# Workbench Vice advice



## tibi (8 Jul 2021)

Hello, 

I will finish building my 4x4m workshop in a few weeks and the next project will be to build myself a proper workbench. I will be working mainly with handtools, so it must be sturdy enough not to jump around the workshop when using coarser planes. Size is 2100 x 600 mm. I might eventually add some tool storage thing at the last laminated board from the back. 

This is a very simple design I made up. Material is beech. Legs are 125x150 mm and the laminated top is 125 mm thick. It will be made of two parts that will not be glued together (maybe there will be the removable split tool holder in the middle) All the joints are mortice and tenons. I will mostly not chop out mortices, but I will leave out an empty space during the lamination and gluing wherever possible. 






I would like to buy two identical vices. One will be on the right front and one will be on the left side (as I am left-handed). I do not want to build a leg vice, because Benchcrafted hardware is too expensive and I am already way over my limit on building my workshop. To keep things simple, I would avoid a tail vice/wagon vice. I am deciding between two alternatives








pictures are from fine-tools.com 

Which one would you choose and why? Or is the selection of two identical vices a bad idea? 

Thank you.


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## Cabinetman (9 Jul 2021)

Every single person on here will have a different opinion on vices, so I may as well be first and say the record style blue one on the front, I’ve never found a need for an end vice.
I would just say that if you are finding you have spent too much you could certainly save some money on your bench 125 mm thick top is massively more than you need. My benchtop is 75 mm thick in Beech and certainly doesn’t need to be any thicker, also bench holdfasts won’t work very well on such a thick top, again I think your legs are way more than is needed 4” square is more than enough. Ian


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## Orraloon (9 Jul 2021)

I agree on the price of the benchcrafted vices. I mean if one was under the tree at Christmas that would be great but in the real world something more modest has to do. I have a screw like your second pic as my front vice and small secondhand vice as the tail vice with a home made dog. They have been in use for over 8 years now and I am still happy with the setup.











Cabinetman is right about the top and leg sizes. Save a bit of wood and the money saved can go towards vices. A split top is also a good idea as you can use clamps. The 2 halves of the top will also fit through a thicknesser so save a bit of handplane work flattening the top. I would not bother with a center tool holder as things sticking up just get in the way.
Anyhow happy bench building.
John


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## Phil Pascoe (9 Jul 2021)

^^^^ I found a central tool holder a pain in the jacksie as well - I replaced mine with a strip which is reversible, it's flush one way and raised the other so it can be used a stop.


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## jcassidy (9 Jul 2021)

Keep an eye on auctions and car boots. I picked up a 52 1/2 Record voice for GBP22


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## tibi (9 Jul 2021)

Another question, if I opt for the record type vise, do you install it flush with the front of the workbench or it is prodruding? Both types have advantages and disadvantages. What is best for you?


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## Just4Fun (9 Jul 2021)

For the small items I typically work on I haven't found either one to be significantly better. For larger items I would probably prefer flush mounting to make it easier to clamp the other end of the item to the front face of the bench.


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## tibi (9 Jul 2021)

Just4Fun said:


> For the small items I typically work on I haven't found either one to be significantly better. For larger items I would probably prefer flush mounting to make it easier to clamp the other end of the item to the front face of the bench.


Thank you.


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## Cabinetman (9 Jul 2021)

My opinion is that you sink the back jaw into a large mortise in the underside of the benchtop, this shows mine, also shows a black dog sticking out level with the vice bars to support long pieces, also shows a bench holdfast. Ian PS, the holdfast can also go through the dog holes in the front apron to hold pieces that way.


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## jcassidy (9 Jul 2021)

I prefer flush mounted so I can plane the edge of long board,, clamp big boards for sawing vertically, etc etc. 
Back in vocational school the vice were proud and I remember it was an embuggurance. 

I also think you will regret two face mounted vice.


