Vise Chop facing Ideas?

[Paul F Franklin]

I used 1/8" thick on the outer jaws only. Seems about right to me. I didn't put it on the inner jaws. My face vice is set into the bench so the inner jaw is flush to the side of the top and I like it that way, so I just lined the outer jaw.

[Rob Luter]

The adhesive backed cork I used last time was about 1/16 thick. Outer jaw only. It worked great and gripped like a mofo. Unfortunately it only lasted five years.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Here's the McMaster-Carr link:

https://www.mcmaster.com/cork-rubber/

You pay a few dollars more for the M-C product ($24 for 1/8 thick) than for a sheet of Crubber cut by Benchcrafted, but isn't it about the same stuff? You also can save about $5 each time you go down by 1/32". Either way, you can buy a 12" x 36" piece of it from M-C and have a lot left over.

A few days ago I read that David Eisenhauer recommended suede, so I found a 48"-long strip on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Strips-of-S...72.m2749.l2649

I chose the 4" width, the widest that seller had. I figure I'll use the 4" x 16" cutoff to make two 1-5/8" x 16" strips for the bottom of the front chop.

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[glenn bradley]

Edit - How thick is the chop on your twin screw Glenn?

Let me go measure . . . The front vise is 2-1/4" while the end vise is 2-3/4". The reason for the difference? I put the front vise on first and shaped the chop per Lee Valley's instructions. This bevel was way-overkill for my use. By the time I got things where I wanted them I was at about 2-1/4" assuming I would just make a new one if it didn't work out; it has been fine. I use the ends of the chop to grab things and dog material across the left apron:

TNNW (65).jpg

That's why we love these twin screws right? No racking. I only point this out to emphasize that 2-1/4" hard maple has been plenty stout. HTH.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Glenn, the twin-screw vise works well for that dog setup, but the free-floating Moxon front chop would rack unless you put a spacer into the far end. I think spacers are easy, though. Neat idea in any case.

[Sam Shankar]

My benchcrafted leg vise has crubber. And it's great. And it doesn't seem appreciably different than the 32" x 32" sheet of rubberized cork that I got for $15 from Amazon.

I am happy to send a big hunk of it to you for free if you PM me. I'm paying forward a spare plane blade that another creeker sent me for free.

[Tom Bender]

I put leather on both jaws about 5 years ago and it still looks new. Got it from a shop that does fancy leatherwork in or near Kentucky. Can't remember who. Told them what I wanted and they sent me exactly what I wanted; and a spare set just because. I think it was about $25. The pieces are 27" x 2" x 1/8", no need to go to the bottom of the chop. Glued on a little proud on top and hand planed flush with the vise closed. Slick. It's not a smooth surface, it's rough and grips like tiger paws.

[Hilton Ralphs]

Or just get this from Lee Valley when they have stock again. Free shipping to boot.

[John Keeton]

I have no knowledge of how durable when used on vise chops, but “split leather” and “suede” are terms used for the flesh side of a hide. It is less dense and structurally less durable than top spit, also called grain split. Top grain leather would seem a more durable choice applied with the split face out. It would provide the same rough surface, but with a more dense and durable consistency.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Back to this thread as I move to the chop-lining step. When you read Benchcrafted's blurb in praise of Crubber, it ends by calling it "Every bit (and perhaps moreso) as grippy as suede." So, is suede the gold standard? Two questions:

1) Does suede pick up all kinds of sawdust and small chips? I wouldn't want to grind those into my parts.

2) Should you cut the liner only as long as the distance between the lead screws, or the full width of the front chop and put holes in for the screws? I'm leaning toward the latter as I think this would distribute the clamping force better, but I've seen people do it both ways. (This is a Moxon, not a twin-screw that started this thread.)

[Scott Winners]

If you really want to stick with leather, figure out how big a piece you need and have it processed. I dunno if Tandy leather is still a thing now that Radio Shack is a walking zombie, but there is a process where you can take a piece of leather , run it through a machine with a hand crank on it, and it all comes out unfirm thickness with some shavings scraped off it. It is one way to make garmet lkeather, like for jackets and skirts. And belts.

You want the hair side probably, with the flesh side scraped down to unform thickness. Dang it, my google fu is failing me. Anyway, much cheaper (likely) to a buy a long thin piece at uniform thickness, rather than a short wide one.

Once you know the name of the machine that can bring say a 4x16 inch strip of leather down to uniform thickness all you have to do is find someone that has one. Sorry, long week here.

[Michael J Evans]

Rob I've never used it but I think sheet rubber would work really good in this application. Uniform thickness, durable but yet forgiving, resistant to various things, etc
I did some research for you and there is a michiana supply that shows they stock sheet rubber. Likely have some rems as well.

[Rob Luter]

I've yet to do anything with this. I found some cork but it was really fragile. As cheap as it was that was really no surprise. I'll likely source some crubber eventually. The raw maple chop has been working OK for the time being.

[Derek Cohen]

I purchased cork-rubber on eBay.

This is the inside of the chop ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

[Phil Mueller]

Rob, I used cheap cork from Michaels (or somewhere, can’t remember) and stuck it on with the 3M stuff. This is what it looks like after about 3 years. Desperately needs replacing. Maybe I abuse it, or didn’t apply it well, but it’s not long lasting. I’ll likely try the crubber or the cork/rubber Derek shows.


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