Vise Chop facing Ideas?

[Rob Luter]

Greetings to all -

I'm about to make some tweaks to the chop on my twin screw vise. I need to lighten it up quite a bit and apply a new facing. I started out with leather when I built it in 2008, but the thickness wasn't uniform enough. I changed to a self adhesive cork a few years ago, but it moves around with humidity and isn't very durable. Has anyone used the cork/rubber composites or sheet rubber? I'd like a little resilience to the material but it needs to be durable.

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[Dave Anderson NH]

I have used the cork/rubber on the faces of my Emmert vise for 10 years without deterioration. Since it is a metal faced vise I attached flexible magnet material on the back of both pieces with pressure sensitive adhesive so the cork/rubber is removable. Works like a charm.

[ken hatch]

Rob,

Crubber from Benchcrafted works very well. Use contact cement to apply.

ken

[Jim Matthews]

I have used the cork/rubber on the faces of my Emmert vise for 10 years without deterioration. Since it is a metal faced vise I attached flexible magnet material on the back of both pieces with pressure sensitive adhesive so the cork/rubber is removable. Works like a charm.

Where do you source the cork?

[John Keeton]

I used the Crubber that came with my BC leg vise kit and used 3M spray adhesive on the vise faces and on the Crubber. Works great. I can’t speak for durability as it is new, but the Crubber has a durable feel to it. BC sells the Crubber separately. I got my vise from Highland and they may also carry it.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I took home some excess from work while I was still working Jim. However, you can buy it from McMaster-Carr or MSC Direct. I used 1/8" thickness for both durability and ease of handling.

[chris carter]

Personally, I would just replace the leather with new leather. It sounds like you just got really bad leather the first time around.

Crubber is not nearly as durable as leather. Even on Benchcrafted’s website, where you’d expect them to put their product in the best light they reasonably can, they describe it as lasting “years under normal use” and they describe the benefits of using rubber cement to make it easier “when it’s time to replace the Crubber.” That doesn’t exactly instill confidence in me as they clearly expect you to have to replace it. Meanwhile, you can reasonably expect 3-4oz veg tan leather, which costs about the same or cheaper depending on market conditions, to last the life of the bench under normal use. Additionally, according to Andy Klein’s test on youtube, it has better grip than Crubber.

I’m not knocking Crubber. My father-in-law has it on a moxon vise I’ve used and it works fine. But it’s primary selling point (other than the Benchcrafted name) is that it’s easy to purchase. With leather you need to do a little research to figure out what kind/weight to buy and then source it.

[David Eisenhauer]

I have some thin suede leather (from a hobby leather shop) scrap material on a face vise and my Moxon and the crubber on my BC leg vise. Both hold great and both were glued on with Wellwood contact cement. 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other. I did also use some left over "dropoffs" from the irregular shaped/sized suede leather pieces I cut up to add to my holdfast faces and other clamps as well. Again, it works well and I still have more leftover suede for future use..

[Rob Luter]

Thanks for the replies. If I had my druthers I'd use leather, but sourcing a piece that big that is uniform in thickness has been problematic. I'll check out the crubber.

[ken hatch]

Personally, I would just replace the leather with new leather. It sounds like you just got really bad leather the first time around.

Crubber is not nearly as durable as leather. Even on Benchcrafted’s website, where you’d expect them to put their product in the best light they reasonably can, they describe it as lasting “years under normal use” and they describe the benefits of using rubber cement to make it easier “when it’s time to replace the Crubber.” That doesn’t exactly instill confidence in me as they clearly expect you to have to replace it. Meanwhile, you can reasonably expect 3-4oz veg tan leather, which costs about the same or cheaper depending on market conditions, to last the life of the bench under normal use. Additionally, according to Andy Klein’s test on youtube, it has better grip than Crubber.

I’m not knocking Crubber. My father-in-law has it on a moxon vise I’ve used and it works fine. But it’s primary selling point (other than the Benchcrafted name) is that it’s easy to purchase. With leather you need to do a little research to figure out what kind/weight to buy and then source it.

Chris,

I've had leather applied with glue (both hide and yellow) dry up and come loose where the leather was not re-usable. I've been using Clubber with contact cement for a couple of years now with no problems other than a small tear on the top which I repaired with new contact cement and it holds better than leather. Of course YMMV.

ken

[glenn bradley]

Another long term leather user here. If you are having consistency problems look to your supplier, not necessarily the material. It is though, of course, a natural product. ;-)

Vice leather (2).jpgVice leather (1).jpgVice leather (3).jpg

This one has been on for about 4 years. The vises on my previous bench used leather from the same split and were on over 10 years when they left the shop along with that bench. I use a fairly thin leather (5 - 6 oz.) on the sliding jaw only. The improved grip is pretty impressive and I find the leather to be very long lasting with reasonable care. There is not a lot of sliding / levering motion to loosen or damage the leather in using a woodworking vise. Thess actions are reserved for my bench vises.

[Paul F Franklin]

I put rubberized cork on both my vises and am very happy with it, although being mostly a power tool guy they don't get the use that some others might. It's fairly "grippy" which lets you use less pressure than you might otherwise.

Bought mine from McMaster. "Water-Resistant Low-Pressure Rubber/Cork Gasket Material" The low pressure refers to its application in gaskets.

[Rob Luter]

Another long term leather user here. If you are having consistency problems look to your supplier, not necessarily the material. It is though, of course, a natural product. ;-)

Vice leather (2).jpgVice leather (1).jpgVice leather (3).jpg

This one has been on for about 4 years. The vises on my previous bench used leather from the same split and were on over 10 years when they left the shop along with that bench. I use a fairly thin leather (5 - 6 oz.) on the sliding jaw only. The improved grip is pretty impressive and I find the leather to be very long lasting with reasonable care. There is not a lot of sliding / levering motion to loosen or damage the leather in using a woodworking vise. Thess actions are reserved for my bench vises.

I agree Glenn - My local source is a saddle and tack maker. He doesn't have the means to split large pieces. Sources for large split pieces were way too proud of their product for my wallet, not to mention large minimums.

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

[chris carter]

You don't necessarily need a whole solid piece. On the bench I just finished up I used two pieces I bought on ye ol' electronic bay. I just told the seller I was matching them up and needed them to be the same thickness. They sent me two pieces that were the EXACT same thickness. I cannot find the seam running my fingers over the chop. I got two pieces of 16x9" veg tanned cow tooling leather 3 to 4 oz. for a whopping $22. Way cheaper than being forced to buy a half a hide!

[Barney Markunas]

What thickness cork-rubber gasket material (aka crubber) are you folks using? I've seen it available in thicknesses ranging from 1/32- on up to 1/2-inch. Is there a sweet spot? I'd rather not do the Goldilocks thing and try several different thicknesses before I hit "just right".
Thanks!