Replies

1. 
   bwood | Oct 03, 2012 07:50am | #1

   Leg vs twin vise

   I favor the leg vise and a Moxon vise if dovetailing.  I had a 24" twin screw vise on my 6' bench and I found it got in the way.  I am happier with the leg vise now.  Good luck.

2. 
   RalphBarker | Oct 03, 2012 08:32am | #2

   Vises, vises

   A fella (or, gal) can never have too many. Oh, wait, that's about clamps.  ;-)

   It seems to me that the choices boil down to some balance between capacity, the nature of one's work, and personal preferences in how one goes about doing the work.

   By "capacity" I mean more the distance between the top of the bench and the screw(s), and less about how far the vise will open. Then, there's the issue of how the vise or vises is/are integrated into the bench design, so as to provide sufficient support for the work pieces.

   A twin-screw vise (with ample spacing between the screws), for example, might be considered similar to a Moxon vise, but placement usually doesn't provide as much support for the end of the work piece in operations like dovetailing. Thus, the wider jaw surfaces of a Moxon-style vise provides an advantage.

   A leg vise usually has more vertical capacity than other styles, and can be combined with a "dead man" to provide convenience in working on wide boards or panels of various lengths.