I needed two similar pieces of wood to prevent my sofa from banging against the wall and damaging it.
Cut the pieces and it was ugly and misshapen. Have a hand pane so I shaved off the jagged bits.
Miter boxes don’t help when you can’t keep a saw steady.
For general wood/metal/automotive around the house, cheap vises aren’t so bad. I got a 6 inch Vevor for $60 a few years ago and it’s been great.
Yeah I’m looking at used and I’d rather go cheapo new when I start doing real work.
Added to my list.