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## tibi (9 Jul 2021)

Cabinetman said:


> My opinion is that you sink the back jaw into a large mortise in the underside of the benchtop, this shows mine, also shows a black dog sticking out level with the vice bars to support long pieces, also shows a bench holdfast. Ian PS, the holdfast can also go through the dog holes in the front apron to hold pieces that way. View attachment 113744


The problem is that I will not have an apron. So i need to mount it underneath the laminated top. I will create holes for a holdfast in the leg on the opposite front side.


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## Phil Pascoe (9 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> Another question, if I opt for the record type vise, do you install it flush with the front of the workbench or it is prodruding? Both types have advantages and disadvantages. What is best for you?




Mount it so the inner (wooden) jaw is flush - you can always pack the workpiece off (eg. if it's curved), but you haven't the option to bring it closer to the bench if mounted proud. I've yet to hear a valid argument for leaving it proud.


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## tibi (9 Jul 2021)

Phil Pascoe said:


> Mount it so the inner (wooden) jaw is flush - you can always pack the workpiece off (eg. if it's curved), but you haven't the option to bring it closer to the bench if mounted proud. I've yet to hear a valid argument for leaving it proud.


Here you are Questions Answered – Flush-to-Face or Protruding Vises - Paul Sellers' Blog
Although, I do not know if the argument is valid for you.


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## Cabinetman (9 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> Here you are Questions Answered – Flush-to-Face or Protruding Vises - Paul Sellers' Blog
> Although, I do not know if the argument is valid for you.


Sorry Tibi, Well I looked at it and he didn’t convince me at all in fact I would dare to say he’s just plain wrong. If no other reason than doing it the other way you will not damage your tools on a big lump of metal just where you’re working. And why wouldn’t you want to support your work against the edge of the top – forget whether the bench has an apron or not.
Edit. Wrong was the wrong word, it’s a subjective matter I’m sure neither of us would ever convince the other!


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## Garden Shed Projects (9 Jul 2021)

Flush for me too. Gives you flat plane on the side of your bench to clamp to. Would also favour a thicker jaw so you can have a dog in the vice.


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## tibi (9 Jul 2021)

Cabinetman said:


> Sorry Tibi, Well I looked at it and he didn’t convince me at all in fact I would dare to say he’s just plain wrong. If no other reason than doing it the other way you will not damage your tools on a big lump of metal just where you’re working. And why wouldn’t you want to support your work against the edge of the top – forget whether the bench has an apron or not.


My reasoning is the same as yours. As I am inexperienced, I wanted to ask if some of his reasons are of great importance. Because I would personally make it flush too, so that I can use a holdfast in a leg on the other end to hold a long board when edge jointing.


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## Cabinetman (9 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> My reasoning is the same as yours. As I am inexperienced, I wanted to ask if some of his reasons are of great importance. Because I would personally make it flush too, so that I can use a holdfast in a leg on the other end to hold a long board when edge jointing.


Hi tibi, I just edited my post as there are different views on these things. If you are inexperienced and wanting to know about workholding you can do a great deal worse than look at a rather long video from Mike Siemsen,
One of the few people I pay any attention to on YouTube.


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## Phil Pascoe (9 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> Here you are Questions Answered – Flush-to-Face or Protruding Vises - Paul Sellers' Blog
> Although, I do not know if the argument is valid for you.



No. He does nothing that couldn't be done with a packing piece and loses the advantage of its being flush.


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## Phil Pascoe (9 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> My reasoning is the same as yours. As I am inexperienced, I wanted to ask if some of his reasons are of great importance. Because I would personally make it flush too, so that I can use a holdfast in a leg on the other end to hold a long board when edge jointing.


 I have a piece of Spur type shelf bracket support inset into both the leg and the dead man - I just stick a shelf bracket under anything I need to support away from the vice.


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## paulm (9 Jul 2021)

Here's how I flush fit mine some years back, easy enough and gives the most flexibility and functionality in use I reckon.









