Vise jaw linings OTHER than leather?

[JimBelair]

Just curious if anyone has used something other than leather to line vise jaws. I'm thinking heavy canvas, etc. I have heard of using masonite (hardboard) rough side out but I'm not sure it's still available with one side rough. Nothing against leather and I know there are all kinds of online sources there in the US. Up here it's a bit harder to come by, apart from the precut liners LV sells for their face vise.

I tried that green stuff used on drafting tables (remember those?) once, just because I had some scraps around and thought it would provide some resiliency. It was terrible- too slippery.

[PaulC]

Sort-of leather. I fastened a piece of car-polish chamois from Canadian Tire to my vise with double-stick tape. Several years later, it's still there and working well.

[Bill_Houghton]

For years, the traditional liner was wood, probably reflecting the evolution of vises from wood to metal jaws.

[Timberwolf]

A mouse pad might work if it's thick enough..if not you can buy neoprene sheet rubber...I know that works...

[Scoony]

Cork works great.

I got the sheets with adheasive back and put them on magnet sheets to use on my pattern makers vice. THe cork will get worn down, but is cheap and easy to replace. Hobby stores carry it in rolls and sheets.

[KSMike]

That chamois idea is good. If it's a real chamois, it's leather.

[Rob Young]

I have a leather lined chop on my (clone) Record 52 vice. Works great.

But sometimes I need a bit more grip or have to grip something odd shaped, here are a few things I do:

Old dish towels wrapped one or sometimes two layers deep.

Silicone (or similar material) drawer liner from the $1 store. This however does tend to leave an oily mark. No big deal to remove.

Cardboard or pasteboard -- worked very well when I needed just a little bit of shimming to prevent the vice jaw from racking. One-time use as it deforms.

Marshmellow wood "pine" from the big box store.

More leather scraps, especially some thin stuff I can wrap around round or odd shaped pieces.

[AgGEM]

Scoony said:

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Cork works great.
.

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That is what I have been using too.
Ag

[Yetloh]

I use auxillary L shaped jaws lined with what is sold over here as domestic table protector. It is basically textured white foam with a non-woven felt-like backing. I fix it to the jaws with double sided tape. I'm making soem chairs with a very organic form and the parts are hard to clamp because of their curvature. These auxillary jaws work a treat, they prevent bruising of the wood and the foam recovers quickly to its original shape even after being clamped for long periods. A bonus is that components can be worked on with relatively light clamping pressure, even when the clamping forces are operating over a pretty localised area, because the foam is inherenntly grippy.

The snag with L shaped auaxillary jaws is their tendency to fall inwards when the vice is unclamped. I think I might embed some rare earth magnets in the vice cheeks and the backs of the auxillaries to overcome this. That way I would have no need to make them L shaped.

Jim

[JimBelair]

Lots of suggestions. Thanks everyone. I'll decide when I'm a bit further on with the new bench.