what is a bench vise made of
So it needs to be tough. Low-cost bench vises often use steel, which is light and cheap. It's fine for light duties and for hobbyists, but it doesn't have the high resilience a professional would need. The best bench vises are made of cast iron, and two variants can be found: gray iron and ductile iron. Gray iron isn't about color, it's used to indicate the presence of graphite flakes. It's the most common form of cast iron, used in everything from vises to stove tops.