Leg vice question

[Staffan Hamala]

I'm planning to add a leg vice to my bench, and move my current vice to the end of the bench instead.

I'm not sure, however, what kind of bench screw you'd use for a leg vice. I found the following:
http://www.fine-tools.com/spind2a.jpg
Large Benchscrew
Total length 535 mm (21 in.)
Threads 28 x 5 mm (1 3/32 in. thread dia., 3/16 in. thread depth)
Opening for handle 29 mm (1-3/16 in.)
Weight approx. 3.4 kg (7.5 lbs.)

Can this be used, or do I need another type of vice screw?

[anthony wall]

that benchscrew is fine for a leg vise

[Staffan Hamala]

that benchscrew is fine for a leg vise

Thanks. I'll buy one and give it a try! :-)

[Don Dorn]

I put a leg vise on the bench I have now. Frankly, if I had to do it over again, I'd opt out and use a standard vise with a good thick chop or a twin screw type instead. The reason is that it's rare (at least for me) to get the top of the vise and the bench completley parallel. Therefore, it doesn't work very well for dovetails because there is many times a vibration unless I further adjust it. Additionaly, know that the torque of the leg vise will work against the top in trying to move it rearward instead of with it like a standard vise. I'll keep mine because it does work, but when I eventually make a new one, it will go. I'm sure others love theirs, but count me among those that don't.

[Erik France]

I ended up with a very similar bench screw, much like the bottom one. My wife grabbed an old leg vice from an old welders bench. When she brought it home she asked me what it was, (she took it because she thought it looked neat). "That's the leg vice screw for my new bench" I replied. ;)

I turned the back nut the other direction as the ones pictured and mortised it into the back of the bench leg. It gave me a little more clamping depth due to the 5" thck legs.

[Floyd Mah]

I used the same screw also. I made an angled leg vise to get the screw out of the way of the clamped material. The slanted vise allows the screw pressure to be applied at the center of the workpiece, even with a longer piece (height of table), so that you won't have trouble with the jaw opening racking, It (shown here) (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?111082-Leg-Vise-vs-Front-Vise&p=1123136#post1123136) works well. As for adjusting the jaw to be parallel to the leg vertically, you can do what I did. When I assembled the vise, I included an extra piece of wood which sits on the piece of the vise, the outrigger, which accepts the pin. The wood thickness is 1/2 the distance between any of the two adjacent pin holes (horizontally). By including or not including that shim between the pin and the stationary vise leg, I can adjust the width of the vise opening by a bit more or less. If you like, you could also use an adjustable shim, or even a fixed shim (if you use a particular thickness of wood frequently) for an exact fit.

[Staffan Hamala]

I put a leg vise on the bench I have now. Frankly, if I had to do it over again, I'd opt out and use a standard vise with a good thick chop or a twin screw type instead. The reason is that it's rare (at least for me) to get the top of the vise and the bench completley parallel. Therefore, it doesn't work very well for dovetails because there is many times a vibration unless I further adjust it. Additionaly, know that the torque of the leg vise will work against the top in trying to move it rearward instead of with it like a standard vise. I'll keep mine because it does work, but when I eventually make a new one, it will go. I'm sure others love theirs, but count me among those that don't.

Interesting. I have had similar problems with my standard vice. The vice was, I thought, well attached to the bench top, but just a couple of weeks after building my bench, I had to attach it more firmly. I thought it was mounted very solidly, but the vice moved a little when clamping stuff in the vice. It's much better now, but the issue still annoys me.

Similarly, with a leg vice, I'd guess it's important that the bench top is solidly attached to the legs.