Hi All,
I have a couple of nice pieces of oak that at one time I had considered for making vise jaws. This would be for a conventional front vise and a Moxon vise. I have one piece of red oak and one piece of white oak, these were salvage, but are both fairly nice sized and clear.
However, the subject of oak being corrosive for steel made me strongly reconsider. Further, now, George's comments on the unsuitability of oak for work benches has given me even more reason to doubt that the oak is suitable for this purpose.
How much of a concern is my fear of the oak corroding the acme all thread that I have for the Moxon project, or for steel rod and the all thread, etc., for a front vise, or even the swivel rod for a set of hand screw clamps?
Finally, after reading George's post, I would never build a bench top out of oak, although I might use it for legs, but are there other down sides besides corrosion for using it for vise jaws.
George, would you use oak for vise jaws, or are my concerns such as those you mentioned concerning using oak for a bench top overblown on this?
Thanks and regards,
Stew