Rifle cleaning vice

My reloading/tinkering workspace is a little tight. I am guessing I am not the only one with that particular plight.

Rifle barrel cleaning is particularly awkward. Placing the rifle in a work stand on the bench makes for an approach with the cleaning rod that barely missing either the wall or the drill press.

I am thinking about fabricating a "vice" or other apparatus that holds the rifle out from the bench so I can stand behind it while cleaning, to where it can be tipped down over a pan to catch cleaning fluids. It would need to be easily removed when I'm not cleaning so it isn't in the way. Do any of you have some good solutions that would work for this that you wouldn't mind sharing?

HEAVY METAL 1 said:

Could you just clean at the range after you are done shooting?

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I can do a quick patch out at the range, but cleaning heavy copper fouling or something is something I would prefer to do in the comfort and climate control of my shop.

I am leaning towards this hyskore vice: https://hyskore.com/products/30182-portable-armorers-vise/. That would allow me to clamp a rifle in front of the bench tipped down with better access to the breech.

dh1633pm said:

I got the Real Avid Vise. You can tip it away from your bench. It costs, but sometimes you need what you need.

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This is pretty much what I had in mind, to hold a rifle just like you have it there off the side of the bench, but tipped down muzzle towards the floor at an angle so ymi am more or less looking down the barrel standing at the bench.

HEAVY METAL 1 said:

Can OP post pix of his space confines? That might spur creativity of invention of low cost/homemade solutions from the minds of THR members.

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I'm afraid it is more of a mess than I am willing to post photographic evidence of, and although I need to give it a good tidying up I'm not going to do that now. I am working at a bench that is about 5 feet long, with my drill press at one end of it, and a wall at the other end. So, feeding a full length cleaning rod into a rifle sitting on the bench is tricky. Not a huge deal, but an annoyance for sure.

doubleh said:

The real avid one show should do the job or one of the Harbor Freight clamp on vises that tilts and swivels every which way and a pair of soft jaw should work well also and have the added benefit of holding other things to work on. I have the smaller version of the HF vise that stays under the work table in the half of my shop that has heating and cooling just for those other things.

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I poked around on HF and didn't see one that swivels like the Avid. If you don't mind linking to the one you have in mind that would be great. I am leaning towards just going with that hyskore one I linked earlier, that should do what I need it to and it isn't silly expensive.

Thanks all for the input/suggestions, very helpful!