Workbench vise question

[Scouter]

I just figured out how to add an end vise to my new workbench, but I have a question for those of you who have them. First, this is the type of end vise I'm talking about, since there are a lot of them out there.



Now, my workbench is 30" wide, my questions are:

Dimensions for the face?

It doesn't show, but I assume there are guide rods to keep the vise running true.

One or two?

Spacing?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Alan S]

This is just my opinion, but I would not put one on like that.

If you need a vise that wide, it's presumably to grip a long board solidly.  In that case putting it on the face rather than the end of the bench gives you more options for work holding.  If you plan to use it with the dogholes, putting the screw closer to the line of the holes will minimize racking.  If it's wide so as to use it with two lines of dogholes, one along each face of the bench, you would be better off with a twin screw vise to prevent racking.

I have a narrow vise mounted to the end of my bench, as close to the front edge as possible to avoid racking as it's used with dogholes.  It also works to grip smaller workpieces.

[Hank Knight]

Scouter, I have a wide end vise on my bench. I used the Veritas twin screw mechanism and it has been a good choice.

IMG_1221 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

My vise face is 32 1/2" wide X 7 3/4" deep. The screws are placed 21 1/2" apart. I don't think there is any magic to these dimensions, they're just what I used. I have two dogs in the vise face that line up with the two lines of dog holes on the edge of my bench top. I think the twin screw mechanism works best for they application because the wide spacing of the screws minimizes racking. I use the vise the most in the tail vise configuration to secure boards to the bench top for hand planing:

IMG_1556 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

I do use the wide jaws for clamping, especially for edge planing short boards; but they often come in handy for other clamping jobs:

DSCN0615 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

IMG_3927 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

I've often thought I'd like a regular tail vise or a wagon vise instead of the big twin screw arrangement; but when I think about losing the wide vise jaws, I'm satisfied with what I have. I'm not overly enthusiastic about the Veritas twin screw vise, but it was state of the art when I built my bench. There are newer and perhaps better mechanisms on the market today. If I were going to do it all again, I would look hard at the Hovarter vise mechanism, or perhaps the Lie-Nielsen vise with double rods and a single handle.

My $.02. Hope it helps.

Hank

[Scouter]

I've often thought I'd like a regular tail vise or a wagon vise instead of the big twin screw arrangement; but when I think about losing the wide vise jaws, I'm satisfied with what I have. I'm not overly enthusiastic about the Veritas twin screw vise, but it was state of the art when I built my bench. There are newer and perhaps better mechanisms on the market today. If I were going to do it all again, I would look hard at the Hovarter vise mechanism, or perhaps the Lie-Nielsen vise with double rods and a single handle.

My $.02. Hope it helps.

Hank

Thanks, Hank. I am planning on making it similar to the LN vise. I have the hardware, but the dimensions and spacing are what I was missing. What you provided sounds pretty close.