Now that it's here with me, I can't imagine how I lived without it.
All this excitement is about this baby:
A GRS Bench Mate system with stone setter kit.
The GRS Bench Mate basically a vice. I know, kind of strange to get so worked up over just a vice. But it makes my life so much easier. Rings stay put while setting stone. No more cramps in the hands when trying to grip tightly to a piece. And there are so many accessories available. It can be converted into a bench pin, a soldering station or even a belt sander with some extra equipment. I did not get the belt sander or soldering accessories as I like to have my separate soldering station on the side of the bench. But the inside ring holder is great.
All the pieces just out of the box
A mounting plate gets screwed on the face of the bench and then the pieces just slide into the bracket. It's super fast to exchange the vice parts for the bench pin. (Sorry, it is kind of messy under my bench as usual.)
There is a inside ring holder as shown and a second vice type holder for clamping pieces. The holders move easily in every direction or can be locked in any position.
I find the arm rest on the right a bit uncomfortable. Would be nice if it would be slightly padded to give more comfort for my wrist. But I guess could easily put a small leather or neoprene piece on it to provide just that.
It was so much fun stone setting with this new vice that I set most of the rings that were piling up for weeks.
