Adding a chop to an iron vise - keep the slight cant?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

So I'm fitting a thick chop to an iron QR vise that I'm mounting to my bench in the end position. There's the normal slight cant to the jaws so the top meets first. I've seen some folks discuss when adding wooden chop to these vises, tapering them to counteract this action so the whole vise meets flat across it's entire surface. I wonder if the slight cant is fighting play in the screw mechanism, or flex in the jaws, and if it's a good or bad idea to do this.

I figure the proof is in the pudding, and it's not a huge hassle to make a change after the fact if the performance of the vise suffers, I'm just curious about the opinion of others.

[Bill Houghton]

You're right: the top meets first because any play in the mechanism will then move in the direction of tightening up closer to the bottom. Unless you find your vise isn't closing "flat" when you apply some pressure, I wouldn't try to compensate for the cant.