Another newbie question (screw vise)

Dan Thibert

Member
Messages
183
Location
Leominster Mass
I want to pick up a couple screw vises...Would it save me money to make my own after getting the wood? Would the ones already made be better quality or the ones I can make maybe better since I may take my time and it would not be mass produced?

Thanks again
Dan

Actually, you'd probably be better off buying the Grizzley ones. The thicker hardwood used in them will be hard to find, so you'll need to do a glue-up, and cutting the "V" shaped mortises can sometimes be a challenge.

Depending on the value you put on your time, - it'll take several hours to make one - you'd probably be ahead to just buy them.

FWIW, if you've got a Harbor Freight store nearby, they usually have several sizes of them, and HF is cheaper than Grizz. These things aren't anything like 'precision,' so even the cheap ones work very well.

I have about a dozen of them in various sizes. Four of them I made myself, using red oak, and the rest have been bought.
 
If you have a HF nearby and you choose carefully, theirs are OK. The best deal I had was when Rockler was selling two 10" Jets for $6 or something like that. They do it a couple times a year it seems.
 
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