Show us your vices! (virtous ones, I mean...)

[demographic]

Demographic, do your vices have a pop up tongue to push the workpiece against the bench dog?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean, the two wooden (with metal screws and so on) vices built into that woodworking bench have holes for rectangular cross section bench dogs as well as bench dog holes in the rest of the bench top.
That means I can (well when its not leaning against the wall in the spare bedroom anyway) lift a wooden bench dog in the vice as well as one in the bench top and clamp something on the bench top by screwing the vice up a bit. Picture re-posted for clarity.

That bench top originally had four vices on it (came out of a school). Two wooden tail vices* which it still has and two metal woodworking quick release vices.
I've got a couple of quick release metal woodworking vices to fit to it again (a Parkinsons made in Shipley and a Woden made in Wednesbury I think) so it will have its full complement again but I've not got round to it yet.

I do however have a nifty little bench stop made by Marples of Sheffield which I think is the kind of thing you mean, it sits in a shallow mortice and normally lies flat so it doesn't impede the flat bench top surface, when you want to clamp something or hold a bit of wood you want to plane you unscrew it slightly and the toothed part raises up.

Again. I bought it for a quid or so and I've not got round to fitting it to anything yet.
This is a better and more descriptive photo of one.

Now I have to confess a real interest in old Vice's and over the last few years I have pretty much hoovered any pictures of the really good ones off the internet.
Garage journal has an absolutely HUGE thread about vices (or as they call them Vises) with masses of photos.
but be aware that that thread is over 1300 pages long...

One of the more interesting ones I've seen photos of was this one. Its NOT mine, just saw it on Ebay a few years ago and copied the photo to my computer.

*Think they are called Tail vices, not positive.

 

[British Red]

Thanks Demographic. As soon as you said you could fit a dog into the vice all was clear.

What I was referring to was the built in dog / tongue similar to this one

Red

 

[demographic]

Thanks Demographic. As soon as you said you could fit a dog into the vice all was clear.

What I was referring to was the built in dog / tongue similar to this one

Red

Ahh, yes. I see what you mean now.
None of my metal woodworking vices have that inbuilt dog.
It is possible to inset a wooden dog into the add on vice soft jaws (which are usually made of wood) but that bench top is pretty chocka with bench dogs as it is. I have Mahogany, Oak, Wenge, Ash and a few other wood scraps that I can't remember made into dogs so its a bit like a paint test swatch for woods.
If I have a scrap the right size I make it into a bench dog.

 

[Tengu]

I think my vice is the best, as you can move it around, yet its not so small to be pathetic.

Though I have one of those huge fixed ones in my garage...its not here.

 

[British Red]

All depends what you want to do with it. I have room for a lot of vices

Demographic, would you be kind enough to show me some of your bench dogs and let me know what dimensions you use? I only recently came to understand how useful they could be and am keen to include some in my own bench.

 

[demographic]

I think my vice is the best, as you can move it around, yet its not so small to be pathetic.

Though I have one of those huge fixed ones in my garage...its not here.

I have a fairly substantial collection of clamp on vices as well as just clamps as well.
I'll fire some pictures up when I have more time.

 

[demographic]

All depends what you want to do with it. I have room for a lot of vices

Demographic, would you be kind enough to show me some of your bench dogs and let me know what dimensions you use? I only recently came to understand how useful they could be and am keen to include some in my own bench.

Will do, there's nothing to them really, just sort of an upside down L shaped bit of wood that slots into the dog hole. My camers is on the blink right now so I'll do it over the weekend when I get the other out.

There's posh versions with springs made from ground down hacksaw blades so they stay where you put them but its not that hard do put the bit of wood you plan on holding against one dog so it stays the height you want while you hold the other right as you close the vice.

Doddle to knock up and to my eyes there's no point in making them dead flash, make a load and fill the bench dog holes with them.

 

[British Red]

I'll look forward to seeing them. I really appreciate all the advice and expertise you have given me, it really helps a lot!

 

[Macaroon]

This is an item I will need to source during the Summer to go in my new workshop; I've got a feeling I'm going to enjoy the experience if not the expense

There are some very nice items here, and isn't it good to note the good condition of them all?

 

[demographic]

I'll look forward to seeing them. I really appreciate all the advice and expertise you have given me, it really helps a lot!

One point worth mentioning. Rectangular dog holes are best put in before you glue a bench top together. I hve a book with a design to show you and will scan in the pic so you see.

Round dog holes can be drilled in after its made and they are better for gripping odd shapes. If I was to build my own bench (instead of my mate giving a bloke on a school demolition site cash for the top) I would put round holes in it and use round dogs or...

Then there's the Festool MFT or Ron Paulk style of bench with its masses of round holes in plywood or MDF that accept Festools clamps. They are portable, the holes line up so its simple to square things up and they make great cutting tables for sheets of ply.

