Will racking be a problem?

[Bobby Newsom]

1) Vise will actually be positioned about 2.25" higher up on jaws than what is shown. (Vise will be in recessed area on bottom side of bench)

2) Rear Jaw (bench endcap) is 1.75" thick walnut. Front Jaw will be 1.75" walnut laminated to 1.75" hard maple (total thickness 3.5"). This setup will reduce vise screw travel to 4", so bench dog holes will need to be placed every 3-3.5".

Main concern is racking. Main dog hole strips will be located OUTSIDE the vise area on the jaws. Will the hard maple/walnut front jaws be strong enough to oppose significant racking?

430574

[Jamie Buxton]

In this case, the racking mostly will not come from distortion of the wood jaws, but rather from the play in the steel vise mechanism.

[johnny means]

Yes. These types of vices never work well on off center loading. I'm not even talking about one's with that extreme a jaw width.

[Gary Ragatz]

Might want to get one of these:

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/workshop/workbenches/benchtop-accessories/69605-vise-rack-stop

Or, if you prefer to DIY:

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2010/06/18/vise-insert-prevents-racking