Another vise thread

[Dave Cav]

I'm about to start sourcing materials for my new workbench. The top is going to be ash, and the legs will probably be glued up alder. The bench will probably be about 72" long and between 20 and 24" wide.

I have just about decided to put a wide (about 24 to 36") twin screw face vise on the left side of the front, and a conventional cast iron vise on the end. I am leaning towards mounting the vise centered on the end, then encasing the movable jaw in wood to make the jaws the full width of the vise as done by David Marks in the Wood Whisperer video. Anyone else set up a vise like this? Any major problems with racking? I have a similar setup now only the end vise is in the conventional tail position and the movable jaw is only about half the width of the bench, but it seems to work very well.

My other question has to do with the construction of the twin screw vise. I am thinking about making my own using two end vise screws from Lee Valley. This will be similar to Chris Schwartz's twin screw vise only it will use metal instead of wood screws. It will require that I turn two handles at once to open or close the vise, but I don't see that as a big deal, and it will save considerable money over the cost of a Veritas or L-N twin screw vise. The metal screws are also quite a bit cheaper than buying wood screws from BigWoodVise.com.

Anyone BTDT? Comments?

Thanks
Dave C

[Jim Koepke]

Of course your working style and what you are working on will weigh heavily on your final decision the experience of others may put a finger on the scales.

As for racking, my vises are made of wood with steel threads and guides. Racking is expected and a lot of "bench furniture" is kept below to shim one side of the vise while cranking down on a work piece. For me, racking is just something to work with. Some of the shims are specially made so they will stay in the vise while working multiple pieces of the same size.

Also, for my way of working, it is convenient to have the tail vise reach to the edge. This for sawing and end grain planing. The wagon style vise has appeal for some things, but for my work style, it would probably need to be on a bench with both ends having tail vises of different styles. For me, it would be more likely to have the twin screw as a tail vise and the front vise would have a vise near the leg and a movable vise for holding long boards while being planed.

just my 2¢,

jim

[Alan DuBoff]

I am leaning towards mounting the vise centered on the end, then encasing the movable jaw in wood to make the jaws the full width of the vise as done by David Marks in the Wood Whisperer video. Anyone else set up a vise like this? Any major problems with racking? I have a similar setup now only the end vise is in the conventional tail position and the movable jaw is only about half the width of the bench, but it seems to work very well.
Some have said they have done this successfully, but I don't think it's a smart idea. I was once going to do that. Bob Smalser has a similar setup on his bench, and I thought it was clever, but have since realized that these QR vises rack way too much.

My other question has to do with the construction of the twin screw vise. I am thinking about making my own using two end vise screws from Lee Valley.
Yes, this will work fine and others have done that already. In fact, I would suggest you do the same thing if you want a vise across the end, to use 2 separate screws for that and do in fact make it another twin screw.

What do you do that the twin screw on the front couldn't be used for similar? I'm curious. I put a twin screw on the front of my bench, with a pattern maker's vise on the end, but I put it up near the front to use like a tail vise and/or non-flat work. It's great for my needs.

Also worth considering is the double leg vise on the front, with one sliding. Jameel has that on his bench, and that's a great setup. A lot more work though, than a normal twin screw.

[Dave Cav]

My end vise is in the same position as your PM vise and I use mine about 75% of the time as an end/wagon vise to hold panels flat on the bench top with dogs. If I put a PM vise there instead it would do the same, plus the other stuff you can do with a PM vise. More to think about.

I have considered a leg vise or two, but more conventional vises seem to work for me at this point.

[Alan DuBoff]

My end vise is in the same position as your PM vise and I use mine about 75% of the time as an end/wagon vise to hold panels flat on the bench top with dogs. If I put a PM vise there instead it would do the same, plus the other stuff you can do with a PM vise. More to think about.
Yes, this is true and why I used it, I even adapted a hand wheel to my Emmert clone. It works well for my needs. But I wasn't trying to convince you to use a PM vise on the end, like I do, I think that is slightly unconventional (but again, it works excellent, IMO).

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=102857&d=1228453091
I have considered a leg vise or two, but more conventional vises seem to work for me at this point.
Leg vises aren't for everyone, but they are not bad vises. I like the double leg vise setup that Jameel has. It is like the ultimate twin-scew, IMO.

I think it really depends on what you do, and how you do it. I use my Emmert clone all the time, wouldn't want to be without it. For non-flat work like handles, or carving, or shaving/stitching, mine serves all those purposes when called upon.

I have seen some comments from folks that said they wouldn't buy one after using the Emmert clone on someone else's bench, but I own the vise and it's a great vise, take what those folks that do not own one say with a large grain of salt, IMO. Everyone has mostly said only good things about these clone vises. They are an added expense, at about $200, but it would be one of the best $200 you could spend on your bench if you were to use it a lot like I do. And also consider the installation, depending on the thickness of the bench it could mean a lot of removal to get one mounted.