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Old 03-06-2022, 03:39 AM
JDHasty JDHasty is offline
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Default Woodworkers Vise is a great addition to my shop

I use this vise every day now that it is in my loading and gun work shop and no longer in the garage. When it was in the garage it was redundant and didn’t get much usage.

The European beech jaws are kind of new, I replaced them a few months ago when I moved it into the loading shop and lined them with oak tanned leather that I smear with powdered raisin. See that 1/4 stall mat on the bench top above it? I set up a similar vise for a buddy a few weeks ago and used Master cement to line his with 1/4 stall mat and then oak tanned leather. When I redo this vise I will do it like I did his. I’ve had this vise for decades, I think they are fairly cheap.

By using the rosin you can gently grip a gun and it will be firmly held in place. The stall mat between the wood and oak tanned leather is just so much better at that. I made the jaw faces wide and offset to one side to hold a rifle vertically, but that racks the vise. I have a couple blocks I put on the far left side to keep it from racking when holding something on the right side. Each block has three different thicknesses depending on how they are turned and with two of them the six different thicknesses have been all I have needed to keep the vise jaws square enough. Those and a door stop wedge.

Barge cement used to be good, not any more. I only use Master All-Purpose Cement now, it is as good as ever. All of the others don’t really hold and peel if you put any torque on what you are working on.




Last edited by JDHasty; 03-06-2022 at 04:14 AM.
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Old 03-06-2022, 03:56 AM
JDHasty JDHasty is offline
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See how little it takes for the vise to rack? That is a good thing, but you don’t want to over do it. By racking it will assume the taper of a barrel or fore end or what have you, so long as it is not too severe of a taper. That gives it greater surface contact between the jaws and the work piece and it will grip and securely hold it with very light pressure if you keep the leather smeared with powdered rosin. A couple pinches every couple weeks of rosin keep it really grippy.

You wouldn’t want the vise to rack much more than in the photo or you will bend the screw. This is not going to replace a machinists vise, just finger tight is all it needs and if it needs more then use a machinists vise.


Last edited by JDHasty; 03-06-2022 at 04:12 AM.
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  #3  
Old 03-07-2022, 03:44 AM
georgeld georgeld is offline
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That's a good idea.
I think you'd be surprised at what new one's cost these days.
I looked at one while drooling thru a woodworkers catalog.
Couple hundred bucks for the good ones.

I'm sure HF would have chink shit much cheaper.

I got one in a horse trade I think is where it came from over 30 years
ago. screw and guide rods are inch dia. I replaced them with 24" instead
of the 12" or 14" that were on it.

Welded a heavy wall tubing under my 3/4" plate welding table to attach it
to. Table was just a plate I picked up from a customer that was laying on
the ground being driven over. I asked if i could have it. 'sure, but you have
to load it alone by hand" "don't challenge me like that unless you mean it
as I can sure get it done" "offer is true IF you can load it alone by hand it's yours".

After I finished the route that day I came home and loaded a bunch of wood
blocks and steel stakes, A couple pry bars and went to it with about 20 guys
jawing and cheering me on that could have just picked it up and loaded it.
There was even a forklift parked nearby. They didn't think I could do it.

Plate was 3/4' thick steel, 40" wide and 6' long. Near as I could figure it
weighed around 700lbs.

Once the vise was on. I drilled 1/2" holes thru the top every few inches to
drop a loose bolt in for a stop, using the dog on the vise it's mighty handy.
I did break the cast iron block the handle goes thru. Made a new one of a
block of steel and a new pipe handle. I sure never babied it tightening it up.
Hammer on the handle until it holds. Have never broken anything on it
except that block. Mine is all steel, not light weight cast aluminum or iron.
Heavier duty vise than yours looks like from here. Still about the same size 7-8" wide.

I traded a 125# anvil away because this table top is solid enough to hammer on.
Many times I've tack welded things to the top, then break or cut it off when done.
Any holes I weld up, any lumps just grind off smooth. It's not just a
wood working shop like yours though I've done a bunch of that out there too. Much
more welding though.

Not to trying upstage you any, just trying to share more info on such tools usefulness.

The screws are Just Acme threaded rod, guide rods are just steel rounds.
I've expected to break the screw at times but never have. Grainger sells acme threaded
rod in various sizes and lengths up to 6 foot. Plumb reasonably priced considering what it is.

