Woodworking vice linings

[ED65]

I just had this offcut of rosewood to use up, as one does... so thought it might as well look nice.

It looks gorgeous Keith.

It's a small world, I had planned on saying above "...nearly anything from the cheapest pine to rosewood" but I thought it inevitable that someone was going to post that nobody would line a vice with rosewood, and then I'd have to hunt for a pic that proves it has been done!

 

[dynax]

i fitted mine last week, i just used ply and mdf for now to make it useable, it's not pretty but it works :mrgreen:

 

[MusicMan]

In short the benefits of extended linings are largely imaginary. Make them an inch or two larger than the vice but no more. If bigger things need to be held just supplement the vice with a clamp or two or clamp the thing directly to the bench. There are always better ways than huge linings to the vice jaws.

Each one to his own, but I do find the extra width useful. Recently I wanted to clamp a frame for planing, and could clamp one leg each side, giving a much better grip on the parts I wanted to plane. I'm very careful about racking and not clamping far from the thread; that's what the inlays are for, to show the positions of the guide bars. As for the loss of capacity by using thicker cheeks, that has never been an issue for me. In 25 years of using this vice, I've never needed the full depth capacity (and if I did I could use the Zyliss vice that I also have).

As with many questions about what you need and what you find useful, it depends on how you work and what you make. The new jaws indeed suit me very well, and the benefits are not imaginary. Of course I accept that you and others would find less or no benefit. I also have a pretty long bench (8'), whereas they would be less convenient on a shorter bench.

Keith

 

[John Brown]

I don#t have any rosewood sitting about unused. I might use a piece of oak that I have. It's an offcut of Osmo flooring, so there are cup/crown relief grooves in the back, but I don't think they'll affect anything.

 

[sunnybob]

I often use the full depth of mine, when I glue up blocks for making bandsaw boxes.
The glued pieces all level out on the guide bars, and I can get huge torque on the wood.
havent used the dog though.

 

[DoctorWibble]

Fair points Keith. I guess there's a difference between an experienced woodworker choosing wide jaws for their own particular reasons and general questions as to which is best. It's not necessarily as simple as a big vice for the price of a smaller one was all I was really trying to say.
Perhaps on further reflection wide jaws have more utility for people who mount the rear jaw proud of the bench. Or for people whose bench for other reasons makes it less convenient to use clamps in conjunction with the vice. Or for those who just like wide jaws. The nice thing about woodwork is we get to make what we choose to.
Regards
Ken

 

[MusicMan]

Fair points Keith. I guess there's a difference between an experienced woodworker choosing wide jaws for their own particular reasons and general questions as to which is best. It's not necessarily as simple as a big vice for the price of a smaller one was all I was really trying to say.
Perhaps on further reflection wide jaws have more utility for people who mount the rear jaw proud of the bench. Or for people whose bench for other reasons makes it less convenient to use clamps in conjunction with the vice. Or for those who just like wide jaws. The nice thing about woodwork is we get to make what we choose to.
Regards
Ken

Ken

I couldn't agree more! And it is nice to see our tools and benches etc evolve as we find out how we work.

Thanks, Keith