Workbench Vice advice

[Adam W.]

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.

 

[Cabinetman]

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

 

[Dionysios]

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.

 

[Jacob]

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!.

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

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.

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.

 

[Adam W.]

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.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

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.

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

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.

 

[stuart little]

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

 

[tibi]

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.

 

[Cabinetman]

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

 

[timwhatley]

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.

 

[tibi]

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.

 

[Jacob]

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

 

[tibi]

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.