Workbench Vise Hardware

Re: Workbench Vise Hardware

Verne in Northeast NJ

>I have the Veritas Vise, and I think it's terrific. After looking at the Lie-Nielsen vise online, one advantage to the Veritas is that you can disengauge either screw from the chain, so you can better clamp pieces that are not of uniform thickness.

Hey, since you're buying (and building) why not get both and use one as a face vise? :-)

Good luck with it and post pictures when you're done!

I'd be worried that the...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>LN only has 6.75" between the screws. You can position LV screws at any center line dimension you want...up to a point.

Re: Workbench Vise Hardware

thomd

>I personally think the standard western tail vise is a better design, which is only to say that it's worth thinking through carefully how you will really use it, if you haven't already.

I built the Lee Valley double screw vise and I am pleased with it. It's well designed and reasonably rugged. Their well written instrucions need an executive sumary because while they aren't in the least confusing, they make the whole thing seem a bigger deal than it is.

The reason I built the vise was that my other bench already has a tail vise on it, and I thought this one would allow me to have a western and Japanese planing side. Immediately as it was in process I moved shops to a long narrow space that requires me to have the Jpanese side against the wall, so all I really have is a marginally less useful vise than a single tail vise. I had to shorten the far handle to nothing so that I could get clearance for it to turn. The clutch pin is not rugged so single handle manipulation is not functional. The narrow width of the standard bench end does not provide any particularly useful face vise operations, though conceptually one can think of things where the two rows of dogs are an advantage for calmping on the top, in practice I have never used the second set. Obviusly when I ger this bench in a wider space I will have less to complain about, but a bench is a lot like a cabinet saw in that it requires a larger space than many have to be fully used.

The biggest plus is that this style of vise leaves uncut the whole width and length of the bench top. Be sure to actually buy your hardware or request the booklets (online?) to be sure that critical dimensions and interferances are built into your design. For one thing the minimum width this puppy can be set up on is actually wider than I like my benches.

So it's a 99% sound product, but as always the devil is in the details.

The one thing I liked about the whole deal was that the unit came with this plastic cowling to cover up the chain. I thought it was nicely designed but not up to my stabdards. It looked good until one touched it. Anyway, they came out with the metal version just after I got mine installed. Next time they fix something perhaps they could act before I buy it but a good result all around.

Re: LN

thomd

>I looked at the LN, and the issues that would worry me are that while it would clamp across the end of the vise, it would seem to be that a large racking load would occur when using the front edge dogs right handed. Looks like a very cool vise for what it was intended to do, but for the end of bench situation, I'm not convinced.

They have it mounted on the end with the handle on the right, maybe it could be flipped, but as indicated it's going to be an awkward reach to access the handle from the front, and it may foul with the wall if you put it against one.

To deal with the racking issues you need to really secure it heavily to the bench top, and you would then need to deal with benchtop crossgrain issues.

If I was using that hardware for an endvise. I would flip it (if possible) have the handle all the way over to the front of the vise, to the degree that working in the gap would allow. If it would not allow dog use on the far side of the bench, I wouldn't let that bother me, I would just chop the jaw short like a traditional tail vise. In this application I think it might be fine and would allow a narrower benchtop if desired.

What advantage would that have over a tail vise of normal construction: Easier install (?); more functional face vise capability; less amputation of full bench width, slightly less ideal gap vise.