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IWF Alert: Finally, a tail vise that is easy to attach

Asa Christiana, editor, Fine Woodworking magazine

33 users recommend

The new Veritas tail vise has a narrow jaw, so you only have to add an extra apron piece to your bench to make it work.

The quick-release lever has excellent action. Note the steel mounting plate that goes on the underside of the bench, making installation easy.

The new Veritas tail vise has a narrow jaw, so you only have to add an extra apron piece to your bench to make it work.

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Veritas has solved yet another nagging problem for woodworkers--hand tool users this time. A tail vise is a traditional favorite on workbenches. It is used not only for holding work solidly between bench dogs, but also offers unique ways to hold workpieces in its jaws. But until now it has been difficult to add a tail vise to an existing bench, or even build one into a new bench. It required complicated hardware, around which you had to build a complex box to serve as the jaw. Plus you needed to cut a big notch out of the corner of the benchtop.

Veritas new tail vise seems to solve all that, and it is quick-release for quick clamping action. Try finding that in a traditional tail vise!

The secret to the Veritas Quick-Release Sliding Tail Vise is its narrow profile. That means you can make its jaw out of a single piece of hardwood, and you create the rear jaw by simply gluing an additional apron piece to the front edge of your bench. A metal plate attaches to the underside of the benchtop, and that in turn grabs the vise hardware.

Looks simple, and the action of the vise was excellent when I gave it a whirl at the show. At $270 it looks like a good buy. But we'll find out for sure when we get it into the FWW shop. 

Read about other great tool finds at IWF 2010

2010 Tool Guide
From the editors of Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking Buy the right tool -- at the best price -- for every job $9.99 more info...

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