Tail vises

[James Pallas]

I like tail vises. I had a bench with tail vise that I left behind 20 years ago. Last year I built a new bench with a tail vise. Went back to using a tail once again. Happiness is a tail vise. I do almost all joinery work with a tail vise. Jim Koepke said we needed a tail vise thread so here we go. Good, bad, love, hate all can be here.
Jim

[Tom Bussey]

I really like tail vises and I think every bench should have one. If not then a wagon vise will work in a pinch. I also prefer a shoulder vise to a leg vise. Shoulder vise hardware from Lee Valley will set on back about $35. I use the same hardware for wagon vises. And for course my leg vise.

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[Brandon Speaks]

I really like the scandanavian shoulder and tail combo as well.

[Jim Koepke]

There is wisdom in the idea of keeping things simple. My tail vise is likely one of the simplest to have on a bench. Mine gets used more than my face vise because of the type of work done and the layout of my shop. It works fine for edge planing small pieces, holding a piece to be sawn. It holds many of my small fixtures such as a bird's mouth for a fret saw and a shooing board for squaring stock.

A wagon vise is likely the bee's knees for those who have chosen that design just as the Scandinavian tail vise works for those who use it in their designs.

My vises will not hold a drawer for fitting the way Tom's vise can. There are ways around this, but if one is doing a lot of drawer fitting why not use a design that is advantageous for such work than to be constantly having to create an adaptation?

There will always be different advantages of one vise system over another based on the scope of the work being done.

Likewise there are many ways to work without a tail vise. Hopefully that will never be my fate. With my vise, when there is an advantage to be had by not having a tail vise, it is easily removed in less than a minute.

jtk

[William Fretwell]

My tail vise is the most used by far. Unlike a wagon vise you get a pair of jaws to work with as well. The hardware is ultra simple and low cost. I made mine longer than most, it can open 13”. The main motivation was I only had enough black walnut fo make a 7’ bench. The tail vise extends enough I can make a door, it’s like having a bench a foot longer.
Yes it’s more complicated to make but it’s just a sliding frame.
For me the hardest part was finding good affordable hardwood for my once in a lifetime bench. I’ve used workarounds, makeshift this and that over the years. They worked in a awkward way and not very well. That is why you build a real bench.
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[Robert Engel]

I like the ability to clamp here also with the tail vise.
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Oops I just saw Williams photo

[Joshua Lucas]

Someday I'm going to get around to installing the Lie-Nielsen tail vise I bought last year. For the time being I get by with my angled leg vise (far superior to the vertical leg vise IMO) and a planing stop.

[Charles Guest]

I like tail vises. I had a bench with tail vise that I left behind 20 years ago. Last year I built a new bench with a tail vise. Went back to using a tail once again. Happiness is a tail vise. I do almost all joinery work with a tail vise. Jim Koepke said we needed a tail vise thread so here we go. Good, bad, love, hate all can be here.
Jim

Tail and shoulder vices -- unobstructed clamping all the way to the floor, or the ceiling come to think of it. No screws to work around, no wracking.

[James Pallas]

I use a tail vise most of the time. Not having one for many years had me exploring many creative ways for work holding. That was probably a good thing. Having a tail vise sent me back to my old ways. I also put an angled leg vise on the bench. I haven’t experimented with it much never having much experience with one. Besides having too much fun with my beloved tail vise. One good thing I remembered was making a lynch pin type handle that I can just slip out so it doesn’t interfere with work. Most of the time I don’t use the handle anyway. Maybe that cold weather has come I’ll finish the detailing of the bench.
Jim

[Scott Winners]

Please do keep posting here, I need this thread for ideas. No tail vise for me yet, but there are times, usually when working the faces of boards, when I think a row of dogholes and some kind of end vise could work well for me. I have pretty well decided to take a class in a shop with a bunch of different end vises on the various benches before I build my next bench, but whether I will be able to travel before I build my next bench is starting to look like a toss up.

Good idea Jim and James.

[Norman Pirollo]

This is my solution. I like to butt boards against a planing stop, but with longer, wider pieces a tail vise offers the best solution. This design works with an end vise. In my case, it is a twin-screw vise. I had several iterations of this but opted for this version as it has a small footprint and works well. Have been using it for 2 years now and am enjoying it. I don't even think of getting another tail vise any longer. So they are set up on opposite sides of the workbench to be able to use both left-handed and right-handed specialty planes, as well as providing more versatility. It is removable and the narrow profile allows me to use the almost full width of the end vise for panel work.

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[James Pallas]

This is my solution. I like to butt boards against a planing stop, but with longer, wider pieces a tail vise offers the best solution. This design works with an end vise. In my case, it is a twin-screw vise. I had several iterations of this but opted for this version as it has a small footprint and works well. Have been using it for 2 years now and am enjoying it. I don't even think of getting another tail vise any longer. So they are set up on opposite sides of the workbench to be able to use both left-handed and right-handed specialty planes, as well as providing more versatility. It is removable and the narrow profile allows me to use the almost full width of the end vise for panel work.

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I have something similar on my Noden bench. I call it my “wannabe” moxon. I use two face vises. It works very well and the vises can work independently. A tail vise it is not however.
Jim

[Phil Gaudio]

You are going to enjoy the LN tail vise: well worth the effort.

https://i.postimg.cc/3r90P44w/IMG-3022-zps97252e83.jpg (https://postimages.org/)


Someday I'm going to get around to installing the Lie-Nielsen tail vise I bought last year. For the time being I get by with my angled leg vise (far superior to the vertical leg vise IMO) and a planing stop.

[Dan Sheehan]

I have the hadware for a tail vise. It looks like the green one shown in the LV catalogue. I have no idea how to costruct the entire vise. A brief search wasn't very helpful. I'm interested in the sliding single screw type like the beautiful examples shown nearby. Any recommendation for plans?

Thanks for the timely thread. I am always grateful for the knowledge and generosity I find on this forum.

[Phil Gaudio]

Here is a nice FWW article on the subject:

https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/how-to-build-a-heavy-duty-workbench


I have the hadware for a tail vise. It looks like the green one shown in the LV catalogue. I have no idea how to costruct the entire vise. A brief search wasn't very helpful. I'm interested in the sliding single screw type like the beautiful examples shown nearby. Any recommendation for plans?

Thanks for the timely thread. I am always grateful for the knowledge and generosity I find on this forum.

[Don Dorn]

I really like tail vises and I think every bench should have one. If not then a wagon vise will work in a pinch. I also prefer a shoulder vise to a leg vise. Shoulder vise hardware from Lee Valley will set on back about $35. I use the same hardware for wagon vises. And for course my leg vise.

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^^^ This. Completely agree, I use a shoulder on the front and a smaller one for the tail. Also put the closest holes only 3/4" from the front - enables me to use combo planes (mostly beading) off the front edge.