delicate Bite
This sturdy 630g/1.3 Lbs vice acts as a solid counter balance to give you a third hand, while simultaneously holding on to delicate parts with the gentle jaws. The perfect combination of precision hold and concrete heft.
Never be stuck wishing for an extra pair of hands again!
Sneaky Fractal
A new take on the traditional vise. We've made the Fractal Vise ultra compact so you can keep it on a regular desk, unlike having a big vise hanging off the edge of your workbench.
This gives you more space to work, tinker, and do the things you love. You can also go mobile and carry it with you to your next job, so you're never without the handy power of the fractal.
Pocket Sized
Is that a fractal in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? Vises aren't something you can typically carry around with you unless you're a nomadic metalsmith with a mule strong enough to carry your anvil. With the MetMo Fractal Vise you can carry this compact clamper with you wherever you go, so you too can embrace the nomadic metal life and work on projects wherever your legs may carry you.
*You may want to re-enforce your pockets before trying this one!
Rock Solid
Every component is machined from solid metal and held together with high tensile cap head bolts, all moving on precision ground rails making this compact vise extremely dense. We've not removed any metal for weight or cost saving, so this makes for one very rigid piece of kit. Even though its size is small you can use it like a serious tool while cutting and hammering, so it won’t slow you down while you work.
On the Flip Side
MetMo Fractal Vise is the only fractal vise to have reversible jaws, so you can clamp on the inside diameter of any object! Perfect for holding glassware or pottery while engraving and painting.
A Stand Up Fractal
Designed to be free standing and highly mobile, you can use MetMo Fractal Vise as a vertical vise too. Each side is precision ground so you can stand the vice on its end while working on your project from a whole new perspective, without having the hassle of undoing and repositioning your parts.
Moving the clamped part into different positions allows you to get to the most comfortable working position, giving you full access to three of the four dimensions.
For the Model Makers
Struggling to hold a difficult part? Need to hold two weird shapes together whilst the glue sets? It’s a constant battle in model making, and sometimes you just need that extra hand for five minutes! The fractal jaws recreate the finger thumb pinch, wrapping around a part without damaging it and holding it secure.
The Vise That Makes You Look Twice
Designed to look like an engineering masterpiece on your desk, gaze in wonder at a marvel of mathematics that's so unusual everyone one who passes by will ask 'what is this thing?'
It also makes a pretty neat pen holder when not fulfilling your vicey needs.
A Fine Drive
A precision fine screw drive gives superior clamping power and also very fine adjustment, all whilst reducing backlash and movement that is experienced with most vises. When clamping you're in full control, applying just the right amount of pressure without damaging what you're working on.
No More Floppy Vises
Fed up with floppy vises? We were too! Most vises you can buy are made cheap, unless you're buying gear for heavy duty machines, resulting in things just clanking about until they're done up. With Fractal Vise we've used precision ground slide rails to re-create a linear slide from machine tools, so the winding in and out of the jaws is a perfectly satisfying motion.
Turbo Drive
Really need to crush the life out of something and don’t quite have the forearm? Then you can use the hex drive in the end of the adjuster to attach a hex key (or a MetMo Pocket Driver) to get some real torque into it!
Getting Down and Knurly
Use the tie bar, or the knurled adjuster for extra grip, to give you direct feedback on what you're clamping so as not to over tighten and damage what you're working on. Designed to be comfortable when applying pressure.
A Fractal That Sticks Around
Get a grip with a silicone rubber foot! You won’t scratch the surface you put the vise on and it'll keep it from sliding around on a smooth worktop while you're using it in free standing mode, giving you a stable clamping platform you can work from.
Deep Jaws
Designed with a jaw depth of 20mm to give the vise a gripping height double that of standard desktop vises.
Inspired by machinist vises so you can grip deeper parts and have more contact area on them, preventing them from slipping and moving around while you're working.
Hold Your Ground
With the Stainless Steel Fractal Vise 32 weighing in at 630g (1.3 lbs), this vise will be plenty sturdy and hold its ground. A solid enough weight that it provides you a very firm base to work from, much like the launch crawler for a Saturn 5, moving to where you need it on your desk then slowly sinking into the tarmac when you leave.
Built to Last a Century
As with all things MetMo we machine everything out of solid metal; no casting or rough edges, no plastic, and no shortcuts. Just satisfyingly smooth fitting, engineering quality tools. Built to last multiple lifetimes and work beautifully, like the Swiss watches of the vise world.
Breaking It Down
Bolted together and serviceable, so you can easily maintain each part of your Fractal Vise. Living by the mantra of 'look after your tools and they will look after you'.
Remove parts and re-configure your vice so that it works best for you and your work - this is your tool.
Agile Rogue or Sturdy Blacksmith
The Black Fractal Vise is machined mainly from anodised aluminium with hardened steel jaws, and is perfect for lightweight tasks like model painting and fine detail work like watch repairs. The extra maneuverability allows you to quickly move the Vise to the perfect location.
The Stainless Steel Fractal Vise is made entirely of heavy duty steel and is built like an absolute tank to survive anything you can throw at it. They'll be digging these things up in a few hundred years, marvelling at the still functioning fractals as they clamp their bionic future fingers. Choose this option if extra stability is what you value, as it's perfect for tasks like metal work or light machining.
