Vises and Holding
Quick Links:
Which vise do you recommend and where do you get them?
We usually get our vises on eBay as they are no longer made. That may be restrictive if you are outside the UK as shipping can be quite high. The model is the Record 52 1/2E, but we would not recommend the Record Irwin alternative.
Paul has also recommends the Eclipse 9″ Quick Release vise as it is more readily available and seems to hold up well.
How do you fit the vise and wooden vise jaws?
We don’t currently have a video showing this process, but Paul goes through the whole process here:
And in a previous series here:
What thread are the vise jaw threaded screw holes?
We don’t usually bother using the threaded aspect of the hole, so I’m afraid I can’t help. See the following blog to see how Paul goes about it:
I am having problems with skipping/slipping. How can I fix this?
Paul’s recommended course of action is to try each of these in order and move onto the next if it doesn’t succeed.
- Oil the quick release mechanism, the bars and the screw thread.
- Check that the bars aren’t getting stuck or out of parallel. This can be due to the end bracket, washer and pin at the back end of the bars and screw not being held in place correctly.
- Check that the guide for the nut is screwed fully in place. The nut is the piece that moves up to engage with the thread when you let go of the quick release trigger/handle. Otherwise, take this apart and check for wear/clean it.
What can I do to grip my wood more firmly?
Paul now fixes the leather in place using double sided tape, as he has found that he prefers that and the leather lasts longer.
Where do you recommend positioning the vise?
The position on the left where we have the vise in our videos (just to the right of the leg) is where we recommend putting it for all right handed people, including if you are short on surrounding space. For left handed people, we recommend the equivalent position on the right of the bench (just to the left of the leg).