# Work Bench Anatomy



## TxSurveyor (Jun 8, 2021)

I'm not new to woodworking, but I'm new to woodworking specific workbenches and the ridiculous variety of vices (all very cool) that are used on them.

What is this stuff called? Surely there are some specific terms that differentiate these styles of tail vices and other things. Any good resources to read up on this?

Thanks in advance!

*1. Leg vise with parallel chain mechanism? *









*2. Leg vise with peg board thing?*









*3. Leg vise with lower arm? *









*4. Twin Screw Tail Vise?*









*5. Leg vise with X style parallel mechanism? *









*6. Tail Vise???*









*7. L Shaped Tail Vise?*









*8. Peg board stand thing?*


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## Bearcontrare (Oct 6, 2020)

A little bit of help to hopefully start some more information rolling in. The pegboard thing on the leg vise shown above is usually called a "Parallel Beam", as it helps keep the leg vise chop parallel to the leg.(One has to bend over to move the pin from hole to hole, hence the other arrangements) "Tail vise" is correct for this item, sometimes referred to as an "enclosed tail vise, and more often by the utterly inexplicable term of 'Wagon vise". (NO idea how the Hell some "genius" came up with that one) The last item is called either a "sliding board jack" by snooty folks, or more commonly, a "Deadman". My grandfather explained that this is "because the only help you get from this fellow is to use him to prop something up." 
Some of these contraptions are a little new fangled for some of us to know what all of them are.


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## Axis39 (Jul 3, 2019)

I dunno that Leg Vises are really defined by the mechanism that keeps the Chop in line… But, I think you came up with good enough names for numbers 1-5.

6. Tail vise or wagon vise

7. Never seen one like that before, looks interesting

8. this piece is usually referred to as a dead man


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## TxSurveyor (Jun 8, 2021)

Thanks Barry!


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Chris Schwarz's Latest book on benches is free to download, you only have to pay for the print version. That is a great free resource if you want to learn about benches. https://blog.lostartpress.com/2020/07/06/now-available-for-free-the-anarchists-workbench/

5 looks more like a "high vise" which would be clamped into your bench vise to allow more height for close work.

6 is a wagon vise as it is inset. A tail vise extends the length of the bench by going past the end.

7 is more of a European style tail vise.


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## AlanWS (Aug 28, 2008)

There are enough versions of things around and variations in terminology with location that not everyone will agree, but here's my take. I just went through them all, so I have duplicated some of the previous comments.

1. The chain mechanism is Jim Ritter's invention, as far as I know.
https://ancorayachtservice.com/?page_id=196
2. The most common style of leg vise uses these pegs in the parallel guide to keep the bottom of thew jaw the same distance as the top from the leg.
3. I'd not seen this one. There are a lot of clever people around.
4. I would call this one a twin screw end vise. When mounted in this position it's an end vise, but a tail vise in my lexicon is a specific type of end vise (shown in your photo 7.)
5. The Benchcrafted version of St. Peter's cross mechanism. Like the chain, this keeps the jaws parallel without the need to adjust a peg. It works beautifully, but loses some of the simplicity of construction of the standard (pic 2) version.
6. This type of inset end vise is usually called a wagon vise.
7. This is a traditional tail vise seen on European benches.
8. A sliding deadman to support the other end of a board fr4om that held in a vise.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Btw, this is literally the high vise in your #5. https://www.benchcrafted.com/hivise

If you browse around that site on all the other pages you will learn about a lot of the things you are asking as that is the company that makes a lot of the parts in your pics.


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## Kudzupatch (Feb 3, 2015)

A lot that I just call over complicating a simple idea. Leg vice is great but I just don't see the need to complicate them with all the parallel mechanisms. They work just fine with a pined leg at the bottom and much simpler to build and repair if it breaks…. IF it breaks.

Last photo is a dead man. If it slides it is a Sliding Dead Man. Depending on what you do, very useful think on a bench.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I think folks nailed it all down but IMO, any vise that acts as a face vise but is on the end of the bench is a End Vise. An end vise with no moving chop but has an inset block that moves (like #6) is a Wagon Vise. And an L-shaped chop that combines some of the functionality of both a wagon vise and an end vise is a Tail Vise. And a Leg Vise is a Leg Vise but there are lots of different types of parallel guides of which you've shown a few. There are also round rod/linear bearing parallel guides and ratchet/pawl types that come to mind immediately. I'm sure there are many others as well.


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

Here you can three different face vises:
https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/woodworking-face-vice/
a face vise which in some way is like an horizontal leg vise;
a leg vise;
a metal woodworking vise ( exist in "quick release" version or not)

there are angled leg vises as shown here:
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2020/04/09/workbench-tour-no-3-the-english-joiners-workbench/

shoulder vises:
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/workshop/workbenches/vises/31134-shoulder-vise-screw?item=70G0151

Horvater has developped an original mechanism:
https://hovartercustomvise.com/

There have been piano maker vises:
http://donsbarn.com/different-ways-to-the-same-place/

pattern maker vises:
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/patternmakerswoodworkingvise.aspx

Sheldon quick release vise shown here:
http://donsbarn.com/tuning-up-the-planing-beam-and-faux-studley-workbench/

and so on…


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## Bearcontrare (Oct 6, 2020)

Oh yes, the "L" shaped piece is called a tail vise.


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## TxSurveyor (Jun 8, 2021)

> Chris Schwarz's Latest book on benches is free to download, you only have to pay for the print version. That is a great free resource if you want to learn about benches. https://blog.lostartpress.com/2020/07/06/now-available-for-free-the-anarchists-workbench/
> 
> 5 looks more like a "high vise" which would be clamped into your bench vise to allow more height for close work.
> 
> ...


I second that! Thanks for posting. I got so sucked into reading the book that I never circled back to thank you


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