I purchased the vise about 4 weeks ago and have been using it a lot since then. Thought I would write about my experience with it.

LV seems to pay attention to detail, the finish on the vise is very good as well as all the accessories. I ordered the large and small face plate, carvers screw and lathe adapter.

The vise seemed to be "pricey" to me, until I started using it, then it became apparent it was worth every nickel. Mine is mounted to the lower edge of workbench apron. I make an L shaped platform that is connected via the dog holes. I did this because I like to carve sitting down. On top of the bench it is too high for my liking. Nothing LV can do about that. The adjustments are very easy to make. The vise has a custom wing nut on the base to allow turning 360 degrees. The lever allows the workpiece to be rotated 360. So, the piece can be positioned at virtually any angle. If the base is screwed to the workbench it is not possible to rotate the base, so think about that before mounting.

For hand carving (no mallet) it does not take much pressure to securely hold the work. Mallet work requires tightening the adjustment a bit more. At this point I would NOT recommend using the carving screw when working with a mallet. Lots of stress on those wooden threads in the workpiece.. . . . carving in bass, I have found that the carvers screw works fairly well. But most of my work is with the faceplates.

The accessories for this vise make it really versatile. I have the lathe adaptor so I can turn a piece on the lathe, then, leaving the piece attached to the lathe face plate and mount it on the vise. So, if I need to go back to the lathe I still have the correct registration. This also allows me to use a lathe chuck to grip a piece for carving. I am looking forward to turning a bowl and doing the carving in the next few weeks.

All in all, a really good buy and I am very happy with it.

One thing I did change was the screw hole sizes in the smaller faceplate. I enlarged them slightly so they would take a larger wood screw, not much, just a bit.

I am thinking of buying a second one to facilitate carving on long thin objects like walking sticks.

If you have not used a vise to carve, give one a try. It is great not having to get a death grip on the wood constantly and being able to use two hands to guide the tools.