Need a way to attach this

[steven c newman]

Picked a vise the other day. Haven't a clue as how to install it. I guess it will be on the end of the bench? Everything I do is on the right end of the bench I have. There is a leg vise there. I guess i COULd move it to the left end.

Or, just leave it alone. cleared off bench.jpg
The end is a 2x4. The top is a 2x10. So...there is 1-1/2" thick top there. Do I remove the end cap? Leave it, and build the end out a bit? Vise in question is a simple 7" wide Craftsman vise
vise.jpgNo dogs in it, nor a quick release. Will need to add faces to it. I do have some 2x6 handy, about 5' of it. Need to walk a few miles to pick up some lag bolts. Right where the leg vise is, is also where the legs come up through. Thinking maybe a dead-center install on the end?

First vise like this I ever have gotten. May not be a Benchcrafted, but it might do for now. In fact, this vise would be an "upgrade" for me. No instructions came with this vise, so I'm kind of floundering around....

[Jim Koepke]

Looks to be more of a face vise than an end vise.

If you can mount it flush with the other end you would be able to jerry rig a full width Moxon vise.

jtk

[Nick Stokes]

If you want it on the end, you could cut a mortise through the side of the 2x4, slide that bad boy in there, then bolt it on, and up through the top.

[Scott Mikal]

I've attached vises like this by slipping the back jaw behind the bench apron...you lose some depth but the look is classier. Clearly you'll have to pad the vise down underneath the top. If you are adding wooden jaws/faces, don't bring the vise flush to the bench top -- install the faces with a small overlap and then plane them flush to the bench top with the jaws shut. May sound sacrilegious to some, but I've also chopped the back jaw of vises with an angle grinder to make a nice fit...far faster than a mortise.

[steven c newman]

Ok, chopped a bit, swore a bit. Chisel hopped out of a cut, and into my hand. Notched the 2x4 end, to allow the part for the lag bolts to slide under. As soon as I can get a pair of lags and washers...

Notched the non-moving face to go over the vise..
IMAG0253.jpg
May not look like much work, other than all them countersunk screw holes, but
IMAG0250.jpg
An Aldi chisel and a mallet to chop out a mortise. Had to lay out where the vise went, and how deep. Think Hinge Mortise on Steroids. Pared it flat.. Took a short break...needed a fan down there, and a bandaid for the hand. Leftovers from the 1x4 would serve as the other face. Kept both just a hair proud of the bench's top. Of course, the screws to hold the face to the moving side were....1/8" too long. got them trimmed back a bit
IMAG0255.jpg
Took a block plane, champfered some edges, jack plane to level it to the bench's top. Outside edges got a coat of BLO. Vise screw neede a bit of oil. Seems to be ok for a vise....

[Reinis Kanders]

That's a cluster of vises

[Nick Stokes]

Looks great. I should have warned you of the amount of work it was to chop that mortise... I chopped one 3" deep, and about 12" wide and long to mount mine... It was brutal.

[Frederick Skelly]

Good stuff Steven. I'll bet you'll enjoy having it as a sort of hybrid tail vise.

[george wilson]

It really won't work as a tail vise because that vise has no dog that can be pushed up. So,you can't use the vise to hold long boards between the drilled holes along the bench and the vise dog.

You could temporarily clamp a piece of wood inside the sliding jaw when needed,leaving it sticking up to clamp long boards between the vise and a round dog in one of the bench's holes.

[Kees Heiden]

You probably want a wooden jaw in that vise anyway, so why not adapt that wooden jaw to hold a dog also? That's how I did it with my old Record vise.

[steven c newman]

IF I can find some 2x stock, I may add it to the moving jaw. Then I can drill a dog hole to line up with the ones in the bench's top. We'll see. I did get to go out and buy a few lag screws and washers. Need to fire up an impact drill, and install them, too.

So far, I have been able to clamp a piece of maple upright in the vise, and run a block plane around it..
IMAG0256.jpg
Seems to hold things pretty good. I'll look around today for some thicker stock....non-moving side seems to be just fine as is.

[steven c newman]

Well, here tis...
finished vise.jpg
Not one, but two dogs were added. Add-on was 5/4" thick, plus the 3/4" already there. About a 2" thick face. Added a row of dogs along the back edge of the bench's top. Maybe an "action shot"//
test drive 2.jpg
I can use both dogs, or remove one for longer stuff..
test drive 1.jpg
Or, leave them both out, and clamp something between the jaws. I might get to like this.....