My, what big jaws you have

[Jake Helmboldt]

OK, so I'm looking at vises for my bench that I built (nothing fancy) and I can't figure out why bench vises are so big and wide. What gives? If you are clamping a board to plane it (on edge) you don't need but several inches.

Do those of you with benches find that you need a big vise? And while we are at it, what do you reccommend, the traditional basic vise that you add wood faces to or a metal vise?

Jake

[lou sansone]

a couple of thoughts come to mind as to why ww vises tend to be much bigger than metal working vises.
1. wood is much more compressible and so you need to have a larger surface area to reduce the PSI and prevent permanent compression of the wood due to the vise jaws
2. often you are clamping large and long pieces in the vise the the larger surface area works to your advantage due to the coefficient of friction between wooden jaws and the wooden work piece
3. sometimes you want to clamp a partial piece in the jaws and having a large throat and big jaws helps with that process

Lou

[Kirk Poore]

If you try to hand plane a long board in a short vise, the ends will be unsupported and tend to be pushed down by the force you use to plane. So you won't cut well or perhaps even at all in the unsupported board ends. Also, with a wide vise you can clamp a board in an upright position so you can plane the end grain. I do this with my Lee Valley twin-screw vise. I often use 12-inch wide oak, and I have the vise set up so that I can put the boards between the screws.

Kirk Poore

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

OK, so I'm looking at vises for my bench that I built (nothing fancy)
Forget fancy and go for size. Bigger is better.



and I can't figure out why bench vises are so big and wide. What gives?
Get a little vice, clamp a 6-foot board in and juat try to run a jointer plane along the edge of that 6' board. the vice will act as a hinge point and you will not be able to work to board - at all.


If you are clamping a board to plane it (on edge) you don't need but several inches. Au contrair. You indeed need all the surface area you can get.


Do those of you with benches find that you need a big vise?
I have had little and large vices, and I won't ever use anything under 9" wide.


And while we are at it, what do you reccommend, the traditional basic vise that you add wood faces to or a metal vise?
Both. One for metal and one for wood.

If all you have is one wood vice you will hate yourself when you have to clamp dirty, greasy, or rusty steel items.
If all you have is a metal vice you will hate yourself when it ruins every single stick of lumber you clamp in it.

[glenn bradley]

Lou's got it in his item #1. Spread out the surface tension so you won't foul the board. I've gotten by with a 6"wide by 7" deep vice that was only about $16. I sacrificed some depth by adding large faceplates to it to spread out the pressure. I don't do a lot of hand planing so this has met my need on the cheap. I enjoy the idea that my skills MIGHT get to the point where I wonder how I did without a REAL vice. . . but not right now.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I'm talking the opening of the jaws. Why the need for 10" or more? That is why I said for edge jointing you only need a few inches since I don't think many people are clamping up 8" thick (not wide, thick) stock.

Even 12/4 stock edge jointing would require only about a 3" opening.

And by metal I mean a woodworking vice made of metal as opposed to the traditional vices that are simply a screw and guide rods to which you add wooden faces. I realize there are metal working and woodworking vices.

http://www.woodcraft.com/images/Family/web309.jpg vs. http://www.woodcraft.com/images/Family/web316.jpg

Jh

[Kirk Poore]

Jake:

The vise can be used to clamp boards on your benchtop too. Taking the right picture in your example photos, the round circle in the top of the outer jaw is a retractable dog. (The ring is probably a pin to hold it up, but my vise doesn't have that.) Assuming you mount the vise with the wooden inserts level with your bench top, you can drill holes in your bench top for removeable dogs in a line directly inboard of the vise dog. This lets you hold a board lengthwise. So opening the vise a long way may give you the space you need for a particular board.

Also, you might need to clamp a partially assembled project in place, such as a drawer. The extra capacity might be critical with a large item.

Kirk