LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

leg vise idea. Will this work?

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  muddywaters 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am preparing to build a workbench and have an idea on how to do the leg vise. But I am aprehensive about going through with my plan since I have never heard of anyone doing a leg vise this way. And of course, to me, that is an indicator that there is something wrong with my idea. But of course I can't see it. I plan to buy the large front vise hardware from Lee Valley and use it and it alone for my leg vise. Basically a front vise lengthened, and widened a bit, and mounted vertically rather than horizontally to an extra heavy workbench leg. I am using this to avoid wracking when clamping and to avoid the use of a lower support beam on the vise. Is there anything anyone out there can see wrong with this idea or is it doable?
 
#3 ·
Front vises have those guide rails to keep the jaw parallel, which isn't great for your project, because they affect the leverage and capacity of the leg vise. Why not use a LV tail vice screw? I guess I don't see how it's so bad to have the lower support.
 
#4 ·
I have looked at the benchcrafted crisscross before and it is an awesome product as are all of there products. I guess I just had a hard time pulling the trigger on buying a leg vise support for that much. And the reason I don't like the standard style lower support of a leg vise is that I view the leg vise as a machine I build myself. And with any machine I build I want it to be not only strong and to function well, but to be self sufficient. Meaning I don't need to adjust a pins' placement every time I use it. Throw a board into position and tighten. I know I have my own brand of crazy. I think I will probably just go with the crisscross. It works better than anything else I have seen. Thanks for the thoughts you guys.
 
#6 ·
Simpler is better for any kind of vise. The crisscross seems like a perfect solution for those avoiding using a parallelguide pin. I don't think your front vise idea would work very well. I know of one idea I saw online where a guy used a precision shaft with linear bearings with success.
 
#7 ·
I checked out the chain guide thing and do like it. But saw the full on kit is $150. Youch. I am ordinarilly not cheap but I am looking at this bench project from an overall price standpoint. Besides I have a wife to keep at bay. Ha Ha. But from what I saw it does work flawlessly. I did check out Matt Armstrong's page at the wood wisperer about his linear bearing and steel shaft guide rod and really like what I saw. So I hit amazon and priced a 30 mm linear bearing and the matching rod. I think I am definantly gunna keep this setup in mind for a solution. Thank you all for the comments. I appreciate hearing from people that know what they are talking about for a change.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top