Comments on: New Bulletproof Vises from Lie-Nielsen

By: ondablade

ondablade — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 00:58:30 +0000

I’ve just started building a Roubo which will have a Veritas Twin Screw mounted as a leg vise. So I’m dead pleased to get some third party verification of the validity of the concept.

It seems a lot more straightforward than an X/scissors linkage.

Floating the idea on S/C several months ago didn’t bring up any feedback, so as far as i knew it was an original concept.

Leg vises have gained a lot of profile since I bought the Veritas to mount horizontally. The change of heart came when I started to lay out the drawing:

(1) Mounting the back jaw for a horizontal vise requires either a split jaw, or removing a big chunk from the top.

(2) The 4 3/8 in thick beech top was pushing the screws lower than seemed wise given the risk of tilting when clamping a piece at the top.

(3) The horizontal jaw takes up an enormous amount of bench frontage, even at the stock 16 7/8in screw spacing.

It fits nicely as a leg vise, in that the screws fall at a convenient spacing that doesn’t mess with the stretchers or the top.

It’s tough to find objective discussion of the pros and cons of a leg vise, so i’m not too sure what the downsides are – but it seems only a couple of years since horizontally mounted twin screws were the latest since sliced bread.

The major loss in going to a leg vise i could see seemed to be the ability to clamp wide boards for dovetailing. A Moxon seemed like the straightforward way around that.

The biggest potential issue i could see with mounting the Veritas vertically was that there’s a fair amount of slop in the fits of the screw in the nuts and jaw sleeves. It seemed like it might be no harm to tighten it up a bit to minimise any lateral wobbling..

I’m running with a UHMW bearing block in the leg at the back of the top screw, and with some bronze shim material in the jaw sleeve. Leaving the bottom screw fits stock, as it should minimise the risk of running into jamming issues while tightening due to any slight misalignment.

Not quite sure yet what to do about handles. It’s possible to fit a handwheel a la Benchcrafted, but I think I’ll try the stock handle first.

It seems that some minor (independent) adjustment of the bottom screw may be required for fine jaw alignment, but not major tightening – so maybe a very short handle or small wheel will work well there.

I’d appreciate any feedback you may have on the the above, or on the pros and cons of leg vises in particular….

Thanks

ian

By: Dean

Dean — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:44:39 +0000

Blessings upon you Zackdog. My dream just floated a little higher.

By: zackdog

zackdog — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:01:38 +0000

Keep the dream alive Dean. Last year I was able to spend that much on their Roubo customized with a shoulder vise (left side) in addition to the leg vise (their first chain drive!) and tail vise. I had the excuse of a 50th birthday (which helped) and many good friends who donated to the cause as gifts. AND I was able to attend one of Chris’ classes when I drove to Maine to pick it up (maybe tack a vacation to Maine in with your pleading to your wife).
Rationalization is very important because the workbench is definitely worth it.

By: wessmith

wessmith — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:56:18 +0000

“I eschew complexity, especially when it comes to food, marriage and workbenches.”

Preach it Brother!

By: aloechler

aloechler — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:12:24 +0000

Exactly. I called them and they are going to offer different parts especailly for leg, mox style stuff. The blog and nielsen website don’t quite match up or list all the options as of yet? Even when I called them their staff is confused about exactly what is what?
I would like to see some install instruction for leg/mox vise before I jump. Right now they only have bench top install instructions available online. And the instructions are for only skirted benches?

By: aloechler

aloechler — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:58:22 +0000

let me correct myself… I called them and they are going to offer a dovetail kit that has shorter screws. Guessing this is what is pictured.

By: aloechler

aloechler — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:42:13 +0000

The first photo does not add up? Where are the screws sticking out of the back? Did somebody cut them off?

By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 05:41:42 +0000

In case someone is wondering where that dollar amount came from, it’s for one Lie Nielsen Roubo workbench, and one Lie Nielson Moxon vise with jaws. Some assembly required.

By: Jonathan Szczepanski

Jonathan Szczepanski — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 02:24:12 +0000

Chris -

Can you close the dovetailing vise askew, or does the chain drive keep the jaws parallel?

Jonathan
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By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 01:54:59 +0000

Well, I just shot an email over to my wife saying I need $3,885. Just waiting for a reply (whistling…).