Installation of Veritus Twin Screw Vise
I’m building my bench, and hope to install a Veritus Twin Screw End Vise this weekend. However, when I looked at the instructions this evening, one detail caught me by surprise and I was hoping for some advice.
The instructions say to be sure the rear jaw of the vise (end cap of the bench top), run the length of the end (width) of the bench – don’t have it butt up against the back of the front apron. They say if you do, the seasonal wood movement will cause alignment problems with the vise. Not knowing this, I have cut my end caps to do what they don’t advise – butting up behind the front apron on the corner – held together with a tongue and groove.
I’m just a beginner, but this surprises me – I thought wood movement with the grain was not a factor. (This is 28″ maple). They seem to be saying that the vise front jaw, which is able to expand in both directions horizontally, will become misaligned with the rear jaw which is only free to expand in one direction – towards the back of the bench. But does it really expand that much to worry about?
It won’t be that hard for me to change things, but I just wanted some opinions from the brain trust on the board. Thanks!
Replies
I installed (perhaps built is a better term) the Veritas twin screw end vise a few months ago- also using maple. I did run the rear jaw the entire width of the bench.
If I follow your thread correctly, you have shortened the rear jaw to overlap with the front and back of the bench so that at either end, the front jaw of the vice will actually mate with the end grain of the stock that forms the front and back of the bench. There are a few problems here. One is, this is the hard way. I planed the inner surfaces of both jaws so that they would be flat (before doing a slight taper on the front jaw). I think this is easier than what you've done. Second, a single continuous back jaw means that the gripping parts of the jaws will align pretty much spot on. This is harder to achieve if part of this surface is end grain. Wood will tend to swell more across the grain then with it if heat and humidity change in your shop. This could mean that the center of the rear mating surface will contact the front mating surface before the end grain parts will. The third problem is that the same forces can distort the flatness of the rear jaw as the ends swell and compress the rear jaw from either side.
That said, if the temperature and humidity in your shop are fairly constant, you might get away with it. If not, you might want to revise it. I will say that I have bought a fair number of tools from Lee Valley, and the instructions for this vice were not up to their usual standard.
Good luck,
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Thanks for your thoughtful input Glaucon. To clarify, my bench (the ever popular "Essential Bench" by Lon Schleining) only has a front apron. The back is left open, and the end caps are attached with glue just near the front, and bolted towards the rear to allow for movement of the top.But I can appreciate your point about the different grain for the rear jaw. It wouldn't be hard for me to recut things (might have to buy one new end cap) and run the end cap the full length of the end.The front apron also has a front vise on the left corner. I guess by the same token, I should run the front apron all the way to the left edge - which I planned to do.Thanks,
David
if you are having difficulty call or e mail LV they are very helpful and will usually get back to you almost right away as they believe big time in " customer service"
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