I just finished a new workbench. This thing is a lot stouter than my hastily slapped together bench of 8 years ago. I build things, small tables, some cabinets and small projects. I like to make things out of oak and walnut, but with lumber prices now I might have to sell the truck to buy a board.
I have the new bench backed up to the table saw to feed long stock onto. I have a small 6 inch jointer on the bench but remove it when I need the room. The bench top is 65 x 24. I am intrigued by a leg vise which would seem to handle many types of holding situations. I am a retired 86 year old very active person still doing racewalk events so I still have my physical strength.
I would appreciate suggestions as to vise types from you folks who I consider some pretty smart people.
Bill
Replies
Hey Bill,
I went with a leg vise using the wooden screw from Acer Ferrous. I went with a pin board parallel guide, but I have to imagine that the cross cross from Benchcrafted would be nice.
Bill,
I second user-6108111's mention of the Benchcrafted crisscross leg vise. I use it every day I'm in the shop, and it is superbly functional. I'm attaching a photo of my setup.
That being said, a good deal of its functionality depends on it being mounted to a beefy leg which is perfectly flush to a beefy top. Benchcrafted has very detailed installation manuals available on their website which would let you judge whether it would meet your needs:
https://www.benchcrafted.com/download-files/CrisscrossGlide_Instructions-BC0419.pdf
Two Veritas twin-screw vises (one face, one end) have served me well for many years now. I confess to being somewhat leery of most single screw vises (including even that leg vise) because a single screw gets in the way of the work piece more than do twin screws; and racking is often an issue with a single screw.
I also suspect that some current "must-have" vises are something of a fashion or even a fad, popularized via the woodworking trend to revive various long-forgotten designs for this and that. I always wonder: why were they forgotten? :-)
But if you do fancy an old-fangled design, consider a Moxon vise, which has the virtues not just of being twin-screw but also portable - you can strap it to different bench positions, at various heights. That is genuinely useful.
There are drawbacks to the Moxon: it does need a truly effective means to strap it solidly to the bench; and it doesn't have the gear & chain arrangement of something like the Veritas twin screw to keep the jaws parallel when winding only one of its handles. On the other hand, sometimes a skewed pair of jaws suits a non-parallel work piece.
Benchcraft stuff is very nice but expensive. Consider York brand (Czech, I think) as a less expensive alternative with just as much functionality as Benchcraft but without some of the Benchcraft "polish".
Lataxe
I have a "normal" cast iron quick-release face vice. The back jaw is buried in the apron and the front has a wide wooden cap. I learned from a day in a friend's shop that I would miss the quick release most of all.
"Woodworking Vice" Yes, yes it is. Sadly I to have gone down the woodworking perdition path, more chisels, more routers, more hand planes, and lots more wood. No room to move in the shop and yet I collect more stuff. My life has spiraled out of control.
Wait? What?? You were asking about a tool to hold wood??? The other posters have solid advice for you there. Very knowledgeable. I need professional help.
I have had a leg vice on the bench I built a year and a half ago and love it. I bought a relatively inexpensive Shopfox Bench Screw off Amazon.
I used a wedge at the base of the chop for a long while. But, recently went to a wooden arm with dowel holes drilled crossways, that slide sin and out of a morticed slot in my bench leg. I find that the dowel sit sin the first hole 90% of the time, at least.
I'm pretty cheap, so will almost always try to do some shadetree mechanic'ing before spending a dime... So, take my advice for what it's worth. LOL
I built a face vise into my compact workbench
Very nice. And your shop looks like a lab where they build microchips. Compared to mine anyway.
This was part of a Covid Project. I needed both a new bench and something to do.
My space (we call it the man Cove since it has no door) is 3/4 deep single car garage so everything has to be perfect to allow me to work.
First I put in overhead cabinets (like a kitchen upper but starting at 6' off the floor) then a new MiniMax bandsaw. After that the bench and a row of cabinets on the floor along the Garage dividing wall.
So, it isn't quite as clean as the photo shows but I do keep it tidy since the space is so small.
iIalso built a version of the Bennett Street Toolbox that is very useful given the space available.
A couple of years ago I built my “last” bench, a project I’d been putting off for a while. I too was intrigued by a leg vise, and decided to include one in the bench. Short story, I REALLY like my leg vise. But, while Benchcrafted and the other highly regarded setups was appealing, I couldn’t convince myself to drop that kind of coin... Anyway, I too bought a screw (Yost) off of the internet. I didn’t want to wrestle with pegs or chains for keeping the chop parallel with the bench so I bought Len Hovarter’s “x-link” St. Andrew’s Cross interpretation. It works great! Highly recommended. Now I could’ve bought his whole leg vise kit, but, well imo this would’ve be wasted money for my use. My former bench, now consigned to a TS out feed bench featured a quick release “conventional vise.” I liked it to, but as a hobbiest I don’t mind spinning the handle a bit more every now and then. The conventional vice worked fine, but for me, the leg vise offers a lot more work holding options, especially when pared with a deadman. To each his own, and perhaps more importantly I think the “answer” may hinge, as it often does, on what kind of work you do.
The only thing that gives me pause, this was my “last” bench. So, now you’ve got me thinking. I’m a bit younger... will I end up eventually building another bench 21 years from now? I pray I’ll be as involved in woodworking as you are at 86! Best wishes, Bill. You’ve given many of us cause to keep making sawdust. Have a great day, Sir!
D. J.
A book by Lost Art Press called "The Anarchist's Workbench" details Chris Schwarz's examination of many bench types and many vises over I think 20 years. You might want to read that. The PDF download is free.
https://lostartpress.com/collections/books/products/the-anarchists-workbench
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