 

[British Red]

All good info, thanks!

My current bench is a 2" thick, 9' long piece of oak kitchen worktop. Its too narrow to be perfect but very solid. I will be retrofitting bench dogs to it, so I suspect round holes drilled with a forstener bit will be the way to go. However I plan to build another, wider bench in time, so any info on the shaped ones will be a great help.

 

[tombear]

Although I have the usual range of vices none of them are owt special or interesting. I do have a fondness for hand vices, a hugely underrated item of kit that you can get for next to nowt on carboots.

Unfortunately my favourite two are missing, the eldest has liberated them to twist links together to make mail (just the butted together sort). I will ave words when he gets home. I also need to source some more scrap aluminium sheet to make jaw guards, they never last long but are really worth fitting.

The family has also nicked several pairs of pliers. I cleared the pliers draw out looking for the missing hand vices so I know which ones to grill them over. One pair or smooth jawed parallel closing jobs I keep in my sewing/ leatherworking kit and the the comedy size Footprints and monkey wrenches I keep in the bottom of a tool chest.

Atb

tom

 

[woof]

I was hoping Stew lightning would reply to this thread, as he had the vices from my dads shed, & I was hoping to see them again.

Rob

 

[Stew]

I was hoping Stew lightning would reply to this thread, as he had the vices from my dads shed, & I was hoping to see them again.

Rob

Hhmmmm, not me Rob. I do have a vague idea that my brother has it in his garage from when he collected the files. I'll check.

I have a few vices - it's hard to say no to them!

I have three post vice type objects, all that cost not a lot!

The large one in this picture cost £4.89 from ebay, the small one (which isn't a post vice but looks like one - it clamps to a bench) was 99p again from ebay. I have a third post vice that is inbetween these two sizes that my Mum was given for free when she was collecting another post vice for my Dad, which was 50p on ebay!



I have a quite meaty Record engineers vice that was in the garage when we moved in. It needs new jaws faces making for it as they're not flush. It's on the to do list but still usable! I recently tweaked the screw thread as the 'slop' was annoying me.

I have a smaller engineers vice that I got from Aldi years back - I have it bolted to a wooden block so it can then be clamped into another of the fixed vices but this one rotates which is handy!

There's a woodworking vice that was already in my wife's late Grandfather's workbench that he built and I was given.

There's another woodworking vice that I picked up from the dump when we moved out of our last place. I did multiple trips to the dump. When I went round to the metal part to drop bits there was a vice on the side. I resisted picking it up. When I came back on the next trip there was another much bigger vice (this one) and I couldn' resist grabbing it! Three years on and it still hasn't been used / fitted.

I have a good handful of hand vices as well......

 

[Dave-the-rave]

One of my more virtuous vices...

Vintage razors. I shave with all of them.

 

[Stew]

I was hoping Stew lightning would reply to this thread, as he had the vices from my dads shed, & I was hoping to see them again.

Rob

A good bit of a bump!

https://twitter.com/toolotheday/status/902666240795271172

There you go Rob - one of your Dad's vices that my brother has stripped, re-painted and just waiting for some new jaws, but is back in use for clamping wood.

 

[Imagedude]

From a two minute walk around my workshops...

Small swivel vice with Fibrax jaws, covered in sterling silver dust

4" vice used as door wedge

Machine vice

Small swivel vice on mini-mill

Record 35 on floor

Abwood vice on shaping machine

Magnetic vice on surface grinder

8" machine vice

Drill press vice

My open-air workbench

A couple of garden ornaments

A Record 110 and 112

A cople more leg vices hiding in the coal shed

And another

Leg vice in my smithy

 

[badoosh]

I've got a samsonia 38a perfect vise model j,I paid £8 including the wrought iron bench.
The last owner was a welder so has loads of spatter and striking arcs on it.Weighs a ton but proved it's worth a few times.
Can't put any pics up due to photobucket messing about.

 

[johnbaz]

Hi

I have a large woodworking vice in the garage but I can't get to it to take a pic! I've no idea if it's even any good it's been in there so long!!

Anyhow, Here's a couple of smaller ones..

An 80mm and a 100mm x-y vice..

A small home made machine vice that a lad made whilst he was in prison!!

Nothing to id on this small table top mount vice escept that it's 'British Made'!!

A little Woden vice bought recently for £8 (Bootsale)..

A minute machine vice that came with a Unimat lathe/Miller which i've never gotten around to setting up!!!

A li'l Record number 1

Can't remember for sure but I think this is a Paramo, Poor thing's been abused in the 25 years it's been bolted there!!

I've a couple more machine vices somewhere but I'll not find them in my garage for sure!!


John