Vices - Fitting a Record Bench Vice


Here's some pics of fitting the second vice as I forgot to take any of the first :oops: This is the secondhand vice, bit scruffy to start with but nothing a wirebrush and airline couldn't clean up. Took the opportunity to clean the thread as well and sprayed liberally with pfte spray so the...




www.ukworkshop.co.uk


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## tibi (9 Jul 2021)

Phil Pascoe said:


> No. He does nothing that couldn't be done with a packing piece and loses the advantage of its being flush.





Cabinetman said:


> Sorry Tibi, Well I looked at it and he didn’t convince me at all in fact I would dare to say he’s just plain wrong. If no other reason than doing it the other way you will not damage your tools on a big lump of metal just where you’re working. And why wouldn’t you want to support your work against the edge of the top – forget whether the bench has an apron or not.
> Edit. Wrong was the wrong word, it’s a subjective matter I’m sure neither of us would ever convince the other!


I cannot remember seeing a video of Paul Sellers, where he does not mention that he has been woodworking for 50+years and/or he has taught thousands of students to do "anything" that way - so he knows that the method he is teaching works. I think that this kind of reasoning is not bulletproof. I can find a person, who has been trimming boards to length on a chop saw for 50 years (if any chop saws were produced back then), so that person can technically say that he has been woodworking for 50 years, too. I have been playing piano for 22 years now, but anyone who is training for a professional career as a concert pianist can easily outperform me in 4-5 years. So a sheer length of doing something for a long time or even doing it 8 hours a day / 6 days a week does not give automatically the best methods for everything.

Personally, I think that Paul Sellers is a very competent woodworker with a great amount of experience and he is better than I will ever be, but doing something for a very long time and teaching it to others does not mean that it is the best or most successful method or that someone with a shorter woodworking experience could not come with something better. Some other woodworkers are also prone to tell in every video that they have been woodworking for xy years.

There are things that are objectively better and everyone will agree like chopping a mortice with a chisel instead of a drawknife. And some things are just subjectively better and are prone to personal preference, like what is the best sharpening method question or what bench height is ideal.

I like it more if someone shows that he does a method the way that he prefers for whatever reason, instead of telling that he is doing this for 50 years and implies that it must be the best.


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## mikej460 (9 Jul 2021)

I have a quick release Record 52 1/2 which is excellent with beech liners, but would prefer a bigger one so a 53e is on my shopping list. After that I would like a removeable moxon vice. I'm afraid this subject falls under 'ask 10 woodworkers which vice they prefer and you get 10 different answers'. It's very much a personal choice.


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## pe2dave (10 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> Another question, if I opt for the record type vise, do you install it flush with the front of the workbench or it is prodruding? Both types have advantages and disadvantages. What is best for you?


My thinking was rear jaw flush with the apron. I now think that wrong, having been caught on quite a few jobs.


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## Cooper (10 Jul 2021)

In schools, I think, we had the inner jaw protruding because after several years the bench tops were reversed and if there had been a notch cut out it would not have lined up were most right-handed students expected the vice to be (as a lefty I would have preferred the vice at the other end). Also the kids didn't do much work on long pieces (the cost prohibited it). I suspect that some people have just carried on with a setup that they thought was normal. I have a teachers demonstration bench in my workshop and its a pain that the inner jaw isn't flush.
The last time I had benches refurbished was a long time ago in the ILEA 1980s. Several bench tops were in such a state that they couldn't be reversed and I still have some of them, I use as bulks. Earlier this year I was able to make a bench to mount my drill press on from one. Nothing goes to waste!


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## dannyr (10 Jul 2021)

pe2dave said:


> My thinking was rear jaw flush with the apron. I now think that wrong, having been caught on quite a few jobs.



But so easy for you to alter with a short length of wood of thickness to your choice, temporary fix or v neatly. 

Other way round - start proud then wish it were flush is not so easy.


