Jim C Bradley
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Moderator: Remove the paragraph after my "Jim" if it is inappropriate. Thanks
QUESTION: Do you have a Rockler 37180 vise? Do you like it? Do you have racking or any other problems? If yours was destroyed, would you purchase another?
I have reached a point where I am going to build a new workbench top. This is due to my stupidity. The current bench works fine except I want to add some more dog holes. The top is three layers of 3 / 4 inch plywood, glued and screwed together with a temperboard top layer.
The key word here is SCREWED (that’s me). I made a detailed plan of the location of each screw so I could drill future dog holes. I lost the plan. I ruined a $75 3 / 4 inch router bit in the process of playing “Blind Man’s Bluff.” I don’t want to ruin more; therefore a new top is mandated.
A new top. So why not a new vise to replace my HF vise?
I was at Rockler (San Diego---an hour by freeway away) and became enamored with the 37180. It has a wide jaw face and a 17.5 inch wide face (or whatever you call the dingie that the screw and guide rods go through). The vertical jaw measurement is 4 inches.
Am I drawn to this because it looks sexy and functions as smoothly as glass---at least in the showroom? Or, is it really a great vise?
Glenn (my son) thinks that there is much more room for undesired jaw movement such as racking in this type of vise. We discussed the Jorgensen rapid-action bench vise. I have not seen the Jorgie but the magazine statistics on it are very good.
So that brings us back to the question at the top of the page---Is the Rockler a great vise or not?
Thanks for your input and Enjoy,
Jim.
If someone wants a few hundred pounds of bench top with hidden screws, it yours for free if you come and get it. I will add in the already mounted HF vise for cost (I got it on sale) if you want that too. I will add in the very rugged base also, making it a complete bench, for a hundred bucks if you want also and I will really start from scratch.
QUESTION: Do you have a Rockler 37180 vise? Do you like it? Do you have racking or any other problems? If yours was destroyed, would you purchase another?
I have reached a point where I am going to build a new workbench top. This is due to my stupidity. The current bench works fine except I want to add some more dog holes. The top is three layers of 3 / 4 inch plywood, glued and screwed together with a temperboard top layer.
The key word here is SCREWED (that’s me). I made a detailed plan of the location of each screw so I could drill future dog holes. I lost the plan. I ruined a $75 3 / 4 inch router bit in the process of playing “Blind Man’s Bluff.” I don’t want to ruin more; therefore a new top is mandated.
A new top. So why not a new vise to replace my HF vise?
I was at Rockler (San Diego---an hour by freeway away) and became enamored with the 37180. It has a wide jaw face and a 17.5 inch wide face (or whatever you call the dingie that the screw and guide rods go through). The vertical jaw measurement is 4 inches.
Am I drawn to this because it looks sexy and functions as smoothly as glass---at least in the showroom? Or, is it really a great vise?
Glenn (my son) thinks that there is much more room for undesired jaw movement such as racking in this type of vise. We discussed the Jorgensen rapid-action bench vise. I have not seen the Jorgie but the magazine statistics on it are very good.
So that brings us back to the question at the top of the page---Is the Rockler a great vise or not?
Thanks for your input and Enjoy,
Jim.
If someone wants a few hundred pounds of bench top with hidden screws, it yours for free if you come and get it. I will add in the already mounted HF vise for cost (I got it on sale) if you want that too. I will add in the very rugged base also, making it a complete bench, for a hundred bucks if you want also and I will really start from scratch.