I once built a carving bench with a vise on the front, and came to hate that vise. It wasn’t only the threat of the metal around my carving tools, it was also that the vise got in my way. Carving is a dynamic activity that involves your whole body; you’re using your feet, legs and torso just as much as your arms and hands…and the vise kept getting in my way as I was trying to move through a cut. I got rid of that bench and replaced it with my copy of Bill Pavlak’s carving bench (at the Anthony Hay shop). That one has no face vise to get in the way; you can press all the way up against the bench with nothing to snag against. Have been much happier with that carving bench.