vise

Re: vise *LINK*

Paul in NJ

>I don't have experience with those vises, but I own some older Bessey bar clamps and believe they were made in Germany. There is an article in the latest FWW on this subject but frankly I didn't think it was that great. The author didn't mention wooden screws or leg vises which a lot of people like and are easy to make (leg vices). Since you are making your bench you might consider building your own vise. After using a few types of vises, I have settled on and like the vise I have now. It is made from 2 tail vise screws, similar to the one I have linked to at Lee Valley. I removed the head and epoxied on one made from 4" maple. It has better mechanical advantage than the stock one since it is larger in diameter and rigidly attached to the screw. The face of the vise floats on the screw with oversize holes, no garters are used. This means I can skew the vise more for irregular shaped objects. You might also consider a leg vise, depending on the design of your bench.

Paul Dzioba




Tail Vice Screw

Re: vise

ThomD

>Of those you have mentioned I would go for the largest Jorgensen style one you can find at a reasonable price. The quick release by latch is the most desireable, I don't like the bacturning type, but I assume it's the best quality LV could find. I haven't seen a display model myself. It may seem as though the jaw of any of these vises is big enough for anything one might do, but the most comon uses are borken up by the bars so they are samller than they may seem. Usually the upgrade price is trivial compared to having to buy a bigger one later.

My prefered 2 vises are the Tucker/patternmakers and the wood based L type vises.

LV vise

Jim in Burlington On

>They are smooth and seem to be a copy of the Record vise. If your in no rush some good heavy Wilton vises appear on e-bay. I have a nice 90 degree one picked up off of there for 90$ with delivery.

Re: LV vise

Tony Zaffuto

>Thanks one and all,

I'm not in a hurry: have a bench and am outfitted with two vises already. I've been planning a new bench for a number of years and my thinking is now focusing on workholding/vises.

As far back as my planning goes, I could have bought any of the Records but I procrastinated! The large LV now appears to be the vise I'll be going with.

T.Z.

Re: vise

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>Tony,

I realize you are interested in specific vises, but I'd just like to add that you may do better with no vise at all. Both face vises and end vises can get in the way of mission critical hand operations. Moldings where the plane must overhang the bench, edge work on wide panels, etc can be problems for some face vises. 18thc French joiners' benches seemed to have no vises.

As you consider different vise designs, maybe you should consider one that is removable and leaves a flush front.

adam

Re: vise

Bob Powers

>Tony,

I recently finished a new bench and used this vise, along with the Lee Valley/Veritas Twin-Screw Vise. I am very pleased with both of them. The quick-release vise does resemble the Record in many ways. Machining is quite precise, finish is good. It's made in the Csech Republic. The front jaw is 16"X6", laminated maple, faced with leather.

The only argument I have with the vise is that the handle slides its' entire length, requiring a very large arc to open or close. This problem is easily solved by centering the handle with a couple of big rubber bands. It makes life much easier.

How about this one... *LINK*

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>The LN vise look nice.


LN Vise

Re: vise

Scott in Douglassville

>Shameless pic posting:

A leg vise is something to consider.

Re: vise

ThomD

>You can work without vises, but it's not a zero sum game if you have them since you can always work where they aren't, the only limitation is if your bench is too short.