Vise wisdom

[Ashwini Kaul]

I know this is too open ended with so many options.
I am in the middle of a Roubo-Schwarz-esque workbench build: 6'wide, 2' deep and 4" thick - douglas fir.
Working on the dreaded mortices for the legs right now...
Did not research the Vises too much.
Other than benchcrafted which has a 3 week wait and can get expensive, what are my options for a leg/face vise and a tail(non-wagon) vise?
I want something solid, with little fuss and not too complicated an install as I have never done this before.
I am ok with adding the tail vise at a later time. I can compensate with dogs and holdfasts for a while.

Please advise!

[Matt Radtke]

For a tail vise, you can look at veritas' new fast acting tail vise. On paper, it's my second favorite vise after the Benchcrafted. If you are up for a wagon vise, I built my own with some mending straps and a veneer press screw.

Leg vise: just buy a bench screw. Again, Veritas has one that'll work just fine for that. It's what I did.

[Steve Branam]

I used this bench screw from Woodcraft for my Roubo leg vise: http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage.aspx?prodid=607&ss=f3676e8b-8d3d-4305-8fe9-d35c6eb4225f#ReviewHeader

Good and heavy duty, nicely milled threads. Fine German engineering. A bit more expensive than other bench screws, but not too much.

[Ashwini Kaul]

This looks pretty decent!
So why do folks pay the premium for the significantly expensive stuff?

[Andrae Covington]

This looks pretty decent!
So why do folks pay the premium for the significantly expensive stuff?

For the leg vise, the Benchcrafted version includes rollers for the parallel guide, mounted above and below. The parallel guide then glides in and out on those rollers, and the weight of the vise chop is supported by the parallel guide and rollers, rather than on the screw. The vise chop weight can make the screw more difficult to turn. That said, I have 2" wood vise screws with 6/4 white oak chops hanging on them and I think the screws move fine. It could be better though.

The Benchcrafted handwheel is also appealing. Sometimes the "tommy bar" handle on a typical screw can get in the way as you are swinging it around.

The screws from Woodcraft, Lee Valley, etc. are probably your best bet for something economical and easy to install. The wood ones aren't all that complicated in comparison, though. Since Big Wood Vise isn't taking orders currently, take a look at Lake Erie Toolworks. Depending on the options you might choose, it's about half the cost of the Benchcrafted leg vise screw, but about twice the Woodcraft screw.

[Jon van der Linden]

I used this bench screw from Woodcraft for my Roubo leg vise: http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage.aspx?prodid=607&ss=f3676e8b-8d3d-4305-8fe9-d35c6eb4225f#ReviewHeader

Good and heavy duty, nicely milled threads. Fine German engineering. A bit more expensive than other bench screws, but not too much.

A bench screw doesn't work the same as a standard bench vise. Anyone using this for a leg vise will need a nut to attach to the inside of the leg.

Pretty easy to make something that works using a standard acme threaded rod and bolts. Although the 1 1/4" diameter rod seems to be quite popular these days, it's way beyond anything needed for woodworking. Having some sticking out the other side of the leg might help balance the vise though.

[Roger Newby]

www.surpluscenter.com/home.asp

You can get Acme threaded rod and nuts from these guys at a pretty reasonable price.

[Wes Grass]

While an 1-1/4" screw *is* overkill from a strength standpoint, it's the minimum diameter generally available to get the coarse thread pitch that's desirable for a woodworking vise.

While you could go with a smaller screw with a multi-start thread, you'd then be stuck sourcing specialty (expensive) nuts to use with it.

[Steve Branam]

Actually, the Woodcraft screw does include the nut. I reversed it to set into the leg. Then the collar at the handle end attached to the outside of the chop.

You can see these steps at http://www.closegrain.com/2010/01/my-roubo-part-7.html and http://www.closegrain.com/2010/02/my-roubo-part-10.html.

Don't bother with the handle they sell, though. I ended up making a better one.

It holds very well (I've held applewood log sections for ripping in it). When the screw is extended, it's probably exerting a bit of leverage on the nut mounting in the leg, but I made the bottom of the chop with very little clearance above the floor for that reason. So when you extend it, the bottom of the chop is just brushing along the floor. There's enough play in the threads that it doesn't jam against the floor, can go up and down by a sixteenth or so.

[Jon van der Linden]

While an 1-1/4" screw *is* overkill from a strength standpoint, it's the minimum diameter generally available to get the coarse thread pitch that's desirable for a woodworking vise.

While you could go with a smaller screw with a multi-start thread, you'd then be stuck sourcing specialty (expensive) nuts to use with it.

Benchcrafted uses a 1 1/4" 4 tpi, Lie Nielsen a 1 1/8" 5 tpi, and a significantly cheaper 3/4" acme rod is still at most a 6 tpi. The large Emmert vises used screws smaller than Lie Nielsen (the smaller Emmert screws were only 3/4"), and the most common types of vises have significantly smaller screws.

There's nothing wrong with a huge vise screw, but anyone that claims that a 4 tpi thread is necessary for quality work... let's just say that even if you're in production, the difference between 4 and 6 tpi in terms of time spent will be measured in minutes per year. Most common adjustments are very small.

As far as the nuts, they're standard. The larger the rod the more expensive the nut, by a large factor. My point was just that you can do this much cheaper and it will function very well. I paid $20 for a 72" length of 3/4" acme rod and the nuts were a couple of $ each. You may not find a bargain like that, but it's a lot cheaper.

[Ashwini Kaul]

Thank you everyone for your inputs!
Looks like my dilemma is over as far as a leg vise is concerned. Unbeknownst to me, my Dad ordered a Benchcrafted vise for me. Now for the unbearable wait of 2-3 weeks. He had helped me through the milling and gluing process while he was over at our place for the summer... this was an awesome surprise though!

[Jacob Mac]

Thank you everyone for your inputs!
Looks like my dilemma is over as far as a leg vise is concerned. Unbeknownst to me, my Dad ordered a Benchcrafted vise for me. Now for the unbearable wait of 2-3 weeks. He had helped me through the milling and gluing process while he was over at our place for the summer... this was an awesome surprise though!

Wow, what a nice gift. I went with a LV bench screw, and it works great. But on my next bench, I will definitely get a Benchcrafted vise.

[Tri Hoang]

You have a great Dad! I think you'll be very happy with the Benchcrafted. I've looked at wooden screws, metal screws, twin screws but fell for the Benchcrafted vise. The choice is similar to that of a wooden smoother, an old Stanley #4, a LN #4, a Veritas BU smoother, or an infill. They all work when properly tuned but there are nuances that draw people to one particular choice.

[Jameel Abraham]

Thank you everyone for your inputs!
Looks like my dilemma is over as far as a leg vise is concerned. Unbeknownst to me, my Dad ordered a Benchcrafted vise for me. Now for the unbearable wait of 2-3 weeks. He had helped me through the milling and gluing process while he was over at our place for the summer... this was an awesome surprise though!

It won't be too unbearable Ashwini. We shipped your vise today. Hope you enjoy it. :)

[Ashwini Kaul]

It won't be too unbearable Ashwini. We shipped your vise today. Hope you enjoy it. :)

Wow! what an awesome surprise!
Jameel... ur the man!

I better get those mortices chopped up fast over the weekend.