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## Phil Pascoe (10 Jul 2021)

Elementary, maybe, but maybe not to a novice - if wanting it flush, the vice needs to be inset so there is room for the inner wooden jaw to finish flush.


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## Orraloon (10 Jul 2021)

Over the years I have had front vice mounted proud and now flush on my current bench. Flush works better for me.
I notice Mr Sellers does a bit of crosscut sawing in his vice so proud would help with that but using a bench hook to saw on kinda works better.
Regards
John


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## Dionysios (10 Jul 2021)

My first bench was based on the Paul Sellers design but with a thicker top (9.5cm) and the vice was mounted proud. After five years of use the main points of nuisance were: 1) The proud vice, whenever I wanted to plane anything long I had no easy way to support it adequately, 2) The width of the bench, I made it 87cm wide and since my workshop is half single garage there was little space left for me to stand next to the bench, 3) The tool well, it was attracting all shorts of rubbish (covering any tools in it) and reducing the useful width of the bench, 4) The bench height, my first bench was about 1m high (I am quite tall) but the new one is about 5cm shorter and I find it more comfortable to use when planing.

In regards of the face vice I have it flush with the apron (the rear jaw is behind the apron) and I made a large jaw liner out of spruce and oak. I have also glued a very thin piece of leather on the apron side (not shown in photo) to increase the grip and protect the softwood from excessive wear. It works quite well with a minimal amount of racking despite the large protrusion of the liner both in width and height. The remaining capacity of the vice is 22cm which is plenty enough and it’s about the same or larger than what you get if you use any other type of commercially available vice hardware.

I agree that Paul Sellers is a competent woodworker, but his argument that he works with wood for 50 years and therefore he’s right is absurd.

Craftsmen were using workbenches for hundreds of years and I have yet to see an old workbench with a protruding rear vice jaw. I believe that the fashion of the protruding vice started with the introduction of cast iron vices were there was already a rear jaw in place. This vices apparently offered a great deal of convenience to site workers that had to make a workbench on site and leave it there when the job was done, taking only the vice to the next job site. For the workshop benches it seems to me like pure laziness not to install the vice flush with the top or apron (depending on the bench design it might require some work).

As for the end vice, I have installed one ( a Woden 189B QR) on my bench only because I had it lying around and I use it only to hold in place my machinists vice, router table, strop etc. I use a planing stop, holdfast and doe’s foot to hold the pieces on the top of the bench when planing.


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## Phil Pascoe (10 Jul 2021)

On my old bench I had two 11" x 2 3/4" baulks and a 9" well. When I moved for reasons I won't go into I had to leave the base of the bench behind so took just the two timbers and vice. When I rebuilt it I replaced the well with an 1 1/2" strip, so doing away with the well and narrowing the bench considerably. It's much better.


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## Andy3Sheds (10 Jul 2021)

I built this lockdown project bench, last year, out of better than average pallet wood. It never occurred to me not to mount the vise flush


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## Jacob (11 Jul 2021)

My vice is below the top edge by 10mm or so, and inner jaw flush with the face of the apron but set in just 3mm and covered with a bit of ply stuck on with evostick.
It means I have 2 wood faced jaws, one is the width of the vice the other is the length of the bench. Very useful.
If I need to space something away from the bench I drop in a spacer - any old off-cut which will fit.


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## msparker (11 Jul 2021)

I have the german made front vice from fine tools and love it. The thread is very coarse so it can be moved in and out very quickly. It is well supported so does very little racking. Thick jaws then allow a number of bench dogs which is great. I find myself clamping between dogs most of the time and think perhaps this vice style is better than the record for this (but am happy to be told otherwise). Top tip, line your jaws with some nitrile bonded cork sheet (sold as gasket material) - it's a game changer for holding power. 

Incidentally I think my dream setup would be a twin screw front vice and a HNT Gordon tail vice but that is getting very fancy indeed


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## pe2dave (11 Jul 2021)

msparker said:


> Top tip, line your jaws with some nitrile bonded cork sheet (sold as gasket material) - it's a game changer for holding power.


