Vise Racking

[David Ragan]

Hello,

If I want to use my end/face vise (just the usual quick release kind) w/o worrying about racking, what will the result be?

Just side to side movement, but still works great @ primary job of holding stuff?

It's a good brand-maybe it will do while I figure out how to get a wagon/tail/twin screw vise.

Thanks, D

[Jason Lester]

I have a few little "T"-shaped pieces of wood to go on the other side. If I'm clamping 3/4" stock, I stick the 3/4" T on the other side. I have another that is 1/2" for when dovetailing drawers. I have a pretty high quality vise, but they all rack unless you get something like a twin-screw model and clamp in between the screws. If you're clamping to one side or the other, it will always rack.

[David Ragan]

What I mean is--What kind of damage /functional impairment will develop in the vise itself over time?

[Bill Dufour]

Even the fancy machinist angle lock vises high precision scraped sliding surfaces have the racking problem. You need to clamp the work centered over the screw or use a shim on the off side.
Bill D

[Dave Cav]

What I mean is--What kind of damage /functional impairment will develop in the vise itself over time?

I suppose if you use enough pressure you could bend the screw or break the nut, but the biggest problem from racking is it doesn't hold your work very well. Like Jason above I have made a set of shims, 1/4 to 1 1/4" with a dowel through the top, to put in the opposite side of the vise to prevent racking. The dowel keeps the shim from dropping through the vise faces.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have the large Eclipse QR vise as a face vise. I clamp things to one side or the other all the time, and never really worried about racking. Obviously it does rack a little, but not much and it still grips well without having to crank it especially tight. I have the jaws lined with non-slip drawer mat (epoxied on), which improves the grip dramatically and so reduces the force required. It works so well that I don't have any desire for a twin screw, which seems cumbersome by comparison.

[Prashun Patel]

"What I mean is--What kind of damage /functional impairment will develop in the vise itself over time?"

If you use it without worrying about racking, your bigger risk is that many pieces will not hold well - not that the vise itself will suffer damage. I don't think damage to the vise is a practical consideration.

[David Ragan]

Thanks guys.

Practically speaking the biggest issue is that the workpiece may not be held securely, and the drawer mat is a great idea for an auxiliary jaw.

Perfect till I figure out something better.

[Mark Rainey]

I have used a Record 52 quick release vise for 20 years & racked the snot out of it. Just last week when planing a board with serious vise pressure on one side only it “broke”. The metal piece than joins the two rods together ( known sometimes as the dogbone came loose ). In searching this forum, a couple of fixes were offered. I epoxied it back in position with JB Weld. We will see what happens - maybe I will avoid racking it recklessly.