Input on LV front vise

[Clisby Clark]

I just finished my workbench construction and am going to buy a vise this week. I am strongly considering the NON quick release front vise from Lee Valley. The quick release sounds cool, but if most of my work will be 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch stock is it really worth almost double the money? The vise is built in the Czech Rebublic and I know LV only sells quality stuff. Does anyone have any experience with this vise they would like to share before I pull the trigger? Thanks for all input.

[Nelson Howe]

I'm just finishing up my bench now, and have the lv medium quick release, which I'm using for my end vise. The QR really is pretty neat in operation, but I can't say if it's worth the extra money or not. One downside to it is that you can't use it to disassemble things. I will use my leg vise for that. This is a Czech unit. Quality of manufacture seems good. Installation directions were a bit baffling at first, but after careful study, they did make sense.
I would suggest, though, that you consider whether you really want to limit yourself in the future to what you're doing now. 3/4 to 1 1/4 stock is cool now, but what happens when you're making that chair, or planing that drawer, or squeezing your nephew's head?

Nelson

[Charles R. Smith]

I have the LV large quick-release vice (model 70G08.10) made in the Czech Republic -- it's simple but well made. I use it only for making furniture, much in the same way that you seem to be working, as the vast majority of my clamping is with 3/4 to 1 inch material. I have incessantly appreciated the quick-release feature, and especially like being able to use my knee or hip to close the vice when my hands are busy holding a piece of wood. I'm glad I spent the extra money for the quick action mechanism. But that is merely one guy's opinion...

Charles (whose teenaged years of playing hockey taught him how to give a vice a mean hip-check)

[Jim Koepke]

I just have funky wood jaw vises and have learned to turn the handle with my knee.

Winding and unwinding the handle is a bit of work, but then the calories it burns lets me have another cookie. :D

jim

[Sean Kinn]

I have the non-quick release version, and I don't mind the extra turning of the screw. It was cheaper and I preferred the less complex mechanism. Here's a shot of her:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4zu_BDW7_VE/SxMLPE6a6SI/AAAAAAAACTk/fL4nvpBGgYI/s400/IMG_1643.JPG

[David Keller NC]

Regarding quick release vises - In my opinion, quick releases are most useful when dealing with complex/heavy parts by yourself. In normal use, it's not that big of a deal, so long as the vise is rapid-acting.

I don't have the L.V., but I will need to purchase a couple more "face vises" in the near future. After having an antique Record, and a couple of asian-made Record clones that were eventually sold due to frustration with the lever quick-release mechanism, I finally settled on the Jorgensen quick-release that woodcraft sells. I tried to save a little cash with the Anant/Groz versions of quick-release vises, but unfortunately found them to be very low in quality for what they cost - too much play in the screws, the parallel rods not being quite parallel, etc..

The Jorgensen at only about $50 more, was perfection in cast iron & steel. A really superb vise for not much money.