Thread: Help installing a new vice

The vice appears to have two slotted holes for the bolts, here's what I'd do. Measure the width of the holes, go to your hardware shop and buy two coach bolts of the appropriate gauge and length. Work out where you want the vice mounted on the bench and mark the holes location. Bore two holes of a width and depth to recess the coach bolt heads below the top surface of the bench then finish with a bit of the correct size for a neat fit of the bolt shanks. Don't forget to put a flat washer between the nut and the vise.

Cheers,
Geoff.

Thickness of the shank wise you'd probably be looking at M10 or M12 bolts

Much obliged, team. I found some commentary on a US-based forum that they used #12 wood screws to attach the wooden jaws to the vice - Even after finding some conversation charts I can't quite get a bead on what that translates to.

IT makes it easier if you can get some sort of plan to give you a start.

I use youtube a lot. You have to sift through some rubbish but eventually you find helpful information.

This might help you.
Installing a Woodworking Vise - YouTube

I set my back jaw into the bench so I could clamp wood along the side of the bench.
Cheers

Originally Posted by TheColdSpring

Much obliged, team. I found some commentary on a US-based forum that they used #12 wood screws to attach the wooden jaws to the vice - Even after finding some conversation charts I can't quite get a bead on what that translates to.

They are probably referring to a 12G wood screw - which is just under 6mm.
To be honest, it does not matter on the exact size of the screw, just as long as you use a pan head screw or a hex head lag screw with a washer. The intent is to get as much surface area between the head of the screw and the vise for security and better distribution of the screw's clamping force.
Measure the slot/hole in the vise for the screw, and when you buy your screws, measure the diameter of the shank to ensure that it will fit the slot/hole with no interference. A bit of clearance is good as it allows you to tweak the position of the vise if your holes are not perfectly placed (which in reality for everyone is always the case!).

Oh yeah, as mentioned by the previous poster, try to get the inner jaw in line with the front of the workbench. Lining jaws with wood is a good idea, not only to stop the metal jaws dinting your work, but also because it will protect your edged tools too if you set the vise slightly lower than the top surface of your lining blocks (perhaps 10-20mm). Iron against some woods too can stain (such as with oak) due to the chemical reaction of the tannins and the iron.

Cheers,
Siggy

WorkBench2_0.jpg

Well, after a lot of radio silence and faffing around looking for bolts, it's done. To be honest I didn't initially intend to install a vice so there are some ... compromises in terms of placement and height relative to the bench top, but I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I practiced a few techniques I hadn't tried before, including chiselling out a sizeable recess for the rear plate of the vice. Thanks to all for the advice.

It looks good.
It will make a world of difference to how useful the bench can be