Thread: wood vice question

Greg

You shape the timber on the front jaw so that the vice closes flat on the back timber jaw.

thanks matt
i didnt realise wood vices are so finiky to install:eek:
cheers
greg

Usually the slope is the other way. Top jaws hit leaving a gap below. Is it possible that your vice has been damaged? If you send me your email I will email a PDF on installing a vice.

There is also some info at

http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com...on=Custom&ID=3

thanks mat i sent you a pm

The vice has a problem, the top is meant to touch first allowing the clamping mechanism to draw the whole lot up nice and snug. If it is a new unit it should be returned for a replacement.

John

I've just finished making jaw faces for my Irwin 170 and like Farm Boy noticed that the rear-jaw back and front are not parallel - there's about 2.5mm difference top to bottom but it's not a faulty vice johnc.

My rear face is made of pine that has been routed out to the maximum depth and shape of the rear-jaw. It fits snugly.

Since it's routed, the front of the wooden jaw liner is parallel with the recessed area, so that the bearing surfaces are parallel. It thus does not matter that the rear of the metal vice jaw is not parallel to the front - the jaw liner provides the bearing surface onto the workbench.

Mind you the gap between the bench and rear face of the jaw presents a stress point and could cause me grief - but if it breaks I'll make another and fill the space with epoxy resin.

I expect to finish over Easter so I'll post some pics which will explain better.

Do a search for otherthreads on this topic. As johnc said, the top of the vice is meant to contact first, not the other way around. If this is not the case then the vise IS faulty and should be returned

Bob, the "working" metal faces of my vise jaws seem to meet perfectly and are machined to quite close tolerances, but the rear of the rear face tapers - not making "perfect contact with the side of the bench. (There's another thread about this in BOTB).

Your comments worry me because my vise facings ARE all parallel, even if I discover, tonight, that the top of the bare metal jaws make contact first, i.e. the wooden faces would also touch at the top before the bottom. Is that going to be ok, Bob?


I can now see why FarmBoy's vise is possibly faulty.

The vice is MEANT to touch at the top before it contacts elsewhere. When you then apply pressure via the tightening mechanism this draws the bottom of the vice into proper parallel.
The external rear face of the vice should be in perfect contact with (and parallel to) the bench face.
What vice do you have?

bob
the vice is a joplin was orange in colour now a blue hammer tone finish (i didnt like the colour )
i fitted the vice thursday arvo ,the rear plate i placed behind the skirt at the front of the bench and the wood on the front face was attacked with a belt sander with 60 grade paper and now works really well.
i will post a picture of the bench when i finnish varnishing it
greg