vice advice

[thetyreman]

I am just looking at getting a vice for my workbench, which I am about to start building soon, hopefully this weekend...what would you all recommend?

I'd probably be willing to stretch to £100, I've had a look at old ones on ebay, and I am not sure whether to get a new one or old one, it needs to be very substantial and built to last a long time, ideally I'd like one that can hold massive pieces of wood, up to 15" wide, or around that size, but being new to this, I have no idea what the 'normal' sizes are, this is my first workbench, it is the paul sellers bench from his book 'working with wood 1&2' in case you are wondering.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Old Parkinsons and Wodens are fine, a Record 52 1/2 or 53 would be your best bet. The new ones aren't very well made and are stupid money. A 53 will hold about 12" - 13" - without looking for something very specialised I doubt you'll find bigger. Keep your eye on the local small ads. - their weight goes against them when sold, they cost so much to shift. I sold one of each not long ago for £45 each.

 

[Rhyolith]

Yes get a secondhand record, cannot go to far wrong with those. Main thing to check is the quick release as there seem to often be damaged or broken.

 

[Bigbud78]

try these, none of which are mine. I bought two old Parkinson vise's. Both of which have been great since I cleaned them up but ensure the springs are all there along with the screws.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/clamps-vices/ ... 1182298451

https://www.gumtree.com/p/clamps-vices/ ... 1180484406

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-RECOR ... SwepJXUxzv

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Worktop-Vise- ... Swt7ZXpcnW

 

[beech1948]

A record 53/52 1/2 would be fine say £40 on the ebay +p&p.

If broken then its probably the 1/2 nut which works on the threads of the screw to enable quick release and these can be repaired with a welder or new nut. Obviously cheaper if broken and you repair.

 

[ED65]

...ideally I'd like one that can hold massive pieces of wood, up to 15" wide, or around that size, but being new to this, I have no idea what the 'normal' sizes are

Do you mean you want one with a capacity of 15" after the vice cheeks have been installed? That's a tall order.

It makes much more sense to buy a more reasonable size of vice and use various other workholding strategies to hold the occasional very large piece. This can include using the vice along with dogs, or a doghole-mounted stop, to clamp work across the work surface. This would generally give you much better holding anyway.

Buying a vintage vice of the regular sort of size you should get lots of change from your £100.

Edit: how about this for a deal for you, there's a current listing on Gumtree for ex-school Emir workbenches in your area for exactly 100 quid. Each one comes with two Record vices and a holdfast. Bargain!

 

[thetyreman]

...ideally I'd like one that can hold massive pieces of wood, up to 15" wide, or around that size, but being new to this, I have no idea what the 'normal' sizes are

Do you mean you want one with a capacity of 15" after the vice cheeks have been installed? That's a tall order.

It makes much more sense to buy a more reasonable size of vice and use various other workholding strategies to hold the occasional very large piece. This can include using the vice along with dogs, or a doghole-mounted stop, to clamp work across the work surface. This would generally give you much better holding anyway.

Buying a vintage vice of the regular sort of size you should get lots of change from your £100.

Edit: how about this for a deal for you, there's a current listing on Gumtree for ex-school Emir workbenches in your area for exactly 100 quid. Each one comes with two Record vices and a holdfast. Bargain!

do you mind posting me a link to that gumtree add? that sounds very good indeed, could be exactly what I need.

 

[Wuffles]

I presume it's this one.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/tool-storage- ... 1180202571

 

[Bigbud78]

I presume it's this one.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/tool-storage- ... 1180202571

Bargain, worth it just for the Vice's. I'm tempted to go pick one up xD

 

[ED65]

Yup, that's the one. Stroke of luck that, assuming you can move the bench easily enough.

 

[Wuffles]

Advert says he has seven of them. Wish I lived closer myself.

 

[MattRoberts]

Anyone that lives close and wants one please let me know - I'd be happy to buy the other vice and pay postage

 

[bugbear]

ideally I'd like one that can hold massive pieces of wood, up to 15" wide, or around that size, but being new to this...

Hmm. Where did you get that 15" requirement from, and is it the width, length or depth of your hypothetical workpiece?

BugBear

 

[Harbo]

I've had one of these for about 4Oyrs - one with the face panel.
Rock solid, made from Beech and at a £100 a steal.

Rod

 

[curtisrider]

I have 8 or 9 Record woodworking vices in my garage, I'm based in Suffolk though

I've also got 4 of those school woodworking benches with 2 vices in each going spare!

 

[adidat]

If broken then its probably the 1/2 nut which works on the threads of the screw to enable quick release and these can be repaired with a welder or new nut. Obviously cheaper if broken and you repair.

I have a Parkinsons vice I think, the quick release just pings when you try and close the vise. is this the problem?

adidat

 

[adidat]

Anyone??

:duno: :duno:

adidat

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Clean the whole thing up first. If you take the cotter pin off the end you can unwind the front to clean the whole thread, the half nut just unbolts. It's more likely to be fouled up than broken. I replaced it with a slightly bent nail that I can knock out easily if I need to do it again. There really isn't much to them. Mine needs doing again atm, it's getting stiff.

 

[Brian18741]

Man that's some deal with the ex school benches. You'd be mad not to jump on it!

 

[NickN]

Back to the 'capable of 15" wide' question:

I recently bought a couple of Worx 063 Jawhorses, normally sell for c. £120 but currently £69 in Homebase. They hold anything up to 880mm / 35 inches wide in, what I can now assure you, is a vice-like grip, with quick apply and release via a foot pedal. Fantastic piece of kit, and very heavy and sturdily built, folds away in four movements for storage.

I bought one, tried it and was so impressed I went back next day to get another! They weren't even out on display at my Homebase, had to be fetched from the storeroom.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk ... ray-317328