Finally took it on today. I have had four days off since Feb 22 and my next day off is Mar 27, but I just couldn't wait any longer. Not done, but I have a working vise again if I need to sharpen a saw before the install is finished.
First, both companies, Lake Erie Tools Works and Anchora Yacht Services, have both been top notch to deal with for me. I had order verification emails from both within 24 hours, and both shipped product in the window they said they would ship.
Besides the install instructions from both vendors, (excellent documents), for my retro fit I leaned heavily on two other sources. There is a youtube guy, Jay Bates, has a video up 22:10, just search youtube for "Jay Bates hickory" and look for the one 22:10 duration at the top of your results. I have watched that one at least three times. The other is Derek Cohen's website in the wood shop dot com I think. Besides the chain install article, in the section of his work bench build is a leg vise retrofit that covers three different entries. I probably owe Derek several beers for using so much of his server time. EDIT: Also Chris Schwarz _Anarchist Work Bench_ has an excellent write-up I referred to often.
I have already lost count of how many times I have rolled my bench around on the floor tonight. I knew a retrofit was going to be a pain in the neck, tonight was the first time I was glad my bench doesn't weigh anymore than it does. If there is any way around it, don't do a retrofit. Install your leg vise to the vise leg before you assemble your bench. This sucks.
Having said all that, my plan is to just hit the highlights and not repeat or belabor the good info already out there in the sources above.
First up is wax. Just about everybody slathers on some floor wax as they do final assembly of wooden vise screw to wooden vise nut. No buffing. I don't like it. Wax collects dirt and dirt is hard on screw threads. Buffed wax is easy to keep dusted. I used salad bowl wax on my hub and tommy bar, floor wax on the threads. For the nut, by the time I had floor wax down into all the threads I had enough wax on my glove after clean up to do the whole nut with floor wax. The pic is my application and buffing setup for the screw, like flossing teeth. There is a bit of play between the screw and nut, so I just sort of leaned my fat belly up against the hub the lock it in place, flossed all the gaps I could reach, turn the hub 90 degrees, repeat. All the floor waxes I could find have petroleum distillates in them, so for application I was flossing hard enough to get the wax to liquify, then let it set until it stopped smelling, then at least an over night in the room with the wood stove, then buff. 3 coats applied and buffed, I was well into diminishing returns with the third coat.
The second pic is how far I got tonight, about four hours of shop time. I have the hole for the screw through both chop and leg, hole for the chain through chop and leg, mortise for the nut cut, nut installed, chop cut to length at the floor...and that's it. Chop is still 1/2 inch proud of the bench top.