# Bench vise



## pete4242 (Jan 26, 2014)

Hi,

So I decided finally to make the bench vise! I badly need it now as I have a lot of planning to do and the vise will fall just right in place… making the storage shelves to tidy a bit the small room I am working in. I got the idea the idea of this vise from the woodsmithtips newsletter - link here

Here are some pictures of how it looks, I built it using Beech wood.









using horizontal clamps to hold the piece










as long as I hold a piece vertically, all is good but when I hold it horizontally the vise will tilt from the bottom end









To get it to work properly, I inserted a piece of the same thickness at the bottom.

I think I should add two steel rods (or wood? which is better) below the clamps, fixed in the fixed jaw and sliding on the outside jaw as option 1. 
Option 2 is to plane down the outside jaw with an angle so when it tilts it will end up straight holding the piece.

Which option seems to be more suitable, I greatly appreciate your comments.

- pete


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## TheGermanJoiner (Dec 1, 2013)

You can add a drilled price of wood like a leg vise and use a pin to stop tgat cambering


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## pete4242 (Jan 26, 2014)

Thanks Vertigo, I like this solution.

I am thinking of attaching a piece in the middle at the bottom side of the fixed jaw with drilled holes in it and attach it with a single screw. This way I can flip it to the side to clear the way when I am working on vertical pieces. Do you think it will hold up well with a single screw? or should I have two, glued on each side?

- pete


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## TheGermanJoiner (Dec 1, 2013)

I would probably mortise it in half way into the thickess of the vise side. Then glue and 1 screw vertical into the jaw.


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## pete4242 (Jan 26, 2014)

I will try working on it tonight and post some pictures.

Another point, I know that leather is the best option to dress up the inside jaws so the vise wont mar the piece in it but I will not go with this option (expensive).
I have some non-slip plastic sheets bought from IKEA that I use on the kitchen cabinet shelves. Is it a good idea to put it inside the vise? If so, what would be the best type of glue to glue plastic onto wood.
Would you consider any other material, cotton..maybe

- pete


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## pete4242 (Jan 26, 2014)

Here how it looks now with the amendments










I am using larger clamps, seems to add more rigidness.



















I used dowels as stops and it is working great. The only drawback is that I have to keep repositioning the dowel to match the thickness of the piece in the vise. I am not sure if steel rods going through the vise jaw would have been as good - though it would not require a stop, I am not sure if it would have been stable like this one.
For the time being, I am not doing any further amendments except what type of material to use from the inside.
Any thoughts on this is highly welcomed. Thank you Vertigo for your input.

- pete


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## TheGermanJoiner (Dec 1, 2013)

Looks good. I say give it a shot with the rubber padding. Use contact cement. Just follow the instructions


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