I'm a Leg Vise Man
Categories:: Chris Schwarz Blog • Schwarz on Workbenches • Woodworking Blogs
Christopher Schwarz | Aug 04, 2009 | Comments 26
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When it comes to woodworking vises, I’m quite fond of the leg vise. Once you buy a vise screw (an inexpensive metal screw runs about $30. We’re making this leg vise using the wooden screw from Big Wood Vise), you can build the rest of the vise yourself. 
As a result you can size everything about the vise to your needs, including where the handle goes, where the parallel guide is located and how wide the chop is. Unlike quick-release vises, there are a lot fewer metal bars in the way of your work. And the holding power of a leg vise is extraordinary. You can crack walnuts with this thing.
Whenever I show visitors my leg vise, they tend to ask about the “parallel guide” near the floor. Things like: “What the heck is that for?” and “Isn’t that a pain to use?”
The parallel guide has a couple important jobs. One, it keeps the chop parallel to the leg. Without a parallel guide the chop can spin and sway. Two, it acts as a pivot point for the chop.
By putting a small rod of metal through one of the holes in the parallel guide it causes the vise’s chop to pivot toward the benchtop when the metal bar hits the bench’s leg.
To use the parallel guide, you just slide the metal bar into the hole that most closely matches the thickness of the work you want to hold in the chop. Then close the jaw. Yes, you do have to stoop on occasion to remove the metal bar, but it’s really not a big deal. Plus, with the metal bar in the hole closest to the chop I can clamp anything between 3/8″ thick and 7/8″ thick. That covers a good deal of my work.
The only real downside to the leg vise is that it isn’t as effective for clamping casework sides for dovetailing , that’s the super power of the twin-screw vise. So to clamp wide casework sides with a leg vise you need to clamp one end of the case with the leg vise and the other end with a bar clamp that reaches across your benchtop. It’s a bit of a pain, but if you’re not building highboys every week, it is a compromise I can live with.
- Christopher Schwarz
Any thoughts on angled vs. vertical leg vises?
One thing puzzles me about the leg vise. It seems like no matter how you adjust the parallel guide, the clamping arm is not going to be exactly parallel to the leg when you clamp something. So wouldn’t this tend to round over the corners of the workpiece and also wouldn’t it tend to be not secure because the grip would be only at one corner? What have I missed?
I built my parallel guide out of steel bar with notches in the top on half inch centers. A horseshoe-shaped piece of thin plate steel drops over the parallel guide to bear against the leg. Same concept as the wood guide, but more bearing against the leg, a strong connection to the chop with a welded on flange, and, for me at least, a simpler change of settings. Welding is fun just like woodworking. By the way, I built my Roubo out of wood on hand that I had cut myself over the years: Bigleaf maple top (9 foot since that’s what I had), ornamental Kwanzen cherry legs and stretchers from a neighbor’s tree, Oregon ash vise chop, deadman, and sliding dovetail bench ends, one plain breadboard type and one that acts as fixed jaw for a wide end vise. Oh, and some Oregon oak slats under the bench for tool chest storage and black locust drawbore pegs. All air dried for at least 20 years and no other project called for them.
Bill Bach
Rural Oregon
Would you please list a few sources for the leg vise screw? Looks like it should be about 12-18" in length – does that sound right?
Thanks,
Matt
The leg vise I retrofitted to my store bought bench exerted so much force that, regardless of what I tried to prevent it, it would pull the piece I added to the leg for sufficient width to accommodate the screw out of alignment with the bench top. Finally I added an 8/4 white oak apron to the front of the bench which extended below the top of the leg bracing it. I added two rows of 3/4" holes to the apron to make use of hold fasts. The apron also gives me something to which I can clamp one edge of wider pieces for dovetailing etc.
Can you say sliding leg vise. That will cure all your casework woes. Could be a fun retrofit too!