Small But Mighty
Designed with a high clamping force in mind, the thread is specifically designed to get as much torque as possible into the clamping faces, driving over 3000Nm of torque at maximum (around 300kg).
That’s the same as a one year old baby elephant standing on it, so you can grip what you're working on with confidence, or crush something like Vader. Just remember - the tighter your grip the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
Testing
With great power comes great responsibility. With some background in testing things to destruction, we set to work to figure out the weak points of the Fractal Vise.
There is more to vise design than just pure power, so we took that into account whilst still wanting to test things to the limit. We used a combination of simulation and good old fashioned test rigs.
On this rig we tested the vise to have a maximum clamping force of 300kg (the equivalent to a jaguars bite!), and everything was still fully operational afterwards.
What's the Deal, Why This Price?
Here at MetMo we aren't your usual 'buy it cheap, sell it high' kind of company. We think 'what would make this truly great?' then uncompromisingly work towards that goal. This pursuit means we take a totally different route to make products.
"But what does that mean?" I hear you ask! Well that means that we machine every part on state of the art CNC machines, normally used for slow precision engineering not designed for mass manufacture, and it means that we use the best materials and surface finishes we can find and not the cheapest and fastest to make. This all costs more to do, but gives you a great end product.
We do all this to make sure we are making products the way our forefathers used to, totally over engineered to last generations, because they wouldn't be happy with something that broke after a few years and neither are we!
Great vise, compact, portable, well made and designed. I have been able to use it for a few projects so far and am excited to do more work with it. Holding the odd shaped objects was instrumental in getting some cuts made and stones set.Not only is the product great, but the customer service is also top notch. They have been super helpful through the crowdfunding process and helping educate the consumer on their products and features.Thanks MetMo!
I bought the fractal vise as soon as I saw it on Kickstarter. I knew about the old ones but they are very rare and very expensive. As you can see in the pictures I've adapted the fractal vise to an engraver's ball. I'm a professional engraver and this vise is a perfect tool to hold "funny" shaped items. It's not cheap but very well made, worth the money if you ask me.
This little vice is amazing. Perfect for holding whatever small stuff you're working on, and the accessories let you really tailor it to your needs.
Admittedly I am a sucker for beautifully engineered stuff, especially when you can see exactly how it works - and that is what you get with this vise.I bought pretty much all of the Kickstarter options and have to say that the different bits work together wonderfully well as a very flexible system, but I confess that it is likely to remain bolted to my Metmo workstation where is sits on the ball joint with the removable clamp (which doubles as flat jaws). It's just stupidly useful for fiddly watch repairs and model making and the ability to change jaws means you can use it for pretty much any type of material.The tolerances and finish on every single part are superb. Even the bits you can't see unless you take it apart are all just as good. There is no slop and virtually no backlash. I have yet to find a shape it will not hold.On the downside, it weighs an alarming amount for something so small and I defy you to actually move anywhere without severe fabric failure if you stick it your pocket. You really don't want to drop it on you foot. But all the other marketing hype is true :-)Even just sitting looking at it makes me happier.If you like retro-engineering to the highest standards then this is a great way to celebrate it. It really works and will outlast any other mechanical devices.
I just received this little gem... And it’s even better than I expected! It was intended as a small, elegant addition to my studio, but it’s a little work of art in its own right, showcasing perfection in every detail!Thank you for this masterpiece! It reminds me every day of precision and craftsmanship and motivates me to strive for the same level of perfection in my own work!
Greeting from FinlandI received the long-awaited metmo precision tool yesterday the Stainless Steel Fractal Vise 32.I can't help but admire this beautiful precision tool, every detail is absolutely incredible.It is a great honor to have such a technical work of art in my own collection.Kind RegardMauritz AhlrothFinland
This is simply a functional work of art. All the add ons give these vises almost infinite ways to setup and use.
the vise arrived on time and what can i say the engineering is amazing works really well and as intended i will be buying the table top workstation and ball joint for it sometime but for now its on my kitchen table looking unbelievably cool
Very well designed, one of the original mini vices, GREAT looking.When not in use, it holds a coin for display.
A precision instrument, if you look at the cost of machining these parts and the quality you get, the price is more than justified. Metmo continues to impress with their products.
Works as expected, no issues and no horrors. Well made and attractive to look at as well. I ordered the additional brass jaws, and they are also very good. I like the overall weight of the thing as it makes it very stable. Well done.
I acquired my fractal vise through the kickstarter campaign and it was worth every millisecond of the wait for it to arrive. It is perfect for stone setting in odd shapes and is a thing of beauty. I am a MetMo fan for life!
Mines stainless steel & I use it regularly there’s a great choice of mounts & jaws to suit every job.The vice is built to the highest standard and is actually a piece of srt
I purchased this for my son, a jeweler. This vise enables perfect positioning, stable control, and the reversible jaws allows him to hold bracelets from the inside surface. It has changed the way he works.Well done, MetMo!
Amidst a landscape dominated by cost-optimized, disposable goods, this product shines as a paragon of engineering excellence. Though I've yet to hold it in my hands, the sheer depth of detail on its webpage and the buzz it generated among my fellow makers are irrefutable proof of its status as a genuinely special and remarkably crafted piece of engineering. Metmo has not let me down thus far, somehow managing to exceed expectations for every product that I've purchased through them. It’s particularly thrilling to see an older, often overlooked technology brought back to life by such a meticulous team.