Benchcrafted Glide Leg Vise & Veritas QR "Tail" vise combo?

[Mike Holbrook]

I am trying to make a final decision on vises for my bench before Veritas's free shipping ends.

I had been considering a Hovarter vise, but since I can not find comments on how they actually work by people who use them I have grown cold on the idea. For the price of the Hovarter I can buy the Glide Leg Vise by Benchcrafted. Then it occurred to me that although I have seen pictures indicating that people are using them I have not seen any comments on how people like this vise.

The main issue people mention in regard to leg vises is their speed. Quite a few people apparently go to wooden screws with larger threads to get a faster vise. I believe the Glide Vise with its: precision construction, large heavy hand wheel and roller system, is designed to glide along its threads, increasing the speed one can adjust it. Fine in theory but before I consider buying one I would like to hear fellows state that they find these features actually produce real life benefits. It does seem to me there would be less tendency to get a leg hung on the wheel than the large crank arms used on many leg vises.

Then I need to decide on at least one more vise. I believe the leg vise will handle edge work. The split top roubo's surface in conjunction with holdfasts, Veritas Surface Clamps, Veritas Wonder Dogs & Veritas bench dogs will handle surface work. That leaves end grain work for the other vise to deal with. I think the Veritas Twin-Screw Vise is probably the most popular vise for this job, but I am not excited about dealing with how far those two handles protrude out from the bench. I can just overcome and adapt or consider the new Veritas Quick-Release Front Vise, with an extended chop.

The information on the new Veritas Quick-Release Tail Vise also suggests that placing dog holes and dogs in the side of the vise can adapt it to clamping panels or boards to a bench's top edge, leg and a sliding dead-man. The newer tail vise does look like it could be very versatile and easy to install but again I have not heard from people actually using this vise. Can panels and boards actually be held securely by Dogs, Surface Clamps, or Holdfasts/Hold-Downs. Some people apparently clamp work to the sides of their benches with a simple Crochet or just the Veritas devices and holdfasts. Would adapting the side of a tail vise so that it could be used to place some pressure against dogs or holdfasts on the side of the bench make a good system for securing work for both edge and end work? Certainly this vise offers the ability to secure work on the top of the bench. If so this could be a very versatile and quick vise.

[Jim Ritter]

I think the BenchCrafted leg vises are probably the best there is, if you can afford them. I chose the screws from Lie-Nielsen for my leg vise. They were affordable (I wanted two) and they are very well made with bearings in the handle joint. I have not been happy with the Veritas twin screw vise for the reasons you cite and in our boat shop we have trouble keeping the jaws parallel. That could be a fact of inexperience of the volunteers. If I were buying a twin screw vise it would be from Lie-Neilsen.
I never thought about a dog hole on the side of the jaw for front of bench clamping. It should work, but of course you would need a row of holes along the edge of the bench.
My advise is make the best choices you can and build a bench. A was blocked for years trying to get a bench that could do everything. My work is very diverse as a boatbuilder, and makeshift is very adaptable which is what I had. Now that I've built a bench I'm amazed at how much easier a lot of the jobs are. So far the bench has been up to every task. Don't wait build.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

"Don't wait build" like Jim said, is probably the best advice at some point. Haven't you posted a couple of other threads about picking bench vises, Mike? I know there's a temptation to build the last bench ever, but I don't think there's a way not to make some compromise somewhere, even if it's just a small one. If you know your work and what you want to do, you can eliminate compromise for the majority of what you do. But at the end of the day, having a sturdy workbench, even one with no vises at all, is going to be better than having no workbench because you're still scheming for the perfect vise combo!

I know I spent too long fretting over this kind of stuff, rather than building a bench. Even just having a big ol' glued up slab sitting on my sawbenches has been so liberating compared to the crummy benches and solutions I've worked on.

Now, of course, if you have a decent bench that works for you, and this is the second, the last bench ever, then by all means, go ahead and scheme until you've got it perfect. But I feel like if you've been working for a while in such a way, you'd have a better idea of how you want a bench to perform. You probably work different than me, and I work different than Jim, and so on - so what I think is the best vise setup might not be the best for you.

That said, yes, it can get annoying to have to open and close a vise that's slow, but I very rarely find myself going from clamping something big to something small so many times in a row that the vise becomes a major frustration. Yes, faster is nicer, but don't sweat it.

I hope this doesn't sound like an attack, I don't mean it rudely. Just saying, life is too short to worry about shop hardware, when you could be making something you love!

[Joe Leigh]

Mike,
I've only had my Benchcrafted leg vise for a short period and I have no other experience with any other leg vise, so my observations may not carry much weight. That being said, I would purchase it again in a hearbeat. Now, realize that this type of vise requires quite a bit of work to build and assemble, with the parallel guide. the glide pin, and ball bearing roller assemblies, and it takes some minor tuning to get it functioning smoothly. But once completed it is an absolute joy to use....effortless and quiet. Line the faces with some suede leather and all it takes is a small turn of the large cast iron wheel and your piece is locked down solid. Very impressive. As for speed? well, I'm not sure how to quantify that but the wheel spins so effortlessly that moving from full open to full closed is but a few seconds. And, it's fun to use!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/lj61673/DSCN2142.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/lj61673/DSCN2152.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/lj61673/DSCN2144.jpg

[Michael Peet]

I have to echo everything Joe said regarding the BC vise.

Mike

[Mike Holbrook]

Right Joshua, I have made several posts. I have sort of come full circle. I eliminated the Glide Leg Vise and any "Tail" vise from consideration early in my thinking process. Now I am having my second thoughts about a twin screw or a Hovarter. The LN Twin screw and the Hovarter cost about the same as the Glide Leg Vise which is why I started revisiting that idea. I just became aware of the newer Veritas QR Tail Vise and was not interested in it until I discovered it might be a major help for edge and end grain work. So far I have not found any discussion of the QR Tail vise, particularly in terms of using it for clamping to the side of a bench.

