Quick Release Steel Vise Install

[Jeff Wright]

I am just getting around to installing my two quick release steel vises that are clones of the famed Record vises. I got a 9 and 10.5 inch vise for my Noden Adjust-a-Bench from Lee Valley ( http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,41659&p=49980 ). For once a tool NOT made in China. I am very impressed with the vises. The ten inch is going on the front of the bench while the smaller one on the right side. The five photos below are of my installing the vises to the bench. Future posts to this thread will show the maple faces I plan to add. These faces will cover the rear vise plate and run the entire front edge of the bench, making the front of the bench in effect the rear jaw of the vise. This should facilitate holding larger stock and clamping the extreme ends of stock against the bench front. A similar maple strip, roughly four inches wide, will be applied to the end of the bench where the smaller vise is mounted.

Notice that I installed the vise so that the top of the jaws are slightly lower than the top of the bench. THis permits the maple face to cover the rear vise face and ride against the edge of the bench. It also insures that the metal dog in the front vise face does not extend up higher than the bench top and resulting in damage to the workpiece.

I was lucky in that three pieces of 3/4 inch ply provided a perfect spacer thickness to properly accomodate the vises. I first glued the three pieces of birch ply together, making sure they had true square edges. I then bored the required holes (countersinking the lag bolts securing the three-ply block to the bench). The laminated block was then bolted to the underside of the bench, then the vise bolted to it and through into the underside of the bench.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I should join the 4 inch wide maple face pieces at each corner of the front of the bench. I am inclined to keep it simple and just butt them together. Maybe instead use a lap dovetail joint, or dovetails, or??

[Chris Jenkins]

I would say most use the traditional dovetail joint here. You could do a finger (box) joint. Then drill a hole down through the finger joint (after it is assembled) and put a dowel through the center to keep it from pulling apart. That's pretty simple.

[Hank Knight]

Jeff, my bench has a 4" wide face piece for the bench front, much like your's will. I used 4"X4" end caps on both ends of my bench and I dovetailed the face piece into the right end cap:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/hankknight/DSC_2007Small.jpg

My twin screw end vise is bolted to the right end cap, so my dovetail treatmenet may not be of much help to you.

I mounted my quick release face vise to the left front of my bench just like yours. I recessed the rear jaw into the bench top so the 4" face piece would serve as the rear jaw - just as you have done. One difference is that I made the actual rear vise jaw replaceable. It' s just a 4" wide piece of maple, the same width and thickness as the face piece, but it is a separate piece that screws into the bench top. With the vise closed, you can't tell it's a separate piece. I did this because on my previous benches the vise jaws invariably got dinged up and needed to be replaced from time to time. I didn't want to think about replacing the whole front face piece since it is glued to the bench top, so I made the rear vise jaw a separate piece that I can replace by simply removing 4 screws. Here's picture of the excavation for the vise. It's hard to see, but the Bessy clamps are holdng the face piece in place; it stops at the right edge of the vise opening. The the vise fits into the excavation you see in the photo and the rear vise face fills the gap between the face piece and the end cap.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/hankknight/DSC_2009Small.jpg

I decided to butt the left edge of the vise face against the left end cap. I figured it would be hard to replace if I dovetailed it in like I did on the right side. I've been using it for two years and it hasn't budged. I don't have a photo of the vise mounted without the rear jaw in place, but here's a shot of the finished product.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/hankknight/IMG_4232small.jpg

Good luck with your bench.

Hank

[Jeff Wright]

Jeff, my bench has a 4" wide face piece for the bench front, much like your's will. I used 4"X4" end caps on both ends of my bench and I dovetailed the face piece into the right end cap:

Hank, thanks for some great pics and explanations. I like your idea of a replaceable section on the face board over the rear vise plate. I also like where it looks like you routed out the face of the outside vise plate wood face so the outside vise face is inset into the wood. I was just going to mount the wood protective piece onto the outside vise face; yours looks much better.

