Record Vise

[CStan]

Had one for years. They are designed to close at the top first and then flatten out I guess. Never had a problem and the same vise is on its third bench. Regardless of its appearance in a Woodsmith/ShopNotes, the cheek seems too thick and is taking away from the jaw opening capacity of the vise.

[Tapper]

Thanks for the comments. I considered the reduction in jaw capacity when modifying the bench for this vise. Since it never seemed to be a factor with the previous vise, I didn't reduce the thickness. My thought was that if more capacity is needed, I have plenty of clamps.

Can always build another cheek face if necessary as it's easily changed on this vise. Not so on the previous vise as the design had the two rods and screw going through the cheek block.

Doug

[MKepke]

<snip>
Can always build another cheek face if necessary as it's easily changed on this vise. Not so on the previous vise as the design had the two rods and screw going through the cheek block.

Doug

Yeah, I thought your moving cheek block looked a lot like it came from that style of vise.

The other reason I see for a big block is the owner intends to put dog holes in it, or it’s being used as a wide end-vise.

Anyways, given you already have the block, I don’t see a significant downside. The extra cantilevered mass is going to put more wear on the vise mechanism but I doubt this is meaningful for I) hobby use on II) a good quality vise.

-Mark

[Tapper]

"The other reason I see for a big block is the owner intends to put dog holes in it, or it’s being used as a wide end-vise."

-Mark

Yep, I plan to put a couple of dog holes in this block, and add a row across the benchtop for clamping. This bench has a wagon vise on the other end, which I use a lot and find quite handy. 

Doug

[Hank Knight]

The toe-in feature isn't unique to Record vises. It's a common feature of woodworking vises (See Fred's post about his Jorgy). I have a Veritas twin screw vise for my end vise. The vise comes as hardware only, you provide your own wooden chops. The instructions tell you to taper the front chop to provide the recommended toe-in. Like Fred's Jorgy, my twin screw closes at the top first and comes parallel as it is tightened.

I also have a Record 52 !/2 on my bench. I added maple faces and found that they became slippery after a while. I glued thick, vegetable tanned leather to both faces and that took care of the slippery problem. The leather provides a little cushion that protects your workpiece and is very grippy.