 How do you fasten the gasket to the vice face please? DS tape? Hot glue?
I use leather (old apron) and find I need to replace it regularly.


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## msparker (11 Jul 2021)

pe2dave said:


> How do you fasten the gasket to the vice face please? DS tape? Hot glue?
> I use leather (old apron) and find I need to replace it regularly.



I used titebond 2 as it's what I had. Has seen a lot of use and is as good a new. Admittedly I haven't given much thought to what I'll do when I eventually do need to replace it but I imagine hacking it off with a chisel and touching up the face with a plane will be alright


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## Stevekane (11 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> The problem is that I will not have an apron. So i need to mount it underneath the laminated top. I will create holes for a holdfast in the leg on the opposite front side.


But could you swop out the long front edge timber for somthing a bit thinner but deeper, the bench would be just as durable and the apron could be used to stiffen up the frame, just a thought as I dont presently have a bench vise in service, does the thickness of your top allow the fitting of a record type vice?


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## tibi (11 Jul 2021)

msparker said:


> I have the german made front vice from fine tools and love it. The thread is very coarse so it can be moved in and out very quickly. It is well supported so does very little racking. Thick jaws then allow a number of bench dogs which is great. I find myself clamping between dogs most of the time and think perhaps this vice style is better than the record for this (but am happy to be told otherwise). Top tip, line your jaws with some nitrile bonded cork sheet (sold as gasket material) - it's a game changer for holding power.
> 
> Incidentally I think my dream setup would be a twin screw front vice and a HNT Gordon tail vice but that is getting very fancy indeed



Can you please tell me which one have you bought? I will also buy from them. Is it the quick release vise or the standard one?


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## msparker (11 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> Can you please tell me which one have you bought? I will also buy from them. Is it the quick release vise or the standard one?



I have this one


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## Phil Pascoe (12 Jul 2021)

Dionysios said:


> My first bench was based on the Paul Sellers design but with a thicker top (9.5cm) and the vice was mounted proud. After five years of use the main points of nuisance were: 1) The proud vice, whenever I wanted to plane anything long I had no easy way to support it adequately, 2) The width of the bench, I made it 87cm wide and since my workshop is half single garage there was little space left for me to stand next to the bench, 3) The tool well, it was attracting all shorts of rubbish (covering any tools in it) and reducing the useful width of the bench, 4) The bench height, my first bench was about 1m high (I am quite tall) but the new one is about 5cm shorter and I find it more comfortable to use when planing.
> 
> In regards of the face vice I have it flush with the apron (the rear jaw is behind the apron) and I made a large jaw liner out of spruce and oak. I have also glued a very thin piece of leather on the apron side (not shown in photo) to increase the grip and protect the softwood from excessive wear. It works quite well with a minimal amount of racking despite the large protrusion of the liner both in width and height. The remaining capacity of the vice is 22cm which is plenty enough and it’s about the same or larger than what you get if you use any other type of commercially available vice hardware.
> 
> ...


The downside of that that to me is that nice as it looks, many of us abuse the jaws on occasion and damage them. I'd rather be able to replace both.


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## JobandKnock (12 Jul 2021)

In my more than 40 years in the joinery trade (couldn't resist that), and having worked in a few workshops, my own and others, I can honestly say that I don't recall ever working at a joiner's bench where the rear jaw of the vice was not set behind the front apron (so a flush installation). The reason should be fairly obvious - on an English joiner's bench the front apron is deep and is often used to hold long or deep workpieces with a combination of vice, G-clamp (or hand screw or hold fast) and sometimes deadman (often just a peg pushed into a hole in the leg) to support long long pieces. Sorry if I've stated the obvious, but TBH I cannot understand the debate


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## Jacob (12 Jul 2021)

JobandKnock said:


