About this item
There are two ways a bench vise ruins your afternoon. Clamp an anodized AN fitting in bare steel jaws, and it comes out gouged and rounded. Clamp it too gently to avoid that, and the hex turns in the vise while you are leaning on the wrench. Neither problem is solved by the same pad, which is why these come in two materials.
The pair is supplied. Two pads, one for each vise jaw. Nothing to bolt on and nothing to modify.
Groove profile. Multiple groove sizes across the face, so a small hose end and a large one each find a groove that seats on the flats rather than the corners. Identical on both material versions.
Magnetic backing. The pads hold themselves on the jaws while you position the work, which is the part that matters when one hand is holding a hose, and the other is holding a wrench.
Fitted to a bench vise. Note how much jaw opening the pads occupy. Allow roughly one inch per side when planning for larger work.
Holding a hose end. The groove captures the hex on its flats. Clamping pressure goes into the flats instead of shearing across the corners, which is what rounds a fitting.
Overall dimensions: 4 inches long by 1.57 inches tall by 1 inch deep, sized for the jaw width of a typical 4-inch bench vise.
Aluminum or Nylon Soft Jaws: Which One Do You Need
Both versions share the same 4-inch body, the same magnetic backing, and the same groove profile spanning 3AN to 32AN. What differs is the material, and that difference decides which jobs each one is right for.
Aluminum is the heavy duty choice. It holds harder, resists deformation under repeated clamping, and is what you want for metal parts, tight fits, and daily workshop use. It protects a fitting from the serrated steel teeth of a bare vise jaw, but it is still metal against metal, so it is not the choice for a polished or plated finish you cannot afford to mark.
Nylon is the protective choice. It gives up grip force in exchange for a surface that will not mark anodizing, plating, plastic, or anything delicate. Use it for precision parts and light clamping, where the priority is the finish rather than the torque.
The honest version: if you are assembling braided hose and torquing hose ends all day, take aluminum. If you are holding finished parts you have already paid for twice, take nylon. Plenty of builders end up owning both and swapping them in seconds, which is what the magnetic backing is for.
Why Grooved Soft Jaws Hold Better Than Flat Pads
A bare vise jaw has serrated steel teeth designed to bite. That is exactly right for holding a steel bracket and exactly wrong for holding an AN hose end. A plain flat pad solves the biting problem but creates a new one, because a smooth face lets a hex rotate under wrench load.
The groove profile is what closes that gap. Grooves in several sizes run across the face, and each one seats a hex on its flats rather than pinching two opposite corners. Corners are where a fitting rounds off. Flats are where it can take real torque without moving.
Magnetic Vise Jaw Pads That Stay Put While You Work
The pads hold themselves to a steel vise jaw magnetically. No clips, no screws, no drilling the vise. Push them on, do the job, pull them off by hand when you need the bare jaws back for something rough.
That matters more than it sounds. Clip-on pads fall off the moment you open the vise to reposition, which on a braided hose assembly is every thirty seconds. A magnetic pad stays on the jaw whether the vise is open or closed, so you can set the work with both hands. It also means switching between the aluminum and nylon versions takes about a second.
AN Hose End Assembly, Brake Line Work, and General Workshop Clamping
The obvious job is braided hose assembly, where a hose end has to be held hard enough to torque a socket into it without marking the anodizing. The same applies to fuel rails, brake line fittings, adapters, and unions.
Away from AN work: holding polished or plated parts, clamping a tube without denting it, machining setup where a workpiece needs to sit square, and anything soft enough that steel serrations would leave a mark. If you are building the fuel or brake system that these pads are for, the full EVIL ENERGY AN fitting range covers the parts going into the vise.
Fitting the Pads to Your Bench Vise
The pads suit vises with flat steel jaws up to 4 inches wide. They will sit on a narrower jaw with some overhang, which is harmless. They will not sit on jaws wider than 4 inches, and they will not hold on a non-ferrous jaw, since the attachment is magnetic.
Plan for the thickness. Each pad is 1 inch deep, so a pair removes about 2 inches from your maximum jaw opening. On a 4-inch vise that leaves plenty for fittings and hose work, but it is worth knowing before the first time you try to clamp something large.
What Is In The Box
- 2x 4" Magnetic Vise Jaw Pads, one pair, in the material you select
Why Choose EVIL ENERGY Magnetic Vise Jaw Pads
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Two Materials, Two Jobs: Aluminum for grip force on metal parts and frequent workshop use. Nylon for surface protection on plastic, plated, and delicate work. Same grooves, same magnets, same fit.
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Grooves, Not Just Padding: A flat soft jaw stops scratches but still lets a hex twist. The grooved profile seats the flats, so the fitting takes wrench torque without rotating in the vise.
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On and Off in One Second: Magnetic backing means no clips to lose and no screws to fit. The bare jaws are still there when you need them for rough work, and swapping materials takes no tools.
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Covers 3AN to 32AN: One pair spans the full range most builders will ever assemble, from a 3AN brake line end to a 32AN dry sump fitting.
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Cheaper Than One Ruined Fitting: A single gouged AN hose end costs more than this pair. Most people buy these after they have already learned that.
