Finish the inside of wood vise chops?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Been putting a couple of coats of danish oil on the wooden bits of my vises - may follow up with some film finish, I guess I'll see. I'm just curious what folks opinions are on whether I should put some finish on the "inside" faces of the vises - I guess I'm mostly wondering if it's going to make it difficult to apply some leather inside the vise when I get around to getting some.

[george wilson]

I would not put any finish on the insides of wooden jaws. It might lead to something unwanted getting on the bare wood you are holding. Depends upon the finish,I suppose. But,the best course is just to not put any finish on the jaws. It also may reduce the grip of the jaws.

[Derek Cohen]

As George notes, a finish will affect the grip. It certainly did so on mine, and the finish was on the side of the bench top and not the inside of the chop.

However, the grip was transformed when I added suede leather to both surfaces. So, if you plan to do so as well, then go ahead an finish the chop on both sides. A finish on one side may affect its stability over time.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bill Haumann]

Suede on the chops of my leg vise was also a great improvement. I didn't finish beneath it, but didn't really think about it either.

[Andrae Covington]

I finished the insides of my vise chops along with everything else. I used polymerized tung oil, which would be similar to danish oil. I then glued leather in place. The leather has held just fine.