# Help with vice screws for Schwarz English Workbench please



## Steve Blackdog (16 Sep 2012)

Hi all,

I am part way through building Chris Schwarz's Nicholson English workbench. Mine will be 5 foot long rather than his monster.

I have got to the stage when I need to decide on hardware for the leg vice and wagon vice.

I can't work out whether I should get a veritas tail vice screw to use for the leg vice. I'm not sure how long the screws should be. Here's the veritas screw:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-veri ... rod788423/

or should I save ££ and get the York version

http://www.axminster.co.uk/york-york-ta ... prod22373/

or whether neither of these are the correct screws. 

My major problem is what to do about the wagon vice screw. From his book, it looks like Schwarz used something like the veritas shoulder vice:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-veri ... rod788427/. However, i was expecting to have to used a longer screw.

Finally, I could always scrap the Schwarz wagon vice and go for a Veritas tail vice 

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-veri ... rod788408/

If anyone has made this bench, I'd be really interested to hear what you used for vice screws. Also I would be pleased to hear if there is any reason not to go with the York screws, which seem near identical to the veritas ones.

All the best

Steve


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## marcros (17 Sep 2012)

Steve,

I can actually help on this one, well part of it. I have made a version of the English workbench- my timber section sizes were a bit bigger so it has 2 4x2 pieces laminated for legs, and the aprons are "only" about 10". Mine is about 6'8 long- firedoor top + a bit of timber each end to cover disguse the fact!

The vice screw for the leg vice...

I used the axminster one. I checked with Rutlands, Axminster and Veritas and they are all made in the same country- Czech Republic if I recall correctly. Nobody would go as far as to say whether the others came from the same factory as the veritas one- I suspect that they do. So I bought the cheapest of the 3. IIRC the diameters are slightly different, but the Axminster one is solid enough. It is fitted into my bench, but the vice is not finished.

To size it, either work out on paper or measure the distance between the front of the back leg piece and the back of the front one. I was advised to drill the hole for it, reasonably tight and screw it in from behind- this is why you dont want one longer than that gap. I was scared of making the hole too loose, and it was actually too tight- it took a lot of effort to screw it in (cut the threads into the timber). Then when fitted froperly from the front it is nice and tight. I cant remember hich length of screw I used- it would have been better if it was an inch less because I had to tilt it to get it in from behind until I had done a couple of turns.

I didnt use a shoulder vice or a tail vice. But the shoulder vice is limited by the distance between shoulder and bench, so that should size the screw doesnt it? I dont have the book to hand though so going from memory.

HTH

Mark


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## Paul Chapman (17 Sep 2012)

Steve Blackdog":n0ghzu7e said:


> My major problem is what to do about the wagon vice screw.



I think you will find that for a wagon vice you will need a screw with a left-handed thread if you want the vice to work the "correct" way (ie clockwise to move the jaw forwards and anti-clockwise to move the jaw backwards). This point is made in the Scott Landis 'Workbench Book' which features a wagon vice built by David Powell. He used a standard Record screw and simply put up with the fact that the vice worked the "wrong" way round.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## marcros (17 Sep 2012)

sorry, ignore my bit about the shoulder vice- it was a wagon vice that you were after.


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## Steve Blackdog (17 Sep 2012)

Thanks, guys 

Steve


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## Andy RV (17 Sep 2012)

I used the axminster screw on my bench to made a simple wagon vice similar to the one Schwarz made:







As you can see a block rides within two slots, the nut is recessed into the breadboard end. 
It works well and is simple to construct during the lamination process, I can use it with dogs or clamp upto 160mm within the gap if I wish to, I glued thick leather to the meeting faces.


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## Steve Blackdog (17 Sep 2012)

You've got some nice little wonder dogs there, Andy

Thanks for the picture it is very clear. How long is the screw? It looks like what Axi call the York Front Vice Screw, but that is only 6.5" of thread according to the website:-
http://www.axminster.co.uk/york-york-fr ... 2aff6a4e84

Your screw seems longer than that one.

Thanks for your help.

Steve


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## bugbear (18 Sep 2012)

Here are some nice details of a travelling dog tail vise

http://web.archive.org/web/200704270734 ... /index.htm

It's from this plan:
http://plansnow.com/eurobench.html

first published in Woodsmith #50 (from 1987)

BugBear


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## Andy RV (18 Sep 2012)

Yes that's the same screw, the 6.5" of thread does not include the thread covered by the nut, so in reality there is closer to 8" of thread. I'll try to get another picture against a rule to give it some scale.


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## bugbear (18 Sep 2012)

Axi have a good range of screws:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/vice-screws- ... rc=froogle

BugBear


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## Steve Blackdog (18 Sep 2012)

Thanks guys,

Axminster will be getting an order from me any minute!!

Cheers

Steve


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