> In my more than 40 years in the joinery trade (couldn't resist that), and having worked in a few workshops, my own and others, I can honestly say that I don't recall ever working at a joiner's bench where the rear jaw of the vice was not set behind the front apron (so a flush installation). The reason should be fairly obvious - on an English joiner's bench the front apron is deep and is often used to hold long or deep workpieces with a combination of vice, G-clamp (or hand screw or hold fast) and sometimes deadman (often just a peg pushed into a hole in the leg) to support long long pieces. Sorry if I've stated the obvious, but TBH I cannot understand the debate


Agree. There's no point in setting it proud, except you save yourself half an hours work but live with an inefficient bench indefinitely.
If I need a spacer I pick one up from the scrap heap


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## Adam W. (12 Jul 2021)

I've got a wooden leg vice on the long edge, plus a sliding deadman and all sorts of wooden pegs that work with the vice and the face of the bench to hold or support longer stuff. 

On the end of the bench I've got a Record vice with wooden jaws which I use to hold metal stuff like scrapers and I'm going to fit a wooden dog in it so that it acts like a wagon vice to hold longer stuff on the top of the bench.

I'd like a fancy Benchcrafted wagon vice, but the price is a bit of a shocker.


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## Cabinetman (12 Jul 2021)

Adam W. said:


> I've got a wooden leg vice on the long edge, plus a sliding deadman and all sorts of wooden pegs that work with the vice and the face of the bench to hold or support longer stuff.
> 
> On the end of the bench I've got a Record vice with wooden jaws which I use to hold metal stuff like scrapers and I'm going to fit a wooden dog in it so that it acts like a wagon vice to hold longer stuff on the top of the bench.
> 
> I'd like a fancy Benchcrafted wagon vice, but the price is a bit of a shocker.


 The price of the wagon vice, I didn’t know so I looked it up and spat my tea out, two rails, a travelling plate, a long threaded bar and a turn wheel £425. I could probably have one individually made for that at my local Engineers, they are making a fortune on the backs of woodworkers. Ian


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## Dionysios (12 Jul 2021)

Phil Pascoe said:


> The downside of that that to me is that nice as it looks, many of us abuse the jaws on occasion and damage them. I'd rather be able to replace both.



That was my main concern as well when making the bench, especially when I realised how soft is the softwood that I used for the aprons (it will dent even if you give it an angry look).

Hence the decision to put the leather on the apron side which is thin but very hard and absolutely non stretchy (I think it’s saddle tan).

Also, now that I have a second vice I can use it to hold stuff that might dent the wooden jaws (both jaws are easy to replace on this one).

Finally if the front vice jaw gets damaged I think that I will be able to inset a thin (about 1 cm) piece of hardwood in the apron and bench-top that will be easy to replace afterwards if it gets damaged. I didn’t do this on the first place mostly out of curiosity (how long the softwood will last) and a bit of laziness as well.


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## Jacob (12 Jul 2021)

Dionysios said:


> That was my main concern as well when making the bench, especially when I realised how soft is the softwood that I used for the aprons (it will dent even if you give it an angry look).


Dents are OK. They are below the surface and have no effect on the work. Occasionally clean the surface but ignore the dents, unless you've been doing a lot of chopping and have ended up with something like a butcher's block!.


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## Garden Shed Projects (12 Jul 2021)

Dionysios said:


> That was my main concern as well when making the bench, especially when I realised how soft is the softwood that I used for the aprons (it will dent even if you give it an angry look).
> 
> Hence the decision to put the leather on the apron side which is thin but very hard and absolutely non stretchy (I think it’s saddle tan).
> 
> ...


I housed a piece of oak into my soft wood bench top to act as the inner jaw. Mainly because the oak is a bit harder but also thought I would be easier to change later should I need to.


