Thread: Reinforcing a woodworking vice with metal strips

Originally Posted by bcp

I have a cheapish vice on my bench not too big, but I've recently installed extended piece of timber on the jaw to give me that extra length. So then the obvious problem is that the outside timber jaw bends when too far away from the metal vice.

Idea #2: I was thinking of reinforcing the jaw with 2 sturdy metal strips flush with the outside, and bolted in (bolts obviously countersunk as well.)

I expected to find something online about idea#2, but didn't find anything. So... is there something wrong with the idea that I'm missing?

First up I'll say that extending the jaws is not an unheard of idea. The wood work vice on my bench is only a 7" vice. The first jaws I put on it were much wider than that (I cant remember how wide). They did bend as you describe, but only if you clamped things off centre. So I learned to work with them OK. After those jaws needed replacing due to a life of being hacked around, I still used wide jaws, just not as wide as originally. The ones I have now protrude about 45mm each side.

As for stiffening the jaws with metal strips, concept wise I dont think that should be a problem. An angle iron (rather than a flat strip) would be much better for stiffness though.

Actually thinking about it now, maybe you could inset the angle iron on the bottom of the jaws.

Regards
SWK

I agree with SWK that angle iron would be the go.

If you intend on using the vice to hold wood then lining the metal with a layer of leather will be easier on the wood and grip much better than thin metal. Even a thin layer like suede will do.

Thanks for the tips.

The extra width on the jaws was not a new idea, of course - it was whether I could reinforce it to stop it bending. Most of our ideas have been already thought of and done better by someone else, that's why I posted here.

Yes, I like the idea of angle with a piece underneath. Probably another higher sitting flush with the metal on my vice. Bob there won't be any metal on the inside of the jaw - it will be on the outside - but I will put some suede or similar lining as you suggest.

As an alternative approach to a solution, how about hollowing the jaw around the centre of the vice slightly so that the jaw has a reversed taper, thicker at the tips than in the centre. That way, when you grip a long board it will contact at the tips first and as you load up the vice, the jaw face will bend as it does now and bring more jaw surface into contact with the work. For shorter work, it would be gripped at the centre only but contact area is limited by the length of the work.

I've been watching this thread to see where it goes. As said nothing wrong with extending the jaws. I have a 12'' chop/jaw on my 7'' tail vice. If the wood jaw is bending then the jaw wood is just too thin for the job. To my way of thinking it would be less hassle using thicker wood. You would not be loosing too much clamping depth with some hardwood thick enough to do the job. I guess it would be easier to advise if you said how extended the jaws are and how thick the wood. There is also a difference between the wood bending and the vice itself wracking. Some pics of the setup would help also.
Regards
John

A couple of questions about your setup.
How far past the ends of your vice are the jaws extending?
Are you using hardwood or softwood for the jaws and what thickness?
If you were to put the angle iron on the bottom of the jaws how will you get it past the metal jaw in the middle without cutting away most of the horizontal leg which will weaken it considerably.