In Praise of the Simple Leg Vice

Stuart Ablett

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I built a Roubo bench a while back, and I just love it, I don't know how I worked on things so long without a good workbench, but one thing that I put on the bench that I was not 100% sure I'd use or like is the leg vice, as I'd never really used one. I'm happy to report after almost 5 years of use, I don't know what I'd do without a leg vice.

Just today I was fiddling with the fit on the joints for the tighwire chairs and I snapped this picture....

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.... with the long contact area of the leg vice you don't need to crank on the vice to hold your work like you do with a normal woodworking vice, for working on the end of this chair stretcher, the leg vice works so very well. Yes I use the regular woodworking vice more often, but I have to say I'd not like to be without either vice.

My point in posting this is that if you are thinking about putting a leg vice on your existing bench, do it, if you are building a new bench, I'd strongly suggest that you incorporate a leg vice into your design.

Cheers!
 
Any pictures of the base of it?
I ask because it seems like I have seen some, that don't have a bar running through them, and others that do. Wondering what works better or if there is some other reason for it.
 
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Some pics, the style that I used is the most basic, it works, it is simple, and take a whole 12 seconds to reach down and move the pin in the bottom of the vice.
Yes there are more elegant ways of doing this, with some sort of roller or mechanism, but for my first leg vice I decided to go with a proven simple answer.

Cheers!
 
I was looking at the last picture posted. And from the picture it looks to me that one can work on all sides of the bench. I happen to be a left hander that has had to adapt to a right handed world. From experience, if I was going to build another bench I would put a leg vise on the other side of the workbench also. That way I could use either hand. I know a lot of people have wished they use the other hand at one time or the other. As Stuart has said there are more elegant ways of doing things and a lot of that also includes cost. The vise screw used in the making of this bench is the one that is the least costly. And as stated above, it is the most basic, it works, it is simple. Great job of making a bench that is above everything else workable.
 
Thank you.
It has been a while now, but some years back, before life got in the way, I picked up one of these off of Ebay for $10, mainly for the hardware and hoping to use it as the template.
The lower part was not as complete, so I wasn't sure how long it should be. I have seen some others that probably used the mechs you mentioned but this as you said, already works.

I am also a lefty and haven't decided if I want both my record clones to go on the end of a bench, or one on the other side, so I can do things right handed on one, left handed on the other side.
 
I was looking at the last picture posted. And from the picture it looks to me that one can work on all sides of the bench. I happen to be a left hander that has had to adapt to a right handed world. From experience, if I was going to build another bench I would put a leg vise on the other side of the workbench also. That way I could use either hand. I know a lot of people have wished they use the other hand at one time or the other. As Stuart has said there are more elegant ways of doing things and a lot of that also includes cost. The vise screw used in the making of this bench is the one that is the least costly. And as stated above, it is the most basic, it works, it is simple. Great job of making a bench that is above everything else workable.

Thank you.
It has been a while now, but some years back, before life got in the way, I picked up one of these off of Ebay for $10, mainly for the hardware and hoping to use it as the template.
The lower part was not as complete, so I wasn't sure how long it should be. I have seen some others that probably used the mechs you mentioned but this as you said, already works.

I am also a lefty and haven't decided if I want both my record clones to go on the end of a bench, or one on the other side, so I can do things right handed on one, left handed on the other side.

Thanks guys.

Working like I was on the end of a long piece of wood, it would not matter if your were right or left handed, and it would not matter if the vice was on the left or right leg, I agree. For planing the edge of a long board, held in the leg vice and supported on the other end with the sliding deadman, it would be easier for a righty to use the vice set up as I have it, and vice versa for a lefty, I guess.

Like I said, I really like this set up, and yes I do have access to all sides of the bench, I understand space limits and putting a workbench against a wall, but I think you are really limiting the usability of your workbench in doing so. My workbench is without a doubt the most used tool in my workshop, so you have to have easy access to it.

Cheers
 
I've considered it but I'd need to pretty much rebuild my bench to accommodate one.. of course that would mean I could get to rebuild my bench.. :rofl:

I suspect it might happen if/when we move whenever/wherever as I suspect the current bench isn't worth moving in its entirety as its not all that (the main bench has less than $50 of material in it). I'll steal some parts off of it but I reckon the bench will stay. The next one will have legs a lot more like yours (except perhaps even thicker) which would certainly be sturdier than my current bolt on design as well.
 
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