using a router to mount a vise

[overland]

I'm mounting vises on school benches. I thought I would recess the rear jaw so that it is flush with the front of the bench. (I'll have to install a wood jaw liner, so the rear jaw will end up being proud of the bench the thickness of the liner.) I'll do the same thing with the end vise. How can I use a router to cut this recess? I don't have much experience with routers, so the answer may be obvious. But I could still use some help.

[Steve N]

This is specific for an Emmerts Pattern vice. Possibly you could adapt.

Other vises


Going the hand tool route


Basic router techniques Many of the ideas about using templates can be adapted to the actual dimensions of your vise's mounting plate.

Possibly you would get more specific help if you mentioned the size, type, brand of vise/vises you plan to use. A lot of members photograph everything they do. If someone has used the same hardware mention of it would certainly help you.

[Anji12305]

I've mounted my Emmert twice.

The "L" shaped plate does come off the assembly, and I recommend that additional step, to make sure you've got a proper fit before wrestling with the complete vise.

I use a pair of big Bessey clamps and a short stool in front of the bench to support the vise on the long screw to put mine on.

With the collar and mounting bracket as a template, you can set
the clearances pretty easily. I would NOT use a router on the narrow front of your bench - it's too easy to get beyond the depth you want
and have an uneven mounting surface.

For that, a handsaw and chisel should be enough.

Use the handsaw to score a series of kerfs to almost the thickness
of the front flange, and use a sharp chisel to get down to depth.

Remember that the vise face nearest the bench will be proud of your bench be an inch or so, unless you cut a deep recess for the PM vise.

That "inside jaw" need not be flush to the front of the bench, to have a perfectly useful application of the PM vise - few boatright shops or patternmaker's benches in foundries did.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGbmki3gs70

[overland]

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. The vises we're using are simple steel vises. I'd like to recess the rear jaw into the bench top. Since we have five or six of these vises to mount, I figured the fastest way would be to use a router. Otherwise I'd do it by hand. One complication is that they're not all exactly the same size.

[jock cameron]

What are the dimensions of the edge of the bench? If you have a skirt piece say 2" x 6" it might be faster and easier to use a circular saw to cut it back so the vice plate fits flush with the rest of the edge face. You might have to use a hand saw to finish one of the two cuts. Not sure if this would work with the end vice.

[iclark]

If the tops are not mounted yet, consider standing them on edge and clamping them together so that you have a better support for the router plate.

Remember to stack them in numbers that match the number of vises that you have that fit the router cut that you are doing.