I do like your set up for doing gun and wood work. Some dandy ideas there for that.
Thanks for sharing with us.
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"Gun Control is NOT about guns,
it's about CONTROL!!"

Last edited by georgeld; 03-07-2022 at 03:55 AM. Reason: things needed editing!
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Old 03-07-2022, 04:01 AM
JDHasty JDHasty is offline
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I didn’t know they were expensive now. I’ve had a pair of them since I was a kid, my buddy had his laying around but never used it until he saw mine in my loading shop and remarked he was not capable of getting it mounted and faces made for the jaws. I got it going for him and he is just as pleased as I am with the one in my loading shop. He just uses his for cleaning his rifle and pistol barrels though. I use mine for everything.

My big machinists vise is on a steel table that weighs north of 500 lbs. it’s in my garage. I use it for torquing AR barrels on and not much else for firearms. I have a couple smaller machinists vises in the loading shop and find them indispensable though. I use them all the time.
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Old 03-07-2022, 05:54 AM
Oso Polaris Oso Polaris is offline
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Something you might also consider is different sets of jaws or simply removable jaws. Instead on screwing them directly to the vise, you can use rare earth magnets imbedded in the wood jaws. These work great on smaller utility style woodworking vises. I did this for my son's workbench with an old retro Wilton Vise that I need to machine a part to repair the bench dog on it.

If you go with removable magnet jaws then can have several different purpose built sets, such as a set wrapped in cloth or leather for holding rifles... set that has tapered jaws to better match profile of rifle's stock, etc.

https://www.rockler.com/rare-earth-magnets-magnets




Last edited by Oso Polaris; 03-07-2022 at 05:57 AM.
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Old 03-07-2022, 02:20 PM
Bill K Bill K is offline
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That is about what I have done, for years, with mine Oso.
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Old 03-07-2022, 02:31 PM
Mntngoat Mntngoat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oso Polaris View Post



Nice domino mortise's

ML
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Old 03-08-2022, 12:51 AM
Oso Polaris Oso Polaris is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mntngoat View Post
Nice domino mortise's

ML
Festool - expensive, but a couple of their products are hands down winners.
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Old 03-08-2022, 01:41 PM
Mntngoat Mntngoat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oso Polaris View Post
Festool - expensive, but a couple of their products are hands down winners.

Agreed, I have the XL I use for making doors and a kapex and few sanders Couldn't be happier

ML
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Old 03-08-2022, 04:49 PM
JDHasty JDHasty is offline
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Festool mortising jig and Kreg Pocket Hole Jig are two items that I get a lot of usage out of. Dado joints or mortising are a lot nicer, but the pocket hole joints are really a nice option to have available when putting utility grade shelving together. Rockler is only a couple miles from me and it is about as dangerous for me to enter as a gunshop. Our local manager is who turned me on to the European beech. I am not a cabinet maker, by any stretch, and they have helped me out enough that I am able to cobble together pretty decent projects.

Shelving I put together for our loading shop out of 3/4 radiata. The drawers on the right are from a chest of drawers I made for my sister about twenty years ago. When the chest was wrecked I saved the drawers and reused them.







Our old Redding powder dump is mounted to a piece of 3/4 cold rolled plate that I drilled and tapped then glued a piece of oak tanned leather to the bottom of. It can go anywhere on the bench. I have a couple of Hornady 366 shotshell presses that are mounted to the bench to the right of the Hornady AP that are on 3/4 plywood basses and mount to the bench with male knobs into threaded inserts sunk in the bench top. When not in use they are stored. When I load shotgun ammo I usually will load a couple thousand and don't need to do that very often. We have a couple more single stage presses that are also able to be set up in that location and another powder dump that is set up the same way and two people can work together pretty efficiently in such a limited space.



The case trimmers are also mounted to 3/4 cold rolled plate with a piece of European beech to give clearance. Both of the Forsters (I needed the second one, the long one, to do 300 Wby) and the CH are convenient to use the way they are mounted with either the hand crank or a cordless driver and the whole setup can be moved anywhere on the bench they need to be.

Last edited by JDHasty; 03-08-2022 at 05:26 PM.
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