# bench vise



## Shuja (Feb 10, 2014)

Recently I bought a 6" metal bench vise for about 5 bucks. The plates are not perfectly parallel. What can be done? Can wooden face plates be added to offset. How do I make them parallel?


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

You could scribe one of them (the wood jaws) and then maybe plane or sand that side down to the scribe line.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Are they not parallel along the length, or along the height? The top usually angles in slightly by design.


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## Shuja (Feb 10, 2014)

They are not parallel along length. Not significant. About 1 - 1.5 mm. Significant to worry me. Can you help?


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Fred has the correct approach. Install both wooden jaw faces. Close the vise, but just so that the closest points on both faces just touches. You don't want to clamp enough to skew the face closed, just get them close. Take a compass and scribe the outer jaw to the inner jaw, then remove the outer jaw and sand or plane to the line (planning I think would be quicker/easier), and re-install. This would also be faster than trying to properly shim the wooden face to the plate.

Edit : If you don't have a compass or scribing isn't working out for you, you could measure the gap, then remove that much at the opposite end, tapering it obviously.


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## Shuja (Feb 10, 2014)

Thank you Ed. when I saw Fred's advise I was thinking how to scribe. I thought of measuring. But I think compass would work better. Thank you onceagain


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