Chris Schwarz twin screw face vise build

[Bob Jones]

I just finished this vise and I think it is great. Everyone should take the time to build it. I used scraps of ash from my workbench build and had to laminate them together to get pieces wide enough. The screws are ash too. A local creeker with a lathe was kind enough to help me make the blanks for the screws. I just had to buy the thread box kit and finish the handles.

I used a drill press for the 4 holes, but the rest was done by hand. I pretty much followed the directions on his blog. Easy. I have never made a screw before. It is the 1 1/2in diameter screw, so it did require the 1 3/8" and 1 1/2" bits for the holes.

My first attempt was to just drill 1" holes in the boards and use quick-grips to clamp. They held fine, but it was a chore to work the vise (I needed 4 hands). But with these 2 home-made screws the thing works great. It really seems to make sawing easier, since it is higher than my benchtop. I hope this encourages beginners to build one - it really is easy.

FYI - it is currently propped against the wall as I am planning, not sawing. It does not take up much space and it is super easy to mount (quick grips). This thing is super stable.

Opinions - should I put finish on the screws? What kind? I like BLO - is that suitable?

[David Gendron]

Great work! That is a great looking vice! The bench look realy good to!! I think BLO is a good choice.

[Jamie Bacon]

Nicely done! I built a Nicholson bench with a built in twin screw and love it. But now I wish I'd built the bench with just a crochet and made the twin vise removable like yours. I think the added height will be nice.

Jamie Bacon

[Randy Klein]

Good use of the sliding deadman, I like that.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Nice job! I love my shop made twin screw and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Just wax the screws, no BLO. It will be difficult to get the excess BLO out of the threads and as a result it will get gummy and cause the screws to stick. The wax makes the screws turn easier, helps to promote burnishing of the threads, keeps errant glue drops from sticking to the threads and is easy to apply and renew with an old toothbrush.

[Steve Branam]

Nice! I've been thinking about doing one of these, looks like I should go ahead and do it. Also make it one of the appliances for the class I'm going to be teaching. I second the nice use of the deadman, I tend to forget about it even though it's right there in front of me.

[Asher Langton]

That's a great-looking vise. I've been looking for a vise idea to make my 2x-and-plywood bench more useful until I get around to building a proper bench. (Right now, I make do with wooden handscrews clamped to the bench.)

[Bob Strawn]

Opinions - should I put finish on the screws? What kind? I like BLO - is that suitable?

Wax is good. Olive oil may be a good addition as well. Olive oil is non hardening and will need to be replaced on occasion. It will soak into the wood and help maintain resilience.

I bought a book from Lee Valley, one of those small reproduction prints of theirs, that was advertised as having a method of strengthening wood for making pulleys. I had to search diligently to find the tiny reference, but eventually found it. They soaked the wood in olive oil for days.

My own testing has not been uniform in use or controlled in any way at all, but my observations have lead me to believe that those wooden screws that were treated with olive oil have held on to thread better. I still use molten Paraffin mixed 1:1 with turpentine as a surface treatment. I originally used beeswax, but beeswax tends to remain tacky and collect sawdust.

To reapply olive oil, I make a small hole in the wood that points upward when the vise is closed and not in use. I put an olive oil and turpentine 1:1 mix in the hole where it can slowly soak into the wood as a regular maintenance method.

I am now a believer as to the virtue of treating threaded wood with olive oil, but I cannot strongly back up my belief.

As a note on oils, I test them on a sheet of paper for a month or so after I obtain them to see how they dry. If olive oil turns gummy, then it is not pure olive oil. If it goes stale smelling, then it is probably not pure olive oil. Quite a few olive oils sold, even the more expensive olive oils sold are not what they say they are. Real olive oil is very resistant to going stale.

Bob

[Bob Jones]

Thanks for the kind words and advice. Wax sounds good, but so does oil. I wonder if mineral oil would be just as good? I have used that on cutting boards before.

[george wilson]

I only recommend using wax on threads. There is no real use in mixing turpentine with a non drying oil is there? Turpentine only serves to add oxygen,which it is full of,to aid in drying oils like linseed.

I think that adding a non drying oil to wood only serves as food for microbes to eventually eat.

Are there no long handles on the vise?

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Bob,
That looks good! I built one too and like it. But I have mine clamped by the strip on the back instead of up top:


This is a picture of before I eased the edges and shaped the handles. I am also considering adding bars to the handles. I was very surprised how smoothly wood screws operated! That is when you don't screw up the pitch so it doen't match the nut .

More pictures: http://photos.ganzhorn.org/album809

[Terry Beadle]

These are neat bench additions. Dovetails must be a pleasure.

I was wondering why not put some holes in the bench, thread them, and then make some wooden bolts to screw the jig to the bench instead of using clamps either on the top or the cleat? I'd widen the cleat though. I'd think two or three bolt holes in the bench would not be a bother and if they were, then just make some threaded plugs with a cross point screw out head or even just remove the plugs from below the bench.

Just an idea.

[Bob Jones]

I like the flexibiblity of attaching it anywhere. The clamps are really out of the way.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I agree. It is really quite easy/fast to setup too. And it is more stable then I thought it would be. I don't think there is any reason to make the cleat any deeper. But I don't understand why Chris did not make the cleat the full width of the vise. I have some 4" deep clamps so it isn't a big deal but if I didn't have deep clamps it would be an issue.

[Adam Cherubini]

The problem I've had with wax is that saw dust or shop dirt can stick to it. Especially waxes like beeswax. I have stopped oilling and waxing my wooden threads. Left alone seems better. I think graphite is best. You can buy graphite as "dry film lube" or you can draw on your threads with a carpenter's pencil. If your threads are tight, I think this and not oil or wax should be your first stop. Another source for graphite is your pencil sharpener.

Adam