Fitting a Dog to a Standard Wood Vice

**Camelot** · 19th July 2023, 10:11 AM

I tend to collect and use out tools and machinery and have had a couple of old 1930's Record vices in my shed for a few years, so thought I would make some changers to my bench top and install them.

I have added a Jarrah Lipping to my bench top and housed the back jaw of the vice behind it, this increases the surface area of the vice when clamping and using it as just a Standard Vice, I have also set the vice 12mm lower than the bench top this is to allow the front vice jaw cover to frame the front jaw in such a way that when the cover is flush with the bench top you get 12mm of timber above the front jaw where you can put a fixing pin/thumbscrew to stop the dog from popping up.

I have the smaller Record 52 which is a 7" wide vice and wanted to use it has a Tail Vice, but it's a Standard Vice with no dog, so I have made a jaw cover that incorporates one and thought I would share how I made it for anyone wanting to do something similar. The front jaw cover is housed out to the thickness of the front vice jaw and then a mortise hole is made in the top of the cover to the size of the dog, I have used magnets in the mortise hole with their same poles facing each other so they want to push the dog out of the mortice hole and I have also added a small compression spring the magnet which is attached to the dog also grabs the side of the metal front jaw and holds it in position while tightening a work piece between the dogs.

A few pics to hopefully make sense of what I have described.

back of jaw cover.jpg Top of jaw cover.jpg

Record 52 dog fitted.jpg Record 52 dog fitted pic 2.jpg

**Cklett** · 19th July 2023, 11:16 AM

Thanks for sharing. I will use it. I have the same vise.

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**auscab** · 19th July 2023, 12:31 PM

Why the one thin rectangular dog in the middle of the vice that aligns to the middle of two rows of round dog holes? What are you intending on holding ? I'm just trying to imagine how good that would work for the type of stuff I work on and I think it'd be frustrating. You could of had two matching the round ones in the bench top.

**Camelot** · 19th July 2023, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by auscab

Why the one thin rectangular dog in the middle of the vice that aligns to the middle of two rows of round dog holes? What are you intending on holding ? I'm just trying to imagine how good that would work for the type of stuff I work on and I think it'd be frustrating. You could of had two matching the round ones in the bench top.

The dogs in that arrangement can be used more effectively for holding shaped objects, more so than say 2 or 4 dogs, because like a 3 legged stool there will be 3 points of contact with the workpiece at all times making a firmer grip and I use a dog bridge between the 2 dogs on the bench thus increasing the surface area coming into contact with regular shaped workpieces.

Also if you have repetitive shaped workpieces (or if you have the time to make one regardless) then the dog bridge itself can be shaped to match the shape of any workpiece thus increasing the surface area coming into contact with it again giving a better grip.

A few pic's showing what I mean, so much less frustrating having more options to hold work pieces.

holding round tin.jpg Dog bridge 1.jpg Dog bridge 2.jpg

**auscab** · 19th July 2023, 07:47 PM

Ok!! What ever works for you is a good thing.

**orraloon** · 19th July 2023, 10:02 PM

A very neat dog arrangement. I did something similar but quite simple on mine some years back. I also went with 2 rows of dog holes.
Regards
John

**Camelot** · 19th July 2023, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by orraloon

A very neat dog arrangement. I did something similar but quite simple on mine some years back. I also went with 2 rows of dog holes.
Regards
John

So with yours you lift up the dog and put a spacer underneath to hold it in position? and how do you get on with 2 rows of dog holes are they spaced centre of the vice dog like on my bench?

**orraloon** · 21st July 2023, 11:21 PM

I just pick the dog up and turn it round. No spacer required. Dog is upside down L shape. The wooden chop has a dado in it the leg of the dog fits in. Think I found the idea in an old ww book. Foreward it sits proud backwards it sits flush. I only added the end vice as I had a small vice doing nothing. The 2 rows of holes work fine and as has been said can hold odd shaped things. That said I seldom hold things flat on the bench with it as I have got to like using a planing stop and a birds mouth stick instead. I do like having another vice at that end at 90* to the front vice.
Regards
John

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