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Thread: Why a Leg Vise?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
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    Why a Leg Vise?

    It's clear that they have advantages over a Record Vise or Shoulder Vise. But what is different from, say, a Moxon vise or other Twin Screw Types?

    It would help if I knew exactly what kind of work I'd be doing, but that level of experience will come with time. I simply don't know, other than understanding the explanations from Chris Schwarz about working on board Ends, Surfaces, Edges. The front vise being for Ends.

  2. One of the big reasons I chose a leg vise for my bench is its simplicity. It was easy to build with a $30 vise screw from Lee Valley and a big hunk of Maple I got for cheap, works great, and if anything goes wrong with it (unlikely because of its incredible simplicity), it's easy to fix. It has a huge amount of clamping power, with a Maple parallel guide and a cheap screwdriver for the stop pin, I can grip just about anything. I've even snapped a screwdriver used as a parallel guide pin from clamping something so hard.

    Seems to me (without having ever used one) the Moxon or twin screw vise is primarily for raising the work a bit and allowing easier joint cutting. I think that vise type would have some difficulty in clamping a board for, say, edge jointing (as I frequently use my leg vise for).

  3. #3
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    Each vise has its own advantage, I do a lot of weird stuff so I have em all except for a tail vise. But you gots to start with something and a leg vise is easiest to add or remove if need be and no need to do a lot of chopping or recessing under the bench edge.
    Jr.
    Hand tools are very modern- they are all cordless
    NORMAL is just a setting on the washing machine.
    Be who you are and say what you feel... because those that matter... don't mind...and those that mind...don't matter!
    By Hammer and Hand All Arts Do Stand

  4. #4
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    I would take Harry's recommendations VERY seriously.

    His body of work is daunting to us hacks trying to learn the stuff we should have in shop class, had we paid attention.
    I'm not convinced that even the leg vise is necessary. I use a crochet (left side, as I'm right handed) with Veritas surface clamps in place of the leg vise.
    Not as potent, nor so fast to adjust but shop time was only for the fitting of a plywood "leg" and a row of 3/4" holes.

    Works a champ, that.P1030662.jpgElapsed time to build crochet, fixed sliding leg and moxxon? 2 hours 30 minutes.

  5. #5
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    If you put a peg rack at the bottom of the leg vise,you can get it to close very close to parallel,and get a good,hard grip too.

  6. #6
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    Picture says it all

    One reason among many, You can't believe how easy this was and how stable it was. The board was of the type one hardly sees anymore. This one came from a mill back in 1961.

    comcup4.jpg

  7. #7
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    I use mine whenever I plane edges. I also use it for dovetailing, but it is a little low.

    Mike

  8. #8
    Consider using a slanted leg vise on your workbench, as Chris Schwarz does on one of his workbenches. It combines the simplicity of the usual leg vise with the ability to hold a piece of wood as tall as your workbench vertically without racking.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Brese View Post
    One reason among many, You can't believe how easy this was and how stable it was. The board was of the type one hardly sees anymore. This one came from a mill back in 1961.

    comcup4.jpg
    Wow, that's a nice piece of plywood, how does it plane?

  10. #10
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    Thanks for the Compliment Jim, and Gary Check out my Bench Album

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=551

    and look at the 11 different vises I have on my New Basement Shop Bench. It may give you some ideas on what type of vise you want. As you will see when you visit the Album, I think outside the box sometimes.

    Hold your cursor on each picture and it will give a description of the vises, or click on the pictures and the description will show up under the picture.
    Last edited by harry strasil; 12-12-2011 at 11:18 PM. Reason: correct spelling and wording and add album url
    Jr.
    Hand tools are very modern- they are all cordless
    NORMAL is just a setting on the washing machine.
    Be who you are and say what you feel... because those that matter... don't mind...and those that mind...don't matter!
    By Hammer and Hand All Arts Do Stand

  11. #11
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    Thanks to all. Great photos, Harry. Some of these points are new to me. I just picked up a library copy of Scott Landis: Workbench book. I hadn't factored in how easy it is to make a Leg Vise.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Curtis View Post
    It's clear that they have advantages over a Record Vise or Shoulder Vise. But what is different from, say, a Moxon vise or other Twin Screw Types?

    It would help if I knew exactly what kind of work I'd be doing, but that level of experience will come with time. I simply don't know, other than understanding the explanations from Chris Schwarz about working on board Ends, Surfaces, Edges. The front vise being for Ends.
    Essentially, the leg vise is for edge jointing. It is used in association with a sliding deadman to support a long board. The advantages of a leg vise over, say, a twin screw vise are that it has greater depth for wider boards, and that it will not rack.

    A twin screw vise has an advantage in being able to clamp boards for dovetailing. However, since the re-introduction of a Moxon-type dovetail vise, the pairing of a bench with a leg vise and a Moxon wins (in my book) over the twin screw version.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  13. #13
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    I'm with Derek on this one. I put the leg vise on a couple of years ago and actually didn't care for it a great deal at first. The reason was that regardless of how fine you set the parallel guide, it is difficult (at least for me) to get a parallel hold on a board for dovetailing. That resulted in either a tight grip at the top, but could tip with just a little torque, or a slight gap at the top which results in chatter when dovetailing. Like Derek said - it's stregth was edge jointing, but I use a bench slave as opposed to a deadman.

    I thought about taking it off and fitting a shoulder vise, but after the buzz on the Moxon vise and subsequently building one, it removed the concerns and the leg vise is now dedicated to what it does best.

  14. #14
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    How do you use holdfasts with a deadman or an apron? Seems like they'd not be thick enough.

    Jack

  15. #15
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    It's sufficiently stout..

    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Curtis View Post
    How do you use holdfasts with a deadman or an apron? Seems like they'd not be thick enough. Jack
    I don't use a holdfast on the deadman, but rather the Veritas surface clamp. From what I have seen with Bob's Nicholson bench videos at the Logan Cabinet Shoppe, he gets solid grip with an apron no more than 1 inch thick. That said, most of my use for the deadman is purely as a prop for one end. Planing forces the long boards against a crochet and it steers that force toward the bench.

    The limiting factor for strength is the top channel holding the deadman. Too much slop, and the holdfasts will pry it out of the slot.
    Too little play, and it's a PITA to adjust. Rather than use a vee guide on the bottom, I attached an inline skate wheel.

    As the wheel rides inboard of the highest point on the rail, pressure from the holdfast (in my case, Veritas surface clamp) pulls it tight.

    Jim
    Westport, MA

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