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## Adam W. (13 Jul 2021)

Cabinetman said:


> The price of the wagon vice, I didn’t know so I looked it up and spat my tea out, two rails, a travelling plate, a long threaded bar and a turn wheel £425. I could probably have one individually made for that at my local Engineers, they are making a fortune on the backs of woodworkers. Ian


Yes, it's difficult to see where the value is.


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## Phil Pascoe (13 Jul 2021)

Garden Shed Projects said:


> I housed a piece of oak into my soft wood bench top to act as the inner jaw. Mainly because the oak is a bit harder but also thought I would be easier to change later should I need to.


I purposely went in the opposite direction - I replaced hard jaws with the softest bit of wood I could find. I'd rather the jaws deformed than whatever I was holding in them.


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## Garden Shed Projects (13 Jul 2021)

Phil Pascoe said:


> I purposely went in the opposite direction - I replaced hard jaws with the softest bit of wood I could find. I'd rather the jaws deformed than whatever I was holding in them.


I can see the logic and in fairness I did this before I decided on the kind of work I am going to do ( still haven’t really). My thinking was for anything particularly soft or easily damaged I could line it out with a rag.


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## stuart little (13 Jul 2021)

Why not make your own 'wagon/tail vice', looks relatively easy. Ref. Youtube '$24 wagon vise'.


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## tibi (30 Jul 2021)

I have another question about quick release vices? Do they work well or there is a problem with quick release mechanism, e.g. it loosens the grip or does not engage correctly? I am thinking if it would not be better to buy a standard vice with a bigger thread and have something that is simple and foolproof. 

Thank you.


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## Cabinetman (30 Jul 2021)

tibi said:


> I have another question about quick release vices? Do they work well or there is a problem with quick release mechanism, e.g. it loosens the grip or does not engage correctly? I am thinking if it would not be better to buy a standard vice with a bigger thread and have something that is simple and foolproof.
> 
> Thank you.


 You won’t have a problem with a quick release vice, I haven’t bought a new one except in the states two years ago and that was a Yost, (and that works fine), so I’m not really up-to-date with what’s available. A standard vice, if you are using it very much will drive you nuts winding it in and out all the time. Ian


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## timwhatley (20 Aug 2021)

msparker said:


> Incidentally I think my dream setup would be a twin screw front vice and a HNT Gordon tail vice but that is getting very fancy indeed



I have the HNT Gordon tail vice and would highly recommend it. Beautifully made, simple and effective to use, and really easy to install - I did mine with a brace and chisel, a router would have made it a piece of cake. Aesthetics might not be the most important thing in a vice, but I like how low profile it is too - very clean and tidy.

Sure it's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than Benchcrafted's option, and while a holdfast and doe's food might do the same job, this is far more convenient. I do a lot of hand work so it get a lot of use when planing, and the holding power is excellent too, even when doing some heavy transverse scrub planing.


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## tibi (31 Dec 2021)

I have finally bought this vice and I have installed it today. It is a quick-release type. Quick-release works and holds well and it does not rack, but I am rather surprised that I need to exert a lot of force to pull the vice open. I have sprayed some WD40 onto the rods and thread, but it did not help much. I am reluctant to put something more greasy like vaseline, due to sawdust and shavings. Do you have any advice on how to make it go easier? Maybe the manufacturing tolerances are rather tight.

Thank you.


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## Jacob (31 Dec 2021)

Was it moving freely before you installed it? If yes then you might have it fixed to the bench a bit off centre or something


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## tibi (31 Dec 2021)

Jacob said:


> Was it moving freely before you installed it? If yes then you might have it fixed to the bench a bit off centre or something


No, it was not moving freely, definitely not sliding easily. I would assume that there are 4 plain bearings inside the circular holder of the plain rods.





or maybe there are not and there is a friction metal to metal, which would be really bad, but they would save 5 € for the bearings.

My temporary workbench is rather light, like maybe 50 kg, but sometimes when I open the vice, I pull the bench toward myself and then the vice opens. So you must imagine how much force I need to make.


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