Yost 906-AS 6-Inch Steel Bench Vise with Swivel Base

A transmission bench is only as good as what holds the part still. The Yost 906-AS is a cast steel vise with a 6-inch nominal top jaw width and a 360-degree swivel base that locks with two bolts, so you can rotate a valve body or pump housing to whatever angle the job needs and then leave it there while both hands work.

On the bench it earns its keep on the awkward jobs: clamping a 4L60E or 4L80E pump half while you drive the bushing, holding an output or input shaft by the splines with soft jaw covers while you press a seal ring on, gripping a servo bore or accumulator housing steady during snap ring work, and holding cooler line and hard line while you flare or bend it. The built-in pipe jaws take 1/2-inch through 2-inch diameter, which covers most transmission and cooler line stock. The flat rear section is a reinforced anvil for straightening brackets, tapping dowels through, and general knock-around work.

The top jaws are replaceable and grooved for grip, so when they finally chew up from years of steel you swap them instead of replacing the vise. The main screw runs under a protective bar, which keeps chips, casting sand and ATF drip off the threads - the usual reason a cheap vise gets stiff and stays stiff. Body is painted black for mild corrosion protection.

This is a light- to medium-duty mechanic's vise, not a press. Use it for holding, driving and light forming. For pressing bearings and bushings, use a shop press.