Anyone here have dealings with Big Wood Vise.com?

[Tony Shea]

Just curious if anyone here has had any experience with Big Wood Vise.com? Specifically what is his turn around rate these days? I placed an order a couple weeks ago and just can't seem to get a response from him personally. The paypall receipt is all that I have received in way of confirmation. It has only been two weeks though too, but i'm used to at least confirmation from most suppliers I deal with.

Also curious how anyone who does have his vise likes it?

[Rick Lapp]

I placed an order a couple months ago. My PayPal was charged but I never got a confirmation from him. I contacted him and got a prompt response that all was well. Several days later, however, I got a refund from PayPal and an explanation from BWV that he could not source properly seasoned maple so was suspending orders until he could. I sent a follow up inquiry this week but have gotten no response. Rick

[Jeff Posten]

have you guys checked out Lake Erie Toolworks? <http://lakeerietoolworks.com>. They are offering a similar screw.

Jeff

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

No experience with BWV, but I've been more than pleased with my Lake Erie screw. I'm not sure the BWV screw is really that different - the extra 1/8 inch or whatever doesn't really seem that different. I also like that L.E. uses threaded ends on their vise screw instead of press fit. The brass garter looks great, too.

[Tony Shea]

I placed an order a couple months ago. My PayPal was charged but I never got a confirmation from him. I contacted him and got a prompt response that all was well. Several days later, however, I got a refund from PayPal and an explanation from BWV that he could not source properly seasoned maple so was suspending orders until he could. I sent a follow up inquiry this week but have gotten no response. Rick

That is not very reassuring. I've tried contacting him two different methods, through his contact form on his website and by email which is posted on his website. I have had no response at all from him. I really hope that he is not still accepting payments through paypall knowing that he can't produce a product due to lack of stock. Man I wish he had a phone # for contact!

I suppose I should have asked before I placed the order as I am already half way into the waiting period of Lake Erie had I gone that route. Maybe expecting response after only two weeks is my fault. Hopefully things work out and I'm just jumping the gun.

My bench currently sits there in pieces waiting for parts of the leg vise to continue on with the build/assembly.

[Joe A Faulkner]

There is also a Creeker with a shop in Franklin Indiana who sells wooden screws on eBay. Evans Toolworks.

[Andrae Covington]

...Also curious how anyone who does have his vise likes it?

To answer your other question, I've been very happy with the vise screws I bought back in 2008. Back then, his screws were 2" diameter (now 2-5/8"), and he did not offer garter plates. The garters he makes now are very similar to what I ended up making for myself, although I used solid poplar rather than birch ply (I think the ply would be better). It looks like now that he only offers one hub style, a squared-off design. Back in 2008, he also offered a "shaker" style that was more bulbous, and that's what I bought. The other difference I note is that he now makes them in maple; back then he was using ash.

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[Tony Shea]

I do like the bulbous style hub you have a bit more. I opted with my order to make my own garter. Although the brass one that Lake Erie offers is pretty nice looking. But i figured it is an easy part of the process that I can handle myself. Wish I was set up to make my own screws as well as I would have avoided this situation.

I like the bench you've got there Andrae. I am also using Doug Fir for my top, been stocking up on 4x4's over a period of time that are nice and clear with really tight vertical grain. I do sometimes wish I went with the 2x12 method to get a bit thicker top, but due to my very picky nature I was able to get very straight 4x4's that have a finished thickness of just over 3 1/4".

[Andrae Covington]

I do like the bulbous style hub you have a bit more. I opted with my order to make my own garter. Although the brass one that Lake Erie offers is pretty nice looking. But i figured it is an easy part of the process that I can handle myself. Wish I was set up to make my own screws as well as I would have avoided this situation.

I like the bench you've got there Andrae. I am also using Doug Fir for my top, been stocking up on 4x4's over a period of time that are nice and clear with really tight vertical grain. I do sometimes wish I went with the 2x12 method to get a bit thicker top, but due to my very picky nature I was able to get very straight 4x4's that have a finished thickness of just over 3 1/4".

Making the garter is pretty straightforward, as long as the wood you choose is not too brittle. Before I went with poplar I tried some 1/4" red oak that was nearly true quartersawn and tight grain (purely by chance, this was home center stuff). But drilling all those holes made it split right down the grain. Also, if you don't mind the look, surface-mounting the garter vs. insetting it like I did saves a ton of work.

3 1/4" will be fine. I started with reclaimed old-growth DF 2x4's, some of which were close to actual 4". But the narrow edges were so beat up from the deconstruction and from me pulling embedded nails and screws that I had to rip them down a bit and my workbench top ended up at just about 3" thick.

[Eric Smith1]

Just an FYI for anyone thinking of purchasing from Big Wood Vise - it would seem the business is not currently in operation. If you choose to order something from bigwoodvise.com, I would request a confirmation first that he is back in production before placing your order. I had a similar experience as Tony Shea posted above and it took some doing to finally get a refund.

[James Bird]

I have stumbled upon a Recommendation for BWV on Chris Schwarz Pop WW blog. I mention this for 2 reasons, one in the case of other tool makers who have gone MIA, some people had better luck with their situations when they contacted Chris and let him know about the situation, Usually people like Chris have personal phone numbers for said makers and are able to persuade them more readily. However, I am definitely not recommending that you get Chris involved as it really isn't his job to get people refunds... I bring this up because in said post on his blog there is a response from the maker and I would assume owner of Big Wood Vise, his name is Joe Comunale. You may be able to look him up online and get his personal phone number as well as address, some sites offer this for free, others require a small payment of $1 or $2.... just an FYI if you do use one of these sites to obtain a phone number some of them are better than others, so read the fine print and always cancel your membership asap after you get the info you seek, or some/most sites will without your knowledge start charging you a monthly fee. Again, I am not recommending that anyone take either of these routes, I am simply suggesting the 2 routes of recourse the people who were victims of a previous infill plane debacle took and some had success with....
I hope I am not over-stepping my boundaries by suggesting this.
JB