Light duty shoulder vise

[James Pallas]

I worked on a bench with a shoulder vise before and liked it for cutting dovetails, tenon, etc. I have been working with regular bench vises and have just used a spacer to prevent wracking. I decided I wanted something a little quicker in use. As usual I put together a prototype from scraps. My prototypes usually end up being used until worn out. This one will be the same I'm sure. It works very good. Not made for all shoulder vise uses, just light stuff. I'm sure others have made similar. This is just my version. Goes in the vise and tossed under the bench when not needed.
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Jim,

My vises have a similar racking problem. My solution was a little different:

372779

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?183743-Anti-Rack-Spacer-Stack

The cutout at the end slides over the screw and the cutout in the middle goes over one of the guide bars.

The 1/8" spacer is the weak point. Over time it became apparent rounding the corners of the cutouts near the pin helps the various spacers mesh.

The spacers are 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" & 1". It has been in use almost 6 years now and has only needed a couple of restorations. Now it is handled with a bit more care.

jtk

[James Pallas]

Howdy Jim,

My vises have a similar racking problem. My solution was a little different:

372779

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?183743-Anti-Rack-Spacer-Stack

The cutout at the end slides over the screw and the cutout in the middle goes over one of the guide bars.

The 1/8" spacer is the weak point. Over time it became apparent rounding the corners of the cutouts near the pin helps the various spacers mesh.

The spacers are 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" & 1". It has been in use almost 6 years now and has only needed a couple of restorations. Now it is handled with a bit more care.

jtk
Good idea Jim. I expect the racking issue is just a part of metal vises. It really doesn't bother me much. The idea of having the piece being worked on having solid backing just seems better to me. Also the fact that I can handle longer pieces without the guide bars being involved is good. I have my "wanna be" Moxon which works great but seems a little cumbersome for small box size pieces. I was looking for a way without building a euro style bench. I would do that just for a shoulder and tail vises, that I like, but just not up to it at present. I would also like to have the room to have a euro, my adjust a bench, and a 4x8 low build table in the same space. Don't wish for much, do I. I can still copy your device as it looks handier than my scrap and spring clamp.
Jim