One of my challenges is I have a home and business on 12 acres and tools tend to get scattered between the two work areas. The two buildings are too far apart to realistically share tools. I am in the process of remodeling my shop at the house for cabinet and furniture making projects to follow this last large construction project. Some of the tools, at least one bench and my sheet goods sawing table will go to the work building, leaving me the space to remodel the shop at the house. I am cramped for space at the house at the moment and although I have been accumulating the wood, vises, bench hold downs...needed for my new hand tool bench, I do not quite have the space for it yet, nor have I finished redoing the lighting for the changes happening there.

I am committed on the bench build. The related construction project is why I am not full scale working on my bench now. I have an old 2x4 & plywood bench I built many years ago. I also have a compact Hammer bench, not sure which location they will end up in yet. The addition to the building for the business will create a semi enclosed, rain free, protected area for a bench and tools to be used in that area, particularly construction tools.

I think I am pretty much on schedule, accumulating the parts and letting the wood season in the shop. I could get started in another week but realistically I think it will be another two or three weeks before I get my construction projects to the point that I can move existing tools & benches out to make room for the new hand tool specific bench.

I appreciate the comments on the Veritas Twin Screw Jim, your bench and the one Derek is finishing up are quite an inspiration. Wish I could start mine now but it want be long until I have created enough space to make the project much easier to do. I can justify a little extra money for my bench as the business can toss some money at it expecting to get some cabinets, chairs and tables out of the deal. I am warming up to the idea of a Glide Leg Vise and maybe the Veritas QR "Tail" Vise used more in support of edge and end grain work. I am thinking of building a taller & wider jaw for this vise that could hold two rows of dog holes. Jim"s two square work support dogs got me thinking about using a thin board with two dowels instead of the two square dogs, sort of like a small hook. One of these on the QR Vise and another on an apron or sliding dead-man might make a great bench side clamping devise.

[Mike Holbrook]

I did it, I hope it works. I ordered the Veritas QR Tail vise. I also ordered a selection of Veritas Bench Anchors & screws. I plan to make something between large dogs or small bench hooks. I think I can use these as an improved jig, for clamping on the side of the bench or as work stops on the top of the bench.

I plan to order a Benchcrafted Glide Leg Vise too. Now I can stop worrying about vises, right? Is worrying about vises a vise in and of itself?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Mike, I just looked back at my post, and I really hope it didn't come across as snarky. I didn't mean it to be as rude as it sounded.

And of course, there's plenty of other reasons not to start a project that takes as much time this, and it was presumptuous of me to make it sound like it was just indecision keeping things from starting. And while you're waiting, what better to do than think about it too much! I certainly did the same with my bench build while I got money together to start buying lumber.

Either way, whatever you build, I hope you have fun with it!

As far as the bench crafted vise and the speed of opening and closing, if you search on youtube, you'll find a least a few videos demonstrating the "start spinning the wheel and watch it close by itself" aspect of things, which I think should give you an idea of the speed. Not as fast as a quick release, but certainly a lot faster than an iron screw without all the added things like the rollers and the acetal bushing and stuff.

[Mike Holbrook]

Joshua, no problem at all. You made good valid observations, besides I have read your posts and know you have been wracking your brain over the same issues.

The description Benchcrafted makes of the Glide Leg Vise made me curious about how easy it might be to get it to "glide". It sounded from part of what I read like not getting the hardware installed exactly could cause it not to glide. Just curious to hear about some real life experiences. I have seen some tool demos that over state what the average person can get the tool to do. In this case I suspect Benchcrafted understates their tools ability. Plus I bought the plans for their Split Top Roubo bench so I have all the little details on building and installing a leg vise using their hardware. Now all I have to do is substitute the Veritas QR Tail vise for the Benchcrafted tail vise, which will actually be much simpler.

I am jumping out of the box with the Veritas QR Tail vise, can't find anything on YouTube about it, except the brief mention on their three new vise advertisement. I like Jim Ritter's idea for large dogs as work stops and Chris' modified bench hook idea so I thought I might be able to sort of combine them into a double duty jig for the QR Tail vise.

[Curt Putnam]

Mike, thee and me have been thinking alike. A medical issue is keeping me from starting the bench build right now, but my vise choices (at least for the moment) are the BC leg vise and the Veritas QR tail vise. Why the Veritas? One can place dog holes closer to the front edge. Installation appears simple enough for even me. It can apply pressure in either direction. Both the Veritas & the BC vises require a lot of overhang at the tail end. Prices are close enough to not matter much.

[Mike Holbrook]

Curt, we will get there!
Yes, I think the Benchcrafted plan's carcass overhang will work well with the Veritas QR Tail Vise.

I got the wood for the top, and a couple smaller projects a week ago. I hope to make a trip for more wood Monday, my day off. I plan to make the carcass from shorts I discovered the supplier has, did not have time to search through them last time. I have everything else I need except for a few things from BenchCrafted. Plan to order the BC vise, some suede, barrel nuts and a Skraper Monday too. That should give me everything I need within the next two weeks.

[Chuck Nickerson]

The description Benchcrafted makes of the Glide Leg Vise made me curious about how easy it might be to get it to "glide".

Thanks to my BC Roubo build and the woodworking schools I visit, I've worked on five benches with the BC leg vise. Their ability to glide depends on your ability to get the alignment correct. My personal one sort of glides. The disappointment lasted five minutes.