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I am about ready to start on the chop for a leg vise on my bench build. I've seen what appears to benches with chops that are 1.5" thick, and others that look to be close to twice that thick. Leg vise owners, what is the width and thickness of the business end of your chop? Any regrets?
My current chop is a 12/4 chunk of poplar that I had left over from another project. It replaced a 2" thick piece of pine that I managed to split while trying to hold an irregularly shaped piece. I've had no issues with the poplar in the year or so since I installed it.
My wooden leg vises are generally 2" x 8" wide,maple or oak. Too thick and they get in your way. I bevel the top edges of mine a lot so they aren't in the way of the work.
Mine is about an 8-9" wide piece of 8/4 soft maple (probably about 1 3/4" thick in reality). Works great.
mine's 7-8" wide walnut, 2" thick. A wider chop could rack and would add unnecessary weight. If I could do anything, I'd taper the bottom to remove a little weight.
Here's mine two inches thick five inches wide and beveled so it doesn't get in the way.
http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/...h/97a60c30.jpg
Jim
Mine's 3-3/4" wide, 4" thick ash, tapered, standing 4-3/4" proud of the top. Somewhat purpose-built for adzing chair seats, it's proven useful for all kinds of shaping tasks.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5085/5...9ea8330fe2.jpg
Leg vise... by Scott --, on Flickr