[John Schreiber]

Hank,

Sorry to hijack Jeff's thread here, but I've got a question about your bench. It looks very nice. I'm specifically wondering about the feet. Where did you get them? How much adjustability do they give? Do they make the bench less solid feeling?

[Jeff Wright]

Hank,

Sorry to hijack Jeff's thread here, but I've got a question about your bench. It looks very nice. I'm specifically wondering about the feet. Where did you get them? How much adjustability do they give? Do they make the bench less solid feeling?

John, I'm not sure whether you're asking me or Hank. In my case, I have the Noden bench that adjusts its height from 'real low' to 'real high.' (I don't recall the exact heights). It's an especially nice bench to use when routing as you can raise the table high for comfort and visibility. The bench is also on casters. I have the single stretcher model that permits me to sit at the bench and have leg room on the one side. I also use the bench as an out-feed table from time-to-time. While not as stable/firm/solid as a conventionally built bench, it is very stable due to its design and weight. It would not be my first choice if I did a lot of hand plane work, as I think the slight bench flexing would be annoying.

[Hank Knight]

Hank,

Sorry to hijack Jeff's thread here, but I've got a question about your bench. It looks very nice. I'm specifically wondering about the feet. Where did you get them? How much adjustability do they give? Do they make the bench less solid feeling?

John,

I ordered the levelers from MSC Industrial Supply, (www.mscdirect.com). They're heavy duty machine levelers. They have a 3" neoprene pad that swivels and a 6" X 1/2" X 13 stud. I had to cut an inch and a half off the stud, but even so, they give me about 4" of vertical height adjustment.

I was in something of a quandry about how to mount them on the bench. Several people suggested I imbed some 1/2 X 13 threaded connectors in the leg, but I was skeptical about that idea. A connector has,maybe, 1 sq. in. of bearing surface and I wasn't sure that was sufficient for my bench - it's heavy. I thought they might ultimately split the legs.

After some thought, I went to my local machine shop and got them to fabricate some "leg caps" - for lack of a better name. They started with 3" X 3" X 1 3/8" steel plate and turned them down on a lathe. The finished lag cap has a 3" X 3" X 3/8" plate with a 1 1/4" X 1" post. They drilled and tapped a 1/2 X 13 hole through the center and a countersunk hole in each corner of the plate for #14 screws.

I drilled a 1 1/4" hole in the end of each leg and extended it into the leg with a 9/16 bit for the leveler stud, inserted the post into the hole, screwed the plate to the leg and threaded in the leveler stud. The leg caps give my 9 sq. in. of bearing surface each and plenty of threaded support for the leveler studs.

The levelers are rated at 1,000 lbs. each and are rock solid. The neoprene pads do not slip and I have had absolutely no issues with the set up - I love it. I should mention, however, that the machining job was expensive, as were the levelers. The guy at the machine shop suggested that I simply weld some large 1/2 X 13 nuts to a steel plate to accomplish the design. It would have saved me lots of money, but I had made up my mind so I but the bullet and paid up. I'm glad I did. I don't intend to build another bench anytime soon and I'll never have to worry about the levelers on the one I have.

I have attached photos of the levelers and the leg pads here previously. You might want to check out this thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=37532

Hope this answers your questions. If not, let me know and I'll be happy to elaborate.

Hank

[John Schreiber]

Hank,

Those levelers are indeed bomb proof. I'm sure the machine work cost a pretty penny, but the quality is evident. I think I would try the welding trick. Since the pad swivels, they wouldn't have to be exactly square. Perhaps, I could use a coupling nut to maximize the amount of contact.

The Adjust-a-bench is out of my price range, but I go from detail work to neander work and a couple of inches of adjustability would let me bear down on the hand tools when needed. Then later back to normal height for machine work.

[John Petsche]

nice vise install ideas and leg levelers

[Bruce Page]

Jeff, I have a 2” maple top on my bench. I decided against adding an apron. I sure makes clamping thing to the bench top a lot easier.