Emmert Vise Question

[Brian Dormer]

I'm close to buying an Emmert (well, a knock-off) vise for a new workbench I'm building (rule 1: buy the vises before you start cutting wood so you allow necessary clearance).

I would dearly love a Tucker vise, but that's beyond the budget SWMBO has allocated to me:( . I've Googled all over the web and I see the general idea of how it mounts.

What puzzles me is the statement that you should mount the vise so the rear jaw is 1/8" proud of the face of the bench. WHY? :confused: I'd prefer the rear face of the vise to be aligned with the face of the bench. It would seem to make sense - but I've seen that advice in more than one place - and it seems to be very important - so I'd like to know the reasoning behind it.

[Rick Lizek]

http://www.mprime.com/Emmert/RogerVM3.htm fourth picture down. The vise rotates so it needs clearance. I think I understand your question but I wonder if you realize what they mean by keeping the rear jaw 1/8" proud. If it was flush it would rub and bind. I have three of the full size Emmerts but the clones are getting better. I can't imagine buying the Tucker. I've never paid over $250 for an original full sized Emmert.

[Brian Dormer]

Rick,

I understand that the vise needs clearance so it can turn, swivel and such and I'm prepared to cut, chisel, file, sand, and fit the vise into the top.

Looking at this picture (which I've seen before) - it DOES look like the rear jaw is flush to the face of the bench. I never noticed that before.

So now I'm really confused! I will see if I can find the text I'm referring to.

[Jim DeLaney]

I have the Highland Hardware Emmert Knock-off. Like it a lot.

What they mean by 'proud of the bench top' is IN FRONT OF the bench top. The top of the vise jaw - on my installation - is flush with the top of the bench, but it does need some FRONT clearance to be able to rotate.

[David Carroll]

I have the Highland Hardware version and I have it flush mounted. You basically need to cut a 3/8-inch offset line into the apron to allow it to pivot. However, I have rarely ever used this feature, most often I tip it up 90 degrees then pivot it to hold stock to drawknife. Once the vise is swung up and it clears the apron, you can spin her around without interference with the apron.

David C

[Brian Dormer]

Well, it sounds like the whole "1/8" thing is about clearance for the tilt/swivel/twist. Not a problem.

I've looked at Highland Hardware - which seems to be the same as the Woodcraft vise. Since I have 10% off this month (the WoodCraft "birthday discount") I figured I would go pick it up. It makes WoodCraft about 2 bucks cheaper than Highland... Also gives me an excuse to go to the store and find some "impulse buys".

Unless someone tells me that the Highland vise is diffferent/better than Woodcraft....

[Brian Dormer]

I found a reference for the 1/8" measurement. It's here:

http://www.shavings.net/emmert.htm

About 60% of the way down - the right hand page titled "DIRECTIONS" - the SECOND item says the face of the rear jaw should be mounted 1/8" beyond the face of the bench plank. This appears to be the original instructions from Emmert in 1933.

In light of the discussion so far, there doesn't seem to be any good reason for this. The text is (by modern standards) pretty poorly written. It COULD, I suppose, be saying to allow a 1/8" gap so the vise can swivel - which is the consensus so far.

I'm off to Woodcraft in the morning (with SWMBO's blessing to go forth and $pend money) - I hope one of these vises follows me home. :)

[Doug Shepard]

Since I've only seen an uninstalled PM vise up close I'm still not totally clear on where it binds and during which plane of motion, but I'll take it on faith that you cant get any closer than the 1/16" shown in the link that Rick posted. So my next question was can you just trim the front left corner of the bench by 1/16" to compensate and set the vise into that notch the same way it's installed on Ricks link? Even if you have to extend the notch several inches past the right end of the vise for clearance?
I cant tell for sure but I think maybe David Carroll may have answered that question in his post. Hopefully he can find some pics of his installation to confirm it.

[Ed Beers]

I have one of the Highland Hardware clones. I am planning on building a new bench and using the PM vise as a tail vise. I wasn't planning on recessing the rear jaw at all. Any comments on this? I haven't cut any actual wood yet.

[Wes Bischel]

Doug,
One way to find out is install it without a gap and see if it affects the movement you need.:D

Just a thought,
Wes