Emmert Vise Clone Review

Patternmakers' vises notably the Oliver and Emmert, have been out of original production for many years. If one wants such a vise there are really only three alternatives: the Lee Valley Tucker, a used Oliver or Emmert, or a clone. The pros and cons are straightforward. The Tucker is the class of the class, an elegantly improved version of the original Emmert with quick release functionality and made from space age materials (Lee Valley's Tucker vise). At $570, it is also the most expensive option. Old Oliver and Emmert vises can still be found, usually with difficulty and rarely in mint condition. Most are cracked, chipped, and/or missing pieces. A quick search of eBay found none on offer. Be prepared for sticker shock.

Bring in the Emmert clones from Asia priced at about $200 on sale. I couldn't justify the price of the Tucker, so I ordered my clone last year from Woodcraft in Seattle. Since it was still cheaper than driving to pick it up—plus I saved the Washington State sales tax—I had mine shipped to Victoria. The heavy cardboard carton and styrofoam aren't quite strong enough for the kind of handling the weight produces. Nothing was damaged but couple of machine screws had gone missing (they were easily replaced). All in all, with shipping weight at 60+ pounds, it might be best to pick it up, if you are able to.

Fit and finish are quite good. Assembly and set-up—photos below—are surprisingly simple, the instructions, even more surprisingly, are clear and straightforward, and a template is included. The screw's action is smooth with no discernible backlash, and while a quick-release mechanism would be a nice addition, it isn't necessary. The three cam-action clamps that control the orientation of the vise and the angle of the front jaw tighten and release quickly and easily. Clamping action is, of course, powerful but controllable.

The following photos show the enormous capacity and positional flexibility offered by the vise. Since I'm not a patternmaker, I don't need them very often, but once in a while an awkward cut is made a lot easier by the ability to re-position the workpiece more conveniently.

I originally mounted it on an old bench I literally threw together when we first moved into the house.

Normal position (12" ruler for scale) four dogs pull up for odd-shaped objects

Front jaw tilts to either side for non-parallel surfaces

Face rotated 180° to bring small jaws to the top. Four pins pull out to hold odd shaped objects

Opens to more than 12"

Accessory jaw for angled objects

Angled and rotated for best access to workpiece

Vertical position and rotated

While I didn't photograph the original installation, I did so when I finally built a proper bench. Although massive with a lot of parts, and weighing more than 60 pounds, simply unscrewing the front jaw breaks it down into a couple of roughly equal pieces to make it much easier to handle.

Installing it was far less daunting the second time around. The rear jaw of the vise is mounted to the bench via a large hinged casting that requires a 3⁄8" deep mortise in the bench's top and front. I cut out a piece of scrap the size of the plate to make a template, clamped the half vise in position to mark its edges, and then replaced the vise with the template. A 3⁄4" straight pattern bit in a router made short work of it, and I squared off the corners with an inexpensive hinge chisel. A small dovetail saw and some chisel work took care of the front mortise.

The next job was to undercut the top for the Emmert's short 4" diameter barrel. A tin can about the same diameter provided the arc, and some satisfying mallet and chisel work got rid of the waste quickly. The Emmert's industrial appearance and lack of gentility is balanced by its remarkable flexibility.

To complement the Emmert, I made a bench assistant from a piece of 6" wide maple and ripped a piece of 1" maple to make a French cleat with a 15° bevel.

With one piece screwed to the face of the upper front stretcher, and a short piece of its mate on the back of the assistant, a spacer block on the back near the bottom holds it vertical by resting against the lower stretcher. The 3⁄4" holes accept a Veritas bench dog. When not needed, the assistant lifts off and stores out of the way on the end of the bench, hanging from another piece of the cleat.