mounting vises - to wrap inserts or not?
#5
Was interested to see some photos of the kids workbenches in Doug Stowe's classroom recently. I was looking at the vise being used in the photo below, and it looks like the wood inserts were wrapped around the back plate of the vise:



This seems nice in that it gives the user a continuous support surface out along the edge of the bench. If you do this, how do you get a good match? The metal vises I've seen usually have some imperfectioins that would make it difficult to perfectly match the notch for the back plate of the vise.

The alternative is a structure like the vise in the foreground, where the inserts are cut to match the vise faces, with no contact to the workbench itself.
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#6
Matt,

I should acknowledge the "correct" way to mount an iron vise, even though I have never followed this approach. Vise Instructions

I accomplish the same effect as a mortise by mounting the vise flush with the top and front of the bench without mortising. Then I add a jaw liner and then I cut a fascia strip that is flush with the jaw liner. " />

So, if your vise is mounted so that it protrudes, maybe you could add a fascia strip to the front of the bench. Or, perhaps I misunderstood your question.

Doug
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#7
I did that when i rebuilt my bench top, and it really turned out well. Just for the reason your mentioned, I wanted the back flush across the edge of the bench.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#8
I took a little different approach when I built my bench. I let the rear vise jaw into my bench top leaving about 5/8" of the top above the jaw. The front outside laminate of the apron covers the rear jaw (the rear jaw face is a separate replaceable piece the same thickness as the apron laminate so the rear jaw is flush with the front of the bench top).



Then I wrapped the front jaw - top and face- with wood and planed it flush with the bench top.



This completely insulates the iron vise jaws and protects my tools from accidental contact with them.

Hank
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