# Wooden Vice Cheeks



## CraigyCraigo (20 Mar 2013)

Hi All,

Just after some advise.......

i have just brought a carpenters vice and need to install some wooden cheeks......

Hardwood or softwood cheeks is the question.......

I was thinking softwood over say hardwood as not to mar soft wood pieces but opinions please if you don't mind.

Cheers

Craig


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## Muswell (20 Mar 2013)

I used maple cheeks to match the bench then lined them with some cork from cork tiles. Works for me.


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## carlb40 (20 Mar 2013)

Hardwood would be my choice and is on my record vice. The reason being hardwoods are usually stronger/ more rigid than softwoods. So if desired you can extend the cheeks past the sides of the vice


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## Roughcut (20 Mar 2013)

I just used planed 4"x1" softwood as that is what I had at the time.


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## Harbo (20 Mar 2013)

Beech on mine.


Rod


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## MickCheese (20 Mar 2013)

I have softwood but they dent badly so maybe hardwood would be better.

I have seen them lined with leather to aid grip.

Mick


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## Jacob (20 Mar 2013)

Any old wood will do. Even mdf. As long as it is smooth enough to not leave an impression, so perhaps not chipboard.


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## The Bear (20 Mar 2013)

The Records on my old school woodwork bench have ply faces, never been a problem

Mark


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## CraigyCraigo (20 Mar 2013)

Thanks Guys,

As the local wood mill very really has hardwoords, i'll get some redwood on them for now and see how i get on!!!

Cheers

Craig


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## Col (20 Mar 2013)

Roughcut":2sf3ver3 said:


> I just used planed 4"x1" softwood as that is what I had at the time.



ditto with 4"x2" so that I could add dog holes.


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## AndyT (20 Mar 2013)

Like Carl said - use a hardwood and add extra length. Mine is in oak, with the overall length of the front wooden jaw being about twice the width of the metal jaw of the vice. The rear pad is in line with the front edge of the bench. 
This comes in very useful if holding tall pieces vertically on one side of the rods. (If doing this, it's a good idea to put a balancing piece of equal thickness on the other side to avoid too much racking.)


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## mickthetree (20 Mar 2013)

If you've got some old suede lying around you can line the jaws with that. Gives the jaws an incredible grip!! I've used pine, ply and hardwood, all have worked well.


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## WoodMangler (21 Mar 2013)

Harbo":cwdmqppn said:


> Beech on mine.


Me too. They've lasted a good few years, every so often I take them off and sand them flat again.


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## Mike Wingate (21 Mar 2013)

Birch ply for mine.


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## CraigyCraigo (22 Mar 2013)

The redwood never went so good last night, i was trying to set the jaw into it and it kept splitting, after further inspection there were shakes all down it...... I found a 4x1/2" piece of rough sawn oak in the garage so going to have a bash at planing it up nice and ripping it into 2 halves!!!

Wish me luck....... first real go at taking rough sawn and making it into something nice without power tools!!! Problem is i only have a work mate to do it on until i get the vice up and running on the bench!!!

C


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## AndyT (22 Mar 2013)

My top tips when you have to plane something held on a Workmate is to clamp a length of 2x3 to it, which can stick out and brace you against a wall, and also, put it on the upper height setting and stand on the platform, so as to hold it down.


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## CraigyCraigo (22 Mar 2013)

Great Tip, Thanks for that!!!

Really need my vice on my bench!!!


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## CraigyCraigo (23 Mar 2013)

Thanks for the advice guys.......

Went with oak in the end because I had some lying around rough sawn....... loved doing this simple project.......... not a power tool in sight (well not used anyway)........ See pics!!!






The rough sawn 4" x 1 3/4"





Cross cut and ripped in half





Cheek faces planed





Now PAR ready to do the cutout to avoid the screws and sliders





First pic of the vice - as you can see its a carpenters vice but top mountable - a Record Irwin V150B. I need a functioning workbench to build my final work bench....... you'll see a pic further down





Cut out complete





Cheeks now bridging the screws and slides





cheeks screwed on





Tops planed nice and level and cheeks briwaxed





ISO view of finished installation - the vice clamps underneath the work bench and has provisional for bolt down........ I have utilised both as its not going to move anywhere else





final view of the finished installation, bench and rest of the shop..... the bench cost me £50 second hand with the electrics, £20 for a new mdf top, £7 for the gloss, £12 for some adjustable feet, vice was £23 delivered and a happy craig............priceless 

Really chuffed and cannot wait to get some projects on the go..........

Craig


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## Mike Wingate (23 Mar 2013)

Iron and oak is not a good combo. The oak will soon show black stains and the iron will start to corrode. Not an instant rust scenario, but, be warned!


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## nanscombe (23 Mar 2013)

Surely a quick coat of varnish should be enough to solve that?


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## CraigyCraigo (23 Mar 2013)

The plane iron? Or the jaws?


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## carlb40 (23 Mar 2013)

CraigyCraigo":3rdof82k said:


> The plane iron? Or the jaws?


The jaws.
If you look at pictures of oak with black marks on them. That is caused by the tannin in the oak reacting to iron/steel. A couple coats of varnish will stop that


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## CraigyCraigo (25 Mar 2013)

Mike Wingate":3573gpud said:


> Iron and oak is not a good combo. The oak will soon show black stains and the iron will start to corrode. Not an instant rust scenario, but, be warned!



Thanks for the responces guys. It has had multi coats of wax on the faces that see the iron and in the screw holes, but they are brass anyway.

Mike,

You say that cutting oak promotes corrosion on the irons??? i obviously don't want that or pitting anywhere near the cutting edge or sole... how do i need to treat the iron and sole to stop that. i store it in the original oil paper and a bag full of shavings...... hence there should be no moisture in there but the residual acid from the oak may be a problem..... lucky i wouldn't have thought any real stress corrosion cracking could occur in the service life of a plane but obviously general corrosion can..... is it a case of removing the iron and wiping that and the sole down well and giving it a wax maybe? or do i need to use alchol or something alone those lines?


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## Jacob (25 Mar 2013)

CraigyCraigo":3l1akttw said:


> ...... how do i need to treat the iron and sole to stop that. ....


Just keep it clean and dry. Oak can't react with iron without water. Basically no prob with dry wood in a dry workshop. No prob with wet oak either - as long as you keep everything clean and don't leave it hanging about for long in contact with the steel


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## CraigyCraigo (25 Mar 2013)

Thanks!


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## adzeman (25 Mar 2013)

Trying to remember what we used to stop the circular saw blade going blue when we ripped oak? Someone knows?


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## bugbear (26 Mar 2013)

I've certainly cleaned black "stuff" off a blade subsequent to planing oak.

And I've had several steel screws shear off due to corrosion damage when removing them from old oak pieces.

No timber is truly dry, so tannin corrosion will always happen, sometimes slowly, sometime quickly.

BugBear


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## adzeman (26 Mar 2013)

On the outskirts of our village there used to be a tannery and the tanning was was made from oak bark. To shift the bark sludge they had large wood barrows which we made and repaired. Every item of the barrow was wood. The wheel had a vulcanised tyre but everything else was made from elm. When we delivered them usually three or four a time we would have a barrow race. First to the tannery one five shillings. The gate house security would ring the shop to tell the boss who had won. Because of the tanning the tanners wore wood clogs because of the effect on the nails of boots. The Tannery was about a mile and a half away and all down hill. If you won you didnt mind the slow drag back.


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## Mister S (26 Mar 2013)

Mike
thanks for your post - I love stories like that. I'm guessing that modern H&S issues would stop just about every part of your story from happening nowadays. 

Steve


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