Best bench Vises / What are you using?

[richard poitras]

Well I just recently posted about adjustable work benches and got a lot of great feedback. One thing that was not mentioned much was the vises that people are putting on their newly designed benches. What vises are you using on your work bench and do you like them or do you wish you had used something else and if so what would that have been and why?

Thanks Richard

[Zahid Naqvi]

I'm a neander type person so I put a leg vise ont he front and a quick release in lieu of a tail vise. Haven't used ythe bench much but my decision was heavily influenced by Chris Schwarz and how he did a step by step analysis of what bench gadgets to use for what tasks. It seemed this setup would work best for the type of work I do.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I use a metal front vise from Woodcraft and instead of a tail vise, I use bench dogs and wonder dogs.

[Prashun Patel]

I have 2 benches, both with standard, large front vises. Both do the job fairly well.

However, if funds permitted, I'd have 3 vises:

1) A patternmaker's vise. For holding things like chair legs at odd angles while you shave, this is really nice to have. Woodcraft sells a copy of the Emmert. It's a toss up between this one and the Lee Valley twin screw vise for me. There are times the wracking of a regular front vise is just a pain to have to account for. My front vise is not a quick release. I don't really miss it. I find that for most of the stuff I do, it stays within a turn or two of position.

2) A shoulder vise. The big benefit here is not having the guide rods down below, so for light claming work like on dovetails, you can hang the piece straight down.

[Ron Kellison]

I built the Lee Valley bench (starting with rough maple boards) and installed an older Record 52 1/2D vise with maple faces. Works like a charm!
No tail vise yet.

Regards,

Ron

[glenn bradley]

I have two vises (as opposed to vise hardware) that were picked up at HF on sale. They are quick-release and although I have a couple of Lee Valley vise hardware sets under the bench to replace them, it has just not yet become a priority. They work well (after much one-time fettling) and do what they are supposed to. The better vise hardware may lay there till the next bench.

[Larry Edgerton]

My best vices are drinking, smoke'ing, and women of questionable character.........

Oh, not what you meant.

I have a couple of Record quick release vises on both sides of a 7 foot long bench. Works well for what I do. Haven't been able to break one in twenty years or so, and I don't worry about such things, so they are tough.

[Brian Tymchak]

I put a 24" Veritas twin-screw in the face and a Jorgy 9" quick-release in the tail on my new bench. My first thought is always to use the quick-release if I can just because I can move it easily in or out several inches. I'm not to the point yet of wanting to change out the twin-screw though. I just haven't had the need to use it much yet.

[Ryan Mooney]

I'm somewhat less happy with the Veritas twin screw than I had imagined myself being. It is a (very imho) well made vise for the type, I just haven't totally convinced myself that it was the best choice of vise style for me now that I've used it. My unhappiness may well be a mismatch between unreasonable expectations and reality though :D

Pros:
- Lots of clamping power, and surface so tends not to mar (haven't added leather to the faces .. yet...)
- easy to clamp board 6 ways to sunday. Arguably on a wideish - mines 24" - bench its more flexible than a lot of other options, I can end, edge, side, etc.. clamp

Cons:
- a bit fussy to setup. If the alignment isn't spot on it will bind some (one rear thrust plates was a smidge off so even though I had the jaws nice and true I spent a fair bit of time with thin shims to get it to run clean).
- slow (my biggest complaint), takes a while to open/close for wider clamp ups. Granted most stuff I do is thinner (2" or less) so not a huge problem. A quick release vise or a coarser pitch that ran faster would be preferred by me at this point.

I'll likely eventually end up building another style of bench (never version more like a roubo with a wagon and leg vise) so I can compare head to head eventually (if I did it now she-who-must-be-obeyed would take off my head for not doing the other long-list-of-projects first as what I have is perfectly functional :o).

[David Hostetler]

I am using a Pittsburgh quick release 9" woodworking vise.

Pros: Good solid hold, thick castings, easily run in and out.
Cons: poor face machining. The rear face is actually at an angle side to side and causes a little bit of racking. I do not know if HF still sells these, but they supposedly have a lifetime warranty, I am considering taking it back for one that is straight... Also the quick release mechanism is a bit fussy. The screws that hold it in tend to come loose, and the quick release quits working...

I would think that with a little better machining on the faces, and a dab of Loctite on the screws, this could be a fine vise...

[Chris Friesen]

I used the Veritas 24" twin-screw with a beefy 36" movable jaw as a face vise, with a small quick-release one with a thick wooden chop as a tail-vise. The left edge of the face vise is lined up with the left end of my bench. This lets me clamp outside the screws on either side.

I'm pretty happy, though if I were starting from scratch the Veritas quick release tail vice might be tempting....a bit pricy though.

[Don Morris]

I have a couple Record vises and added Maple fronts. The quick release function isn't a must, but don't get one without it.

[Larry Fox]

Tail vise - Veritas 24" twin screw vise. Don't like it at all - way over-hyped in my opinion.
Side Vise - Emmert #2 pattern makers vise. Love it.

[Walter Plummer]

I got real lucky and acquired an Emmert turtleback and I made my own wagon vise.