New Front Vise for Dad

glenn bradley

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I have a large and small Lee Valley front vise that have been strategically positioned in my shop to keep the dust bunnies from collecting in that area. Dad wanted to try a different vise so I dug them out and took a drive. He decided on the large one so I went to work making a rear jaw from some nice beech he had on hand. Dad got some action shots showing the ever popular Le Valley medium shoulder plane doing some of the things it does best.

Dad Vise LV (1).JPGDad Vise LV (2).JPGDad Vise LV (3).JPGDad Vise LV (4).JPG

He has a piece fo beech for the front jaw as well but first, I sent him outside to clean the shipping goo off of the vise. Its only been setting around brand new in the box for the last decade or so. I bought it from a garage sale down the street and I have no idea how long they had it before me(?).

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One of the mounting options is for a slab top without an apron. Dad has this format but, his "slab" is ply so, we thought a little face material would be best. A larbge rabbet on the rear jaw takes care of this. Here it is clamped in position for a look-see.

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Just to show that I always follow the directions, here I am cutting notches in the template as instructed :)

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Oh no. You're not getting away that easy . . . there's more . . . Still reading . . . .

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We needed to make a 2-5/16" counterbore but, had a 2-1/8" bit and a 2-9/16" bit . . . hmmmmm. Dad suggested averaging the two but I couldn't figure out how to do that :huh:. Instead dad whipped out this circle cutter. We used it to make the 2-5/16" cut and then drilled the remaining core out with the 2-1/8" saw tooth bit. One workaround that may be of value to someone else. The center bit on the hole cutter was 5/16". The saw tooth bit guide was 1/4". This makes for dangerous drilling so, go find yourself a piece of 5/16" dowel, cut off a stub and jam it in the hole. The saw tooth bit's guide bit now has something to dig into and the bit remains centered and cuts smoothly.

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There was a bit of an irregularity left at the bottom of the hole but, dad had a small carving gouge on hand. The right hand hole is the "before" example and the "hand carved" version is on the left.

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Dad got into the act as well and we'll pick this up again in the morning :wave:

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DAD CONTINUES THE THREAD

Dad Continues the Thread---Just wait until you see the last pic and text.

1) 1246 Glenn boring through both vise jaws. The jaws were lined up with each other and taped together. That way when the holes were drilled (Forstner) they were identically aligned. If they were the least bit out of alignment the vise would be hard to open and close.
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2) 1257 Determining the location for the back jaw. The recesses will hold the cast iron support collets.
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3) 1254 “Dry” assembled vise on the bench top.

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4) 1259 Aligning the back vise jaw with the workbench.
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5) 1262 When I built the bench I did not know that the bench edge was to become a back jaw for a vise. Or to put it another way---I was not real careful when I edge routed the bench top. That and the fact that the top was layers of 3/4” plywood just made it unsatisfactory.
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Therefore the back jaw was fastened to the bench with long screws with a “lip” extending up covering the bench edge plywood. Glenn messed around quite a while to get that jaw at exact right angles to the bench top and with the “lip” fully supported.

6) 1266 Here you see the vise attached to the inverted bench top. At this time the proper edges have been edge rounded & sharp edges softened. However the vise does not have its proper handle and has not had BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) applied yet.
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7) 1268 Vise mounted.
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8) 1269 Side view to show the back jaw mounting better and the vise’s relationship to the bench.
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9) Side view. Jaws fairly well opened. Glenn put his head in there but pulled it out when I tried to take a pic. I think he was afraid to leave it in there for fear that I would try to get even for all of the trouble he gave us as a kid.
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Enjoy,
JimB
 
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Teamwork pays off again. We also rigged dad's unsatisfactory 'Rockler 12" Quick release End Vise' to be more usable. The vise has always been a bit awkward to use and does not operate smoothly despite many attempts to make it do so. Our ultimate solution was to wire the QR mechanism shut so that the vise winds in and out like a non-QR vise. It now works just great so dad has two nice workable vises.
 
The Bradley team scores again! Great pictures and a solid looking vice. I noticed that you have a hardboard (Masonite?) sacrificial top on your bench, Jim and was wondering if you have ever replaced it? I have one on mine and although it's taken quite a beating over the years, it's never gotten bad enough to replace. That top must be quite heavy and a chore to flip over, but I think I see how you did it.:thumb::thumb::D
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....
We needed to make a 2-5/16" counterbore but, had a 2-1/8" bit and a 2-9/16" bit . . . hmmmmm. Dad suggested averaging the two but I couldn't figure out how to do that :huh:. ....

You obviously solved the problem, but a trick if you have a challenge like that in the future....

Start with a hole 1 9/16. With a router cut a 3/8 inch rabbet around the top of the hole. You now have a hole 1 9/16+3/8+3/8 = 2 5/16 diameter for at least the top 1/2 inch or so of the hole. With a flush trim bit from the bottom or a pattern bit from the top, make the bottom of the hole even with the top.

If you don't have a 1 9/16 drill, you can start with 13/16 (if I have done my math right) and do the process twice.
 
I noticed that you have a hardboard (Masonite?) sacrificial top on your bench, Jim and was wondering if you have ever replaced it? I have one on mine and although it's taken quite a beating over the years, it's never gotten bad enough to replace

I'll barge right on in here. Dad's top is still going strong on the original version. I believe he just added it since the core is plywood which makes a poor work surface for the most part. Dad also has a worktable/drawer unit that I used for 10 years before passing it along to him to become a sharpening station. The "easily changeable" hardboard top on that fixture has never required a change either. I only mention this to save folks from going through any extra effort to assure that their tempered hardboard top is easy to change since